Baby Blue Eyes - Brisbane Newborn Photographer

Ah Matilda. 

She had the most beautiful blue eyes. And we saw a lot of them. 

Such a content little baby, peaceful and sweet... just wide awake. For the entire session.

Usually we try to photograph newborns asleep so that they stay in the peaceful curly poses we wrap them into. Its safer if they are in baskets or posed on the beanbag and they look more relaxed and at ease when their arms, hands and legs are all free of tension. 

When newborns are awake the like to stretch their arms and lets out (and to be honest, after 9 months curled up who wouldn't want to?) curl their hands into fists and are constantly covering their cute little faces that we are trying to photograph. So, for newborn photos, to make it easier on the day and more adorable in the images, we like them best when they are sleeping.  

Not that it really mattered that Matilda hadn't got that memo. We captured loads of stunning photos of her with her mum, with her big brother (oh my gosh he could not be prouder! Check that big brother smile out!) and of course some of her just by herself. Awake.

Her big brother James was a supermodel!  I hardly gave him any direction and he flopped this way and then that way and beamed the most relaxed and smooth smiles at me. Seriously, he might have to give his sister some tips next time around on how to rock your photo shoot. (I heard that he slept the WHOLE WAY through his own newborn session a few years ago!) 

He was also quite funny when we did the photos with their Mum. He was very concerned that Matilda didn't have a nappy on, and I heard that he still talks about that part of the session all the time - obviously a very defining moment! They told me the photo of James pointing to Matilda's feet is one of the favourites because of that memory it holds for them. 

This was not my usual session rundown. Usually I win the sleep battle with my big bag of tricks, but Matilda was very strong willed, and although she dozed off here and there, she would always wake up again once we had her snuggled somewhere that she should have been fast asleep.

In the end we came to the conclusion that she had won the battle of wills and no sleep was going to be had this particular morning, so we wrapped the session up a little sooner than usual so her mum and big brother could get some lunch and all three hopefully get a nice solid afternoon sleep. 

I have a strong feeling she was fast asleep in the car by the time they got to the end of my driveway. 

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www.brisbanenewbornphotography.com.au 

Brisbane Newborn Photographer    |    Brisbane Family Photographer

Park and Beach Family Session - Brisbane Family Photographer

I was on my way to this session when my phone rang, it was the family concerned they were in the wrong location as there was a lot of council fencing around and they just didn't think it looked like the picturesque spot I had shown them from previous sessions. 

They were in the right spot, I just forget sometimes that we photographers see things differently, we see light and space, and we dont see power lines or rubbish bins because those things are easily removed in photoshop, they just dont factor when finding a beautiful photo location. 

We set off down a garden path, which for the first time since I have photographed here, was not soggy with water. You have to love a dry Brisbane winter!  

Some gorgeous park land shots of the boys and family with the late afternoon sun filtering in behind them, I was in heaven! 

The boys had a good time giggling and sharing secrets with Mum and Dad. I asked their Mum to give one of the boys a kiss on the cheek and her gorgeous bright lipstick left kiss marks all over his face, it was so cute. 

We got the best smiles from the boys when their Mum did a wiggle dance beside me, the boys just lost it and melted into a genuine giggle fit together. That is one of my all time favourite sounds. By a mile.

Next up was the beach, they wandered along the waters edge and threw stones out deep. The boys had a go kicking water into the air, although there was one freak wave that came by and nearly swept Julius, the younger one, up to his waist! Thankfully his Dad was right there with him and yanked him up out of the water before his shorts got too wet. My shoes however fared far worse, floating off and having to be rescued before they got too far! 

It was such a beautiful afternoon with this simply gorgeous family and I could not be more excited about sharing this gallery of their photos. 

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www.familyphotographybynatarshamarch.com.au

Brisbane Family Photographer   |    Brisbane Newborn Photographer

Oliver - Brisbane Newborn Photographer

Oliver was 7 weeks new when he visited me, but as he had surprised his family 5 weeks early, it was like working with a two week old. He was such a dream!

He slept right through his family photos with Mum and Dad, and oh my gosh they are some of the cutest snuggly photos!

Next up were photos with his big brother Jackson. Jackson is 22 months and so full of curiosity! His favourite game while they were here was pulling the tissues out of the box, which he isn't allowed to do at home, but since I only had a few left I said "Go for it!" and we were best friends after that.

His face when he got to cuddle his new little brother - priceless! He was so excited, so proud and so enthralled with little Oliver. No kisses, but he did pretend to pick his little brothers nose for him. Boys. What else would you expect?

Oliver slept so well during his session, I really wasn't sure how it would go as it can be unpredictable working with preemie babies. Sometimes they are like a newborn, sometimes they are more awake as you would expect from an older baby.  Oliver was just like working with a newborn. He was still curly and sleepy and just a delight to photograph with those beautiful long lashes and chubby cheeks!

He had some awake time in the middle of the session too so we were able to capture some photos of his stunning blue eyes. They make me laugh sometimes, when they look all around and pull the most funny faces, I imagine hilarious stories running through their heads that they are reacting to.

We had a few disagreements about finger placements during his last sleepy photos. I was all like "Put your fingers straight and soft!" and he was all "No, I will curl them tight as I please!".  We worked through our differences.  I'm not going to say that he won, but... I rarely win those arguments.

All up it was a lovely morning with this gorgeous family, a real pleasure to photograph two beautiful boys who I just know will be best friends forever.

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www.brisbanenewbornphotography.com.au

Brisbane Newborn Photographer   |   Brisbane Family Photographer 

Tiny Olivia - Brisbane Baby Photographer

Olivia was a tiny poppet, just 2.02 kg at birth! She surprised her mum and dad by arriving 5 weeks early and was just on 3 weeks new at our session.

A total character, she slept through family photos but was wide awake for a long time after that. I think she must have enjoyed all the cuddles from mum and dad!

Grandma was also at the session for a few little snuggles and one of my favourite photos - the 3 generations.  I won't be sharing any family photos from this session though as sometimes families aren't always comfortable in front of the camera. I don't mind at all. To me, the most important thing is that we take the photos in the first place, you can then choose if you like them or not and if you choose to show anyone else or not. Sometimes photos are taken just for your children, because even if you don't want them you children will one day.

After family photos we moved onto just Olivia by herself. We got the cutest open eye photos of her on a simple cream blanket. I tried to girly her up a little with a pretty little headband but she was not having it! As quickly as we put it back in place she was ripping it off again!  I somehow managed a quick shot or two with it on, but that was the last time we tried headbands, she really does not like them!

Its so amazing to me that even at such a new age babies know what they do and don't like, such as being on their tummy, being snuggled tight or having things on their heads. Every one is different and the wonderful things about working with so many beautiful little babies is finding out about their personalities.

I just had to use my new basket from David Lam Designs again, this time teamed with a pink curly felt from Flovelies and one of my favourite backdrops from Divine Miss Ruby Designs. I think these three vendors are the holy trinity of props - they all compliment each other so well!

Some sleeping on blanket photos finished off the session and I am so in love with these ones too! Sometimes its the most simple things in the session that make your heart sing. A baby, a blanket, a pout. Heaven.

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www.brisbanenewbornphotography.com.au

Brisbane Family Photographer    |    Brisbane Newborn Photographer

Eden 6 days new - Brisbane Baby Photographer

6 day new Eden had a bit of a challenge as her big sister Francesca (Frankie - 14 months) was one of my favourite sessions from last year and has been one of my brand images since with her sweet gentle smile on a lot of my marketing materials.  

Francesca's newborn session 2015

But let me assure you, Eden brought her A game! 

Big sister Frankie took the lead at the start with all her adorable smiles! However she was running a bit low on supply after a while.  We got a gorgeous family photo then it was time for the sibling shots and although Eden was a total star, Frankie just wanted her bottle and a lie down. Which is fair enough when the room is toasty warm and there is a soft blanket you have been asked to lay down on.  She had a quick little cuddle with Eden and an adorable little kiss ..... and then she was done. 

But I was not deterred!  I had a backup plan - and it was quite sneaky. 

We had Frankie sit for some photos by a basket, then she set off for daycare while we finished the session with Eden. By the way, this is a great option for younger aged siblings as they can sometimes get weary or bored once their turn in front of the camera has finished.  Eden then had her turn in the basket and after I waved my magic photoshop wand across it all, ta-da! A gorgeous sibling photo! 

I got my photoshop skills out again for another special photo in the session, my first ever hanging basket shot. This is done as two photos stitched together so that the baby is never in any danger of falling from the prop. First we positioned baby Eden into the soft blankets while the prop was safely on the floor, after the photo was taken we moved her to a safe spot on the beanbag while we took the photo of the prop hanging against the backdrop. I then merged the photos together in photo shop to create this stunning image that will compliment Eden's yellow and black bedroom perfectly! (This image is at the bottom of the post)

The session flowed so quickly we were done in the regular 3 hours - a major achievement with a 14 month old at a session - and there are so many gorgeous photos of these girls and their parents I was just buzzing as I loaded their photos into the computer and backed them up. 

   

Image Shoutouts:

Hanging Basket- David Lam Designs    Curly Felt -Flovelies  Backdrop - Divine Miss Ruby Designs

  

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www.brisbanenewbornphotography.com.au

Newborn Photographer Brisbane   |    Family Photographer Brisbane

Bump to Baby - Brisbane Newborn Photographer

Expecting your first child can be an emotional rollercoaster. Some days you are elated at your baby bump and feeling those little fluttery kicks, then other days you are just tired and achey. 

I always found that taking some time to focus on you before baby arrives helps to get through the last few weeks. Get a manicure, have your hair done, a pregnancy massage is ah-may-zing. And a photoshoot celebrating you and your beautiful maternal shape is also a massive mood lifter.

These beautiful parents knew they were having a little girl and were pretty sure they were going to name her Willow so it was just perfect that our maternity session at the Mt Coot-Tha Botanic Gardens ended up based around all the Willow trees. 

For expectant families, the Maternity package is a great option as it includes 2 sessions, loads of photos, an album, a mobile app, a digital birth announcement card all at a great discounted rate. Find out more on my website here.

Maternity Package bookings are so exciting for me too because it means I get to meet the expectant parents a few weeks before meeting their new baby. We get to know each other over the hour or so that we photograph the maternity session and then when they return for their newborn session I feel like I am greeting friends after they have welcomed their baby, which adds to my own excitement about their newborn photo shoot.

This was the case when I met Willow at just 6 days new. She was such a little poppet with her beautiful soft cheeks and little nose. She was a little excited about our session too as she kept herself awake much longer than we thought she would - she had such a full tummy and the heat and the white noise eventually became too much and she drifted off into a deep sleep while we captured the majority of her stunning images.

As much as Willow enjoyed the 30 degree heat, her poor Dad didnt cope so well  (I find a lot of Dads would agree with this!) but between cold water and breaks out of the room we got there in the end without too much discomfort.

Willow's Mum shared a new freebie with me that I thought was really cool - a white noise app with a half hour womb soundtrack, as well as other options of white noise.  You can check it out in the apple store here.

I had so much fun working with some new props I recently purchased such as the pink lace blanket and the stunning vine basket from David Lam Designs (you can find him on Facebook here). It is always a challenge working with new things but also a lot of fun creating new images for the first time.

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www.brisbanenewbornphotography.com.au

Newborn Photographer Brisbane   |   Family Photographer Brisbane