The last few months have been a struggle for everyone but it must have been particularly hard on anyone who’s had a baby in these strange times. It makes me so sad to think that families have missed out on such significant moments; the first cuddles with grandparents, the introduction to the wider families. Whilst listening to the radio, I ended up in floods of tears listening to a new father recount how he had to wait in the car park of the maternity unit not able to be in the room when his baby was born. I can’t believe how hard that must have been for everyone.
Yet, I’ve also been amazed at people’s ingenuity during this pandemic and there are now so many ways people can carry on doing the things they love online (Who hasn’t done Joe Wicks at least once in the morning? Closer to home we’ve had bedtime stories with grandparents over Skype which has been a wonderful, and slightly heartbreaking thing). However, a newborn baby photoshoot just isn’t really feasible via a Zoom call. That doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on a baby photoshoot all together though.
Whilst it’s lovely to get photographs of the youngest days of your baby, lifestyle’ shoots don’t depend on the baby being a matter of days old. Some of the advantages of waiting a little bit are that the baby is then more interactive and smiley, they are more resilient and you have (hopefully) managed to gather your thoughts a bit.
Of course, at the moment, social distancing guidelines mean that it’s not possible to ask a photographer into your home to take any pictures, even without the need to ‘pose’ the baby as would be required for posed newborn images. However, as the lockdown measures loosen and the weather warms up, there is scope for outdoor photoshoots with newborn babies. A beautiful blanket under the shade of a tree will work just as well as a bed, and cuddles with Mummy and Daddy are cuddles with Mummy and Daddy where ever they take place.
As a lifestyle portrait photographer, I always take a bit of a back seat anyway so I can capture the natural interactions between people. Therefore social distancing measures don’t hamper my ability to work. The health and wellbeing of my clients and my family will always be front and centre of my thoughts. I will predominantly use my long lens which means I can stay an appropriate distance away but still capture the little details that we all love so much about babies.
Outdoor light gives a beautiful natural quality to baby photographs
There’s a general assumption that baby photoshoots have to be in the earliest days of a child’s life but that doesn’t need to be the case. If those days have already gone in a fog of lockdown (or new parenthood) then why not think about a ‘milestone’ instead – 6 months or 9 months perhaps? Or maybe, just because they are now smiling, or sitting up; or just because they are gorgeous and chubby and you need to capture the moment before they are onto the next developmental stage?
Whatever stage they are now at, get in touch and we can have a chat about what you are looking for and see how we manage it in light of the current guidelines around social distancing and working safely. Just because your baby was born in these weird times, doesn’t mean you can’t have pictures to treasure. Maybe these historic times are all the more reason to get a photoshoot done?