Newborn and Family Portrait in North London
I first met Elsa for a newborn photo shoot at the family home in North London when she was only a week old. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to visit the family twice more; for a brilliant photo shoot out at the park, a day to remember with Elsa and her parents when the family was still only three. Then, recently, I was so thrilled to go back again to meet baby Freddie and take his newborn portraits, pictures to document his early days and the excitement of his arrival into the family.
We had just as brilliant a morning; after a cup of coffee and a brief race around the kitchen on a tricycle designed for a two year old (I’m always one to enjoy a game even if my knees did cry in protest) I was ready to get to work and, knowing we it was going to rain later in the morning we started outside in the garden for some group shots and also to give Elsa a chance to calm down after our tricycle race and let off some steam. Working with toddlers and newborns is always great fun but always a challenge and I feel it’s so important to make sure the session is fun for the older child as it’s an extraordinary time for them with mammoth changes, all good but all taking a bit of getting used to.
Elsa was so excited to introduce me to her baby brother and insisted that I carried him and sat with her in her den behind the ‘monster barrier’ (necessary to keep her breakfast cheerios safe from any passing monsters) I knew the day was going to go well and it did, group shots outdoors and then a wonderful morning of indoor pictures, shots of the children individually and together, pictures of Freddie that record all the little details, his tiny toes, his delicate eyelashes, the details that will be so lovely to look back on when, even in a few weeks time, he will have grown so much.
Today’s just one is a picture that I took right at the end of the session and is a picture that harks back to one taken on Elsa’s North London newborn photography session. While I always approach each session as a new session, not repeating images from one to the next, it can be fun to carry an idea forward over the years, to see how the family grows and changes within the environment and how that early newborn peace and tranquility evolves to a wonderful and boisterous chaos, full of laughter and noise. I love this shot as it tells a story of how things are now with tiny Baby Freddie so calm and snuggly in his mother’s arms and Elsa, full of laughter and happiness ruling the roost and making sure Freddie learns how to sleep through a bit of noise.
It’s a picture that reminds us of the time that has passed and makes us curious as to the future, next time I visit it will probably be both children on their feet, laughing and shouting, full of fun and excitement as I take their photographs.
It was a brilliant day and there are so many lovely photographs that I will share soon. In the meantime, I hope you like today’s Just One from my recent newborn baby and family session in North London.
