Newborn Photography on Hampstead Heath

I first met Lauren back in 2014 when I photographed her son Ethan, a shoot that resulted in one of my favorite baby pictures of all time. So I was thrilled when we booked in a second shoot to welcome her new baby to the world. We spent a wonderful morning together at her beautiful home and then out on Hampstead Heath taking newborn baby and family photographs. It was such fun.

While we did most of the session indoors it was so lovely to head out to Hampstead Heath for the end of the morning, it’s such a special place for the family and I love taking newborn photographs outdoors. I love the feeling of interconnectedness with a tiny newborn and all the majesty of nature.

This picture is about the relationship of all living things, about shapes and form, about light and texture and about the incredibly love of a mother for her new baby. I love the shape of the tree and the wonderful textures of the branches and the leaves as they wrap around Lauren and her tiny daughter Cora, as if the tree itself is holding them in a giant tender embrace. The subtle backlighting creates lovely light and shade and brings out all the details of the textures of this fabulous tree.

I love how the shape of the tree is echoed in Lauren’s arms holding Cora so tenderly and I’m thrilled with the light on her face as she looks down with an expression of pure love.

Images like this really speak to me as a photographer. A quiet moment in a place that is so special to the family – Hampstead Heath – the regular haunt for walking the dog, taking Ethan to ride his bike, family excursions past, present, and future. It’s a place that all the family will always remember. Over the years this tree will likely become a pirate ship, a fairy castle, any number of imaginative scenarios. It may be a picnic bench and, as the children get older a place to sit with their friends after school, to swap stories and tell jokes, places like this are so special in our family histories and so it’s lovely to include them in family photographs.

I do hope you like this picture, today’s Just One, from my recent newborn and family photography session in Hampstead. If you are interested in booking your own session then do get in touch, I’d love to hear from you.