Did that headline grab your attention?Other than advice from my own experience, all I can personally say is what works for you, may not work for others. As we are all aware, everyone, even babies... are different and no two are the same, well, unless you are a twin? SO HOW DO I GET A BABY TO SLEEP DURING A NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION? 99% of the time, I have a baby into a nice deep sleep within 10-20 minutes after their feed and wind and I believe the trick to this is mainly by staying relaxed with the baby and helping them fall into that nice deep sleep. Tricks I use ALL the time is white noise. YES! White noise, now I know a lot of my clients use this already, but I do get the odd client wow'ed by it and insist " We are using that tonight". I have my white noise playing on my Alexa in the studio from babies arrival, until they have left. HEAT! Not direct heat, but because your baby is going to stripped down to nothing, to keep them happy it's best to have a nice warm studio for them, however it does make us fully clothed adults feel a little stuffy sometimes. SWADDLES! I swaddle as a last resort these days, as said above, no two babies are the same and not all sink into that deep sleep well enough for photographs, so sometimes I swaddles and get the baby nice and content that way. (See photo above!) Still makes for great portraits tho! UPON ARRIVAL, IT WILL GO A BIT LIKE THIS... -WHITE NOISE ON!! - Strip baby down to nappy - Feed, feed, feed baby. A newborn trainer taught me this trick and my gosh, it has worked a trick since! Feed them, so they are milky drunk. The fuller and more content they are, the better the session will go. - After baby has been fed, I will then take them from you and sit them up right ready for their first photography, usually at this stage, the heater is on full and sometimes a dummy will be given if needed, but not always. - Sometimes, a little stroke on the forhead and a little rock on my chair. THEN SLEEP! How I check that the baby is in a good sleep is by picking up their arm, if they pull it back and are tense, baby is not ready for portraits, however, if the arm is loose and floppy, your baby is in a deep enough sleep to continue. Those little tricks work wonders for photography newborn sessions.
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We had a newborn photoshoot in January 2023 and Samantha was amazing. So friendly and made us feel comfortable in her studio. She explained everything thoroughly and was very patient and calm, taking her time to make sure our baby was settled and content throughout the whole shoot. The photos were incredible, I even cried 3 times at some of the shots she was getting! Samantha was also extremely quick at getting the proof pictures over to us and super quick getting the final edits back to us. I would 100% recommend Samantha to anyone wanting a relaxed but professional newborn shoot! Thanks again ☺️ xxxx January started off with lots of newborns and although I can't share all of them, I thought today was a good idea to post a little insight into this gorgeous little mans newborn photography session here at my studio " Samantha Jade Photography " Just over a week ago he visited with his lovely mummy and daddy for a newborn portrait session and boy he did good. This little mans parents had booked months in advance a provisional date but due to little man arriving a little early, we kept that date for his session. Mummy and Daddy wanted the session to be filled with whites, creams, you know, my favourite neutral tones <3
" I took our 9 week old son Elijah to see Sammy for a newborn shoot and I couldn’t recommend her enough. She was so kind and yet so professional. She was amazing when we had some tears mid shoot and managed to rock him gently to sleep so we could finish off. Sammy got some amazing smiles out of our little man (especially seen as he has a notorious frown!) which made it very difficult to choose our final shots. She sent the proofs through so quickly too!! I will be recommending my friends and family to get themselves down there, you honestly won’t regret it. I am already looking to book in our next shoot - cake smash for his first birthday for sure!! Thanks again Sammy you’re absolutely amazing x " I really enjoyed having this little man and his mummy in the studio last month for his newborn session. He was 9 weeks old at the time and he was a little gem. His session consisted of cheeky smiles, little frowns and a little snoozy.
My Top TipsThis is my basic guide for those who are unsure on what to wear for their upcoming photoshoot. Whether the photoshoot be a family session, Newborn session, location or a Christmas mini you want to look your best in these photographs, but that doesn't mean you have to wear something that's uncomfortable and doesn't feel right for you. This is simply just a basic guide.
First of all, wear what you feel comfortable in, what makes you feel good about yourself and then in turn, that will make you feel more confident in front of the lens. Although, your items of clothing should also be carefully considered for the successfulness of your photography session. For example, you don't want your clothing to be a distraction. That means, avoiding heavily contrasted clothing items, and clothing pieces which large names, patterns or pictures on. This will distinguish your professional portraits from any ordinary, everyday photography. You want to avoid wearing bright and bold colours, subtle colours are less of a distraction and don't take attention away from the face. Sticking to pastels, lighter colours and neutral tones as these enhance your natural skin tones. Whites are my favourite, but this does depend on each individual as white can wash you out depending on your skin tone. Dark colours are perfect for slimming, such as black and navy is also another gorgeous choice. Choosing a darker colour also helps focus more on your face. For your images to look timeless in years to come, follow my top tips above. PINTREST is your friend. You can search on Pinterest for inspiration but also search what colour palette suit you and your family. SOCKS! Don't panic about matching your socks on the way out the house, I always ask clients to remove their footwear and socks during portraits. Don't worry, they won't be close ups of your feet and usually feet are positioned away from the camera. IN SHORT: 1 - Be comfortable (don't buy or wear something you wouldn't normally) 2 - Choose a colour palette for yourself and work your family around this. 3 - Avoid wearing patterned, logo and printed clothing 4 - Loose the socks! Don't worry about footwear as this is a bare foot studio! Holy Trinity Church is in the centre of Leven village and a gorgeous little church with plenty of space to park, grounds and a lovely setting...
Alison and Andrew booked a micro package the end of last year for me to capture their wedding day after being recommended by friends and seeing my work online. Unfortunately this was the first wedding in 10 years I have had to get cover for as my youngest son became ill the evening before and with my husband away on a trip, I was stuck. Luckily for me, it was easy to find cover as Andrea from Hello Photography was available and was on stand by in case my son wasn't any better by the morning. Andrea is an exaptational photographer so I knew she would be perfect for my couple. You may of seen mine and Andreas names pop up together a few times as we do second shoot for one another when needed and I have also covered a wedding for her to during the pandemic. Myself and Andrea's work are very similar shooting wise, however we both edit differently. I can't blog about the wedding the way I can with some as I wasn't there, but Andrea has sent me over the images and I have added my special Samantha Jade Photography editing style to them. I think Andrea has done a fantastic job as usual and I really apricate you helping me. Andrew and Alison, thank you both for being so understanding. I hope your wedding day was everything you imagined and more. From the photos, you both looked stunning! Big congratulations to you both!! A couple of weeks ago, Oliver came to visit me for the 3rd time for his 1st birthday cake smash and splash and to tell you the truth, I am shocked Dad didn't bring in Winston the dog!! (Winston is the cutest, little dachshund and is just as much a child as Oliver). You may have seen little Winston over on my Instagram or Facebook page during Christmas 2021 when Oliver came for his Christmas Mini session. Anyways...
Oliver's gallery is full of cheekiness which shines through these images, I feel like I have really captured his little personality with these, considering the little fella wasn't really digging his cake smash session. Neither the less, these are gorgeous!! I have said this many times, but Walker Gate House is one of my favourite registry offices to photograph in. Tastefully decorated with large windows the room gives a nice light and airy feel to it. Another thing I love about weddings at The Walker Gate House is that couples tend to stay away from tradition and go off after to do something a little different, like a tipi in a family members back garden with hog roasts, pizza vans or just a local take away delivery!
With this wedding of Codie & Johnny, the couple opted to have a casual hot buffet at The Potting Shed and no traditional seating which suited the fun loving couple perfectly, because they are both a little bit crazy... especially Codie. I can say that, because Codie, my best friend of over 15 years and also my second photographer at most weddings is most definitely the craziest person I have met and I know a formal meal just isn't her! Being able to photograph my best friends wedding and give her photographs to relive her special day, is special to me also... You know why? It's a gift that will last forever and passed down to their children, great children and maybe even great great children. Here are some photographs anyways of this gorgeous day over the Jubilee Weekend in June 2022. Dunedin Country House is one of my favourite venues to photograph at. The Georgian /Victorina house is is the perfect setting for your wedding due to it's very picturesque landscape and the light and airy, yet warm interior with creams and golds.
Rebecca and James actually married on the Queens Jubilee, certainly a date to remember, 2nd June 2022. With a very excited bridesmaid who was eager to see " Queeny " on the TV before her bestie said " I do ". Dressed to impressed and looking flawless thanks to Victoria Senior Rebecca looked gorgeous and James didn't look to bad himself. The day went smoothly, the weather was beautiful, and the venue was dressed and looked stunning! Thank you Rebecca and James for booking me to capture your wedding day, I am sorry James I had to stand you in front of the camera millions of times, I know you loved it really. |
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