Newborn Safety during a Photo Session

Newborn photographing is becoming more and more popular. The resultant photographs are so beautiful and dreamy that many photographers and people with cameras are launching themselves, untrained, into an area of photography that is not for the untrained! It is not something that is fun and just anyone can decide they would like to try.

A newborn is a person, a human being, not a doll. She has needs and feelings and needs to be handled with great care. Before you choose your newborn photographer please take note of these very important points.

1. Training, Training, Training and then some more Training!

I do not feel that anyone can become a newborn photographer overnight. In-depth training and hands on practice under the supervision of a qualified newborn photographer are vital to becoming an expert at newborn photography. 

Training doesn't just include the art of newborn photography but also learning all about safety of the baby, how to handle them, how to read their cues and what poses a newborn can and cannot safely do. 

 2. Weird Poses

There are many weird and wonderful poses on Pinterest and the internet. Several of them are what is called a composite. This is two photographs put together in Photoshop to make one. Keeping a baby propped up and secure is vitally important so two photographs are taken where the baby is being securely held but then are put together to look like one photograph where the baby is balancing on her own.

Once again, proper training will teach the photographer how to do these poses safely and how to create the resultant photograph.

3. Reading Baby's Cues

Newborns have very real needs and a photographer cannot just go from pose to pose without attending to their needs. Knowing what a baby needs when it needs it comes from having children of one's own and from learning the different cries babies have. If things are not going to plan the photographer needs to know how to handle the situation, what the baby needs and how to soothe it.

4. Safe Poses

Not all poses seen on Pinterest are safe. Some are just plain insane. 

Babies heads are heavy and they simply cannot hold them up. They need to be carefully positioned so they do not fall and injure their necks. They can also easily slump down putting pressure on their lungs and closing their airways. The pose may be the cutest you have ever seen but if it compromises the baby's ability to breathe for even one moment I will not even consider attempting it.

They also cannot tell us when the blood flow has been cut off to one of their limbs. Yes, babies can fold up in the most amazing way but knowing how to fold them is so important. It is very easy to cut off blood flow so knowing where limb is and checking regularly for no purple hands and feet is imperative.

5. Moving Baby into Position

Never, ever pull on a baby's limbs to get them into position. Gently move the baby using their own movement to help. If a baby cries once in a pose, shush them softly and gently rock them in the position. If they continue to cry pick them up out of the position. Try one more time. If they continue to cry, move on!!!

Babies have their favourite positions to lie in. Some babies simply do not like having their arms up, they like them tucked in. A trained photographer will quickly recognise this and work around it. There are simply dozens of possible poses so if baby does not like one then try another.

6. Never Leave Baby Unattended

Newborns have what is called the moro reflex. They startle quite easily and kick out with their legs and arms. They can quite easily and completely unexpectedly kick themselves out of a prop or topple over if the prop is not weighted down. So never leave the baby without someone watching her and no more than an arms lengths away.

7. Never try poses at home

I heard just this past week of more than one friend who tried a pose their newborn in a prop and it, with baby in it, toppled over. The newborns hit their heads and were injured. Is injuring the baby worth the photograph?

Please be careful and choose your photographer wisely.

What to Wear to a Spring Family Session

The birds are chirping, the buds are blooming, and winter is officially over. That means it’s time for your spring family session. Here are a few wardrobe tips to ensure the whole gang looks smashing.

Play up the face that it's Spring! Have a necklace with a butterfly pendant? Perfect! An insect printed tee? Yes, please. Let the little ones dress themselves. If they really put on a creation bring along a change of clothes and we'll make sure everyone looks great.

Channel the colours of Spring. Whenever I go shopping in Winter I walk away so disappointed. Somehow everyone thinks that one can only wear black, grey and brown in Winter. Why can we not wear colour in Winter? Anyway, it's Spring now so you have full permission to wear all the colours of the rainbow. Look out the window for inspiration for your family’s colour palette. Greens, pinks, yellows, beige, khaki, and blues all work exceptionally well.

Layer up! Spring can be both warm and cool at one, so come prepared. We love spring scarves, light cardigans and dresses wth boots.

CONTACT US to find out more or CLICK HERE to book your family photo session.

Let's get colourful!

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Why do we have this idea that we only want to take photographs of our young children? What about photographs of our adult children? Photographs are not just to remember what our children were like when they were small, they also capture the connections, the love, the shared moments, the special bonds between the members of our family no matter how old they are.

Just a few weeks ago my father-in-law was killed in a freak accident on his farm. The moment we were told we literally couldn't breathe. One of the first things we did together as an extended family was to search out the boxes of family photos, comb through Facebook and our phones for photos of him and us with him. And we realised something sad though. Yes we do have loads of photographs of him but not all of us together and we don't have photos of him with all his grandchildren. And most of the photographs are horrible, blurred, grainy and not printable at all.

Don't let that happen to you and your family. When something happens you will treasure those special moments captured on camera that you can print out, put on the wall and remember the good times together.

This beautiful lady contacted me a while ago and said she had never, ever had a family photo session and she thought it was time. She rounded up her clan and we headed out into the river for a truly awesome photo session. This family shares so much laughter and fun. They love each other deeply and it is very plain to see.

A true testament to any dad is when he teaches his boys how to treat a woman. This dad has got it right. His boys adore their mum and treat her with such respect and kindness. They never let her say a bad word about herself and constantly tell her she is great.

I hope you have a wonderful day and don't forget to love and appreciate those who make your life complete.

CONTACT US to find out more or CLICK HERE to book your family photo session.

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The number one tip to getting natural smiles

Kiddies are completely unpredictable, even the older ones that we expect to sit and smile sweetly. They can be so adorable and easy going and laughing uncontrollably one minute, and the next minute, turn that charm off completely. They will typically smile for you all day long until you put them in front of a camera, then they freeze up like a deer in headlights. We want to get the best smiles we can. Over the years I have learnt what gets those beautiful happy smiles and what most definitely does not. Here is my number one tip and it is not what you would expect.

Do not try to get your child's attention or tell them to smile (unless I ask you to)

Babies and young children are often overwhelmed when they walk into my studio space. It is large and full of all kinds of interesting things. I am also a complete stranger. So the best thing to do is to sit on the floor directly behind me and say nothing. I need a chance to build a rapport with your baby or young child and get those natural smiles where they look straight into the camera.

Picture this scenario:

You're a small kiddo and have just walked into a very big, completely new room. A lady with a big black camera is sitting facing you and pointing it at you. And then she is talking to you and making faces. But mom and dad are also frantically trying to get your attention. Mom is on one side of the room and dad is on the other. 

Then because you are just sitting there staring wide eyed at everyone Ouma and Oupa also start calling your name and trying to get your attention. Mom then starts clapping her hands above her head and dad starts promising ice cream. Where on earth do you look and is there any reason to smile? Everyone just looks crazy and making a heck of a noise!

This is the most common scenario I see and 100% of the time ends in wide eyed stares and eventually tears.

One of the first photographs of my session with this little man. He was still warming up to me and getting comfortable.

I need to get your beautiful baby or young child to smile for real at something I say or do. The calmer you are the better things will go. So taking a seat right behind me on the floor, keeping a smile on your face and not saying anything gives me the opportunity to connect with your little one and a much better chance of getting those amazing smiles and laughs.

Once he had warmed up and felt safe with me he was all smiles and happiness.

Here's to a great session!

The beauty of pregnancy

Every session is unique in its own way but some families just stand out. The Bacalhau Family is one such family for me. Izabelle was the epitome of the glowing pregnant lady. She was positively radiant and she didn't even realise it. She carried with such grace and poise and was so easy to photograph.

A few weeks later her little man arrived such much excitement. She woke around 2am with contractions and by 3:15am was in her room at the hospital with her son her in her arms. If only we could all deliver with such ease!

And of course the whole point of having professional photographs taken is to hang them on your walls where you can enjoy them every single day. Professional photography is a luxury so why spend all that money just to have a disc or USB lying in a drawer somewhere and never looked at?

You can choose from stretched canvas, print on wood, a mounted photograph or a box frame. And I have some new products in development that I hope to be releasing soon.

I hope you have a great week!

Tips for emotionally preparing your husband for your family session

For some of us, preparing our husbands for the family photo session is as exhausting as preparing the kids. If your husband is happy-go-lucky about photo day, that’s excellent. If you’re dealing with someone who’s reluctant, however, then here are some things you can do to help:

Some dads are worried that a crazy photographer is going to push them into some weird, uncomfortable pose and force them to smile. My aim is to capture real emotions and not forced ones so being weird with Dad is not going to help. Respecting him as the head of his home goes a long way to getting him to relax and enjoy himself.

Especially if this is your first session together with the family now that the kids are mobile, let him know how the session will go and discuss your expectations. Also, if you have to bribe the kids, communicate this with him so he can help remind them of the bribery.

Warn him that the kids will probably be crazy or freak out and that he should prepare himself for that. It's ok if they don't do what you want. I know how to handle like ones when they don't do what we want. Let your hubby know he can relax and I'll take care of it.

Let him know that the more helpful he is in getting himself and the kids ready, the less stressed you will be and the less chance of an argument between you arising.

Remind him that the session is only an hour or so and then it will all be over. This way, he sees a light at the end of the tunnel and can stick it out.

If your husband is being difficult, bribe him to cooperate during the session as well. If it works for the kiddos, it may very well work for him!

And most importantly - remind him that you love him (and that he loves you, and that’s why he’s cooperating with this). Tell him how much you appreciate his support and cooperation in this, and how pleased you are all going to be with the finished photos.

I hope you have a great day!