One of the things that I was determined to do when our second baby came along was a newborn photo shoot. We didn’t do one with Max, and although I treasure the photos from those early days, with my love of photography, I wish we’d managed to arrange a professional to visit us to capture something more special than the sleep deprived shots we took ourselves.

I didn’t just want a styled photoshoot of our newborn though, I wanted photos of all of us, as a new family. I did wonder whether I was slightly mad to invite a photographer into our home, only a week after giving birth. I’d still probably look about 5 months pregnant, the sleep deprivation would show on all of our faces, and our house would be a tip. But despite those worries, I knew that it was a time that I wanted to capture and to be able to look back on those memories and smile.

I discovered Lisa at And Then She Clicked through The Littles List at Rock My Family and straight away I absolutely loved her photography style. Her newborn shoots were far more lifestyle focused than the traditional newborn shoots I’d been coming across, and her ability to capture the most intense emotion on camera just blew me away. Her gallery wasn’t just photos; it was emotions and memories right there on screen. I was absolutely delighted when I looked her up and realised that she was located close to me and as soon as I showed her photos to my husband he agreed that we should book.

 

 

Arranging a date for a photoshoot when you don’t quite know when a baby is going to arrive is always going to be tricky! We put two dates in the diary with Lisa, one for the weekend after my due date, and another for two weeks past my due date. Between 7-10 days old is supposed to be the best age for getting those gorgeous sleepy curled up shots of your baby, so I wanted the date to fall in that window. As it happened, that was perfect timing for us, as our little Ben arrived just two days before his official due date.

 

 

I loved how reassuring Lisa’s pre-shoot information was. That period in your life when you’ve just come home from hospital with your brand new baby is the most vulnerable and insecure I’ve ever felt. I didn’t know my body, my life was turned upside down. Full of love, and brimming with happiness, but full of insecurity underneath it. It was clear that Lisa completely understood the insecurities of post-partum women, and she stressed that she would do everything possible to make you look your best. That there was no need to have an immaculate house, that anything that needed to be moved could be moved.

 

 

I think whenever you book a photographer, you worry that they won’t manage to capture for you what it is that you’ve admired about their portfolio. You worry that you’ll pull funny faces, or your child won’t co-operate, or just that you’ll look at the final photos and be too focused on your double chin to love them.

But I needn’t have worried for a minute. I couldn’t be more in love with the stunning photos Lisa captured of us all - they’re the perfect record of such a special time in our lives. Every time I look at them they make me smile, and I’m filled up with the hazy memories of those early days as a brand new family of four. Lisa even managed to capture the one photo I said I really wanted, but wasn’t sure if she would be able to snap - a beautiful shot of Max and Ben together, a moment so fleeting that I was sure it wouldn’t have made the final cut.

 

 

If you’re expecting a baby, I can’t recommend a shoot like this enough - whatever your insecurities, make sure that you’re there in the record of your family life, and capture the memories that you’ll always want to look back on.

 

 

Photos all by And Then She Clicked