My friend Neil Smith of Neil Smith Illustration, has designed me a logo, which I absolutely love. I wanted it to be soft and gentle, to reflect the work I do as a newborn photographer in Andover. I love the use of sweet peas, one of my fave flowers, and the beautiful script he has chosen. Neil is based in Salisbury and you can find out more about his skills at http://www.neilsmithillustration.co.uk
Thank you Neil!
This week I have been driving around my local area putting up posters and distributing flyers to local toddler groups, to advertise my newborn photography in Andover area. I thought it might be useful to provide a list here! If I have made any errors or if you know of any I have missed, please get in touch via my contact page.
~ Longparish Baby and Toddler Group, Mondays 09:00-11:30, £1 per adult & 50p per child, Longparish community hall, Longparish, Andover, Hampshire, SP11 6PB
~ Rhymetime at Andover Library, Chantry Centre , Andover, SP10 1LT. Every Monday at 2pm and Friday at 11am.
~ ABC Toddler Group - Andover, The Baptist Church, Andover, SP10 3JH, Tuesdays: 10:00-11:30.
~ Tots on Tuesday, Salvation Army Hall, Andover, SP10 2EA. £1 per family. 10:00 - 11.30.
~ Picket twenty baby and toddler group, Picket Twenty Community Centre, Picket Twenty Way, Andover, Hampshire, SP11 6TY, Tuesdays 1000- 1130 ,
~ Little Angels in Andover, St Pauls Church Centre, Smannell Road, Andover, SP11 6JP, Tuesdays 1:00-2:30.
~ Coffee Pot Morning, Long Meadow Centre, Andover, SP10 5DE, Wednesdays 10-11.30am, £1 per adult and two children 25p for each additional child.
~ Little Explorers Parent and Toddler Group, Elim Church, South Street, Andover, Hampshire SP10 2BW, Wednesdays 1:00 to 2:30. Costs £1.50 per family.
~ Tea and Tots, All Hallows Church Hall, Church Street, Whitchurch, Hamsphire, RG28 7AS. Thursdays 9:30-11:30.
~ St Mary Bourne Parent and Toddler Group, St Marybourne Village Hall, Bourne Meadow, Andover, SP11 6BE, Thursdays during term time from 10:00 till 11:30.
~ Friday friends Andover, Bridge Street, Andover, SP10 1BL. Fridays 10:00-11:30. £1 per family to include biscuit & drinks.
~ Kimpton Stay and Play, Fridays 09:15-10:30, Kimpton Primary School, Kimpton, Andover, Hampshire, SP11 8NT.
~ Tots Club - Andover, St Michael's Hall, Colebrook Way, Andover, SP10 3BB, Fridays 10-11.30am
~ Upper Clatford Parent and Toddler Group, King Edward VII Memorial Hall, Village Street, Upper Clatford, SP11 7QL, Fridays 10:00 to 11:30.
~ Rhymetime at Andover Library, Chantry Centre , Andover, SP10 1LT, Every Monday at 2pm and Friday at 11am.
The diary of a newborn and baby photographer is a complicated place. Nobody told your baby that they are expected to turn up for their portrait session and while some can’t wait to get here, some are fashionably late. This makes my diary a wonderfully fluid place.
The ideal time to have a newborn photography session is when your baby is around 8-10 days old, before they lose that special newborn look, although I can take photos of your baby at any age.
Book your session with me for approximately 10 days after your due date. Once your baby arrives and you have settled back in at home just email or ring me and we can then con rm the best date and time for your session. I’ll ask you to compete a booking form and model release form.
Portrait sessions will usually take place in my relaxed home studio, in Anna Valley, nr Andover. The space
is designed to be warm and comfortable. The room temperature will be set to around 21oC and a small heater is used to heat the area where baby will be lying to 28oC, so baby does not get cold when posed. I want you and your baby to feel relaxed and comfortable so you will be able to feed on demand and change baby as needed. I provide tea, coffee and biscuits to help keep energy levels up and play white noise or relaxing music to help soothe baby.
Your newborn portrait session can take up to 3 hours and the reason for this is your newborn will need feeding, cuddles and cleaning throughout the session which is baby led rather than photographer led.
Please try to feed your baby soon before the session begins, so that baby is sleeping for as long as possible during the session. This is when most of the posed photographs will be taken. I will of course also take photos of baby awake, but it is near impossible to position baby in certain poses when they are awake.
If it is not possible for you to come to my studio, I can come to you, although this costs a little bit more as it will extend the length of the photo shoot, as I need to set up and then pack away all of my equipment.
So that I can capture your baby perfectly while they are still so brand new, for most of the session your baby will be in just their nappy or their birthday suit. I provide a number of wraps and props wraps in a range of colours that you can choose from. Newborn clothes never t correctly so we don’t get to see all those beautiful details that say ‘hey I’m brand new!’ Come to the session with your baby dressed in layers which are easy to take off without going over baby’s head, as we may be undressing baby asleep and do not want to wake them up as some of the shots will be of baby asleep.
One of the downsides of photographing baby undressed is that your baby is guaranteed to poop and/or pee on props, blankets, perhaps even me or you! This is just par for the course, something I’m used to dealing with and something I allow for. I have 2 children of my own after all! All of my blankets and props are washed after each session in an eco non-biological detergent for sensitive skin. My okati rug is steam cleaned before and after each session. I have plenty of cloths, wipes, towels and sanitiser to hand. All of my blankets, props etc are stored in an airtight box to keep them away from our pet cats, who will be hiding or sleeping upstairs during our session. You might want to pop a change of clothes for yourself into your changing bag, just in case the worse happens!
You may have some particularly special items of clothing or toys that you would like to be included in the photos. Please remember to bring these along to the session and I will be sure to include some shots of these special items for you.
Please wear plain (ideally black or white) clothing to the session yourself, as patterns and contrasting colours can be distracting in the nal image. Other family members/ friends being photographed should also wear plain coloured clothing.
It might surprise you to know that the newborn photography industry is completely unregulated. Photographers like me, who take safety seriously, have to take it upon ourselves to be trained and educated on how to ensure the beautiful images we create, are done safely. I am a member of the Baby and Newborn Photography Association (www.banpasforparents.co.uk) where I am able to undertake regular training and keep up to date with best practice in photographing newborns. I would be very happy to talk to you about this. I will ask you to be hands on, to help with positioning and to keep a constant eye on baby to ensure they are safe and comfortable at all times.
Following the session, I will professionally edit the images, which I do using Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. I will provide a set of around 30 images for you to choose from, which will be securely displayed on my website for only you to access, using a password, for a period of 2 weeks. Once you have chosen which images you would like, I will supply these to you in your chosen format.
I hope this answers many of your questions. If you would like to discuss your session please get in touch via my contact page.
Helen x
As a newborn and baby photographer, I have to take the safety of my little clients very seriously.
It might surprise you to know that the newborn photography industry is completely unregulated. Photographers like me, who take safety seriously, have to take it upon ourselves to be trained and educated on how to ensure the beautiful images we create, are done safely. For example when you see a beautiful image like the one below, you may be forgiven for thinking that the baby here was held balancing in the air, but actually I created this image with the baby lying on its side on a warm, safe surface.
Being a newborn and baby photographer requires a unique set of skills and there is a worldwide organisation that exists to support photographers like me, who want to have access to safety training and resources that we can use to provide clients like you with a better service.
I’m delighted to have joined BANPAS (Baby & Newborn Photography Association) and you will be able to find me on their directory of photographers. They also have a fabulous facebook page for pregnant and new parents here
I’d be delighted to chat to you about how I can create a beautiful gallery of images for your newborn and very happy to chat to you about how I do that safely. Please contact me for booking and availability information.
Email: h.e.jones@mac.com
Mobile: 07941 873088
