There’s a particular kind of quiet in a house with a new baby in it. Not silence — there’s a three-year-old in this house, so silence was never on the cards — but a softness. Everyone moves a bit more slowly. Everyone talks a bit more gently. That’s the feeling I want to photograph, and it’s the reason I bring the session to you rather than asking you to bring your newborn to me.
This family in Havant had a full house on the day: mum, dad, a very busy older sister, and both grandparents. We spent an hour and a half together and photographed every combination that mattered to them, without anyone having to pack a bag, find parking, or work out a route with a two-week-old in the back seat.
Why an at-home newborn session made sense for this family in Havant
The honest answer is convenience, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Two weeks after a birth, leaving the house is a project. Feeds don’t run to a timetable. Nappies happen at the worst possible moment. Older siblings have their own opinions about being put in the car.
At home, none of that is a problem. If the baby needs feeding, we stop and feed. If big sister needs ten minutes with her toys before she wants anything to do with me, she gets ten minutes. Nothing is running late, because there’s nothing to be late for.
For the grandparents, it meant they could simply arrive, sit down on the sofa they already know, and be in the photographs without any of the self-consciousness that a strange room tends to bring out in people.
Helping an older sibling feel at ease
This is the part I care most about, and it’s the part that gets skipped most often.
A new baby is a genuinely big emotional event for an older child. Their whole world has rearranged itself in a fortnight. The attention has moved. The routine has moved. And then a photographer arrives with equipment and asks them to smile.
The questionnaire that made the difference
Before the session, mum and dad filled in a questionnaire I send to every family. It asks about the practical things — family members, space in the house — but the questions I lean on hardest are about the older children.
What are her favourite toys? What does she like doing? Does she warm to new people quickly, or does she need time?
For this session the answers told me two useful things. First, that she had a giraffe and a bright red bird she was attached to. Second, that she takes a little while to warm up to someone new, and pushing would be counterproductive.
Letting her set the pace
So I didn’t push. I said hello, and then I got on with photographing the baby and let her watch from a distance. Knowing about the toys meant I had something real to talk to her about when she did come closer — not a generic “hello, aren’t you a big girl now,” but an actual conversation about the giraffe.
By the time we photographed her with her new sibling, she wasn’t performing for a stranger. She was lying on the rug in her own living room, holding her giraffe, next to her baby brother. Some of my favourite frames from the whole session are of the two of them together, and of her curled up on her dad’s lap with that red bird.
She also had the run of the house between photographs, which is the underrated advantage of shooting at home. She could wander off, come back, get a drink, change her mind. Nothing about the day asked her to behave unusually.
Three generations in one afternoon
Grandparents in newborn photographs are worth far more than people expect at the time. Ten years on, those are often the frames families come back to.
We photographed the whole group together, then the grandparents with both grandchildren, then mum and dad with the baby, then each parent individually with the newborn, then the two siblings, then the baby on his own. All of it inside ninety minutes, all of it in one living room.
Professional lighting, at your kitchen table
I bring my own lighting to every home session, along with wraps, blankets, headbands and props. This matters more than it sounds.
Relying on whatever’s coming through the window means the results depend entirely on the weather, the time of day and which way your house faces. Bringing controlled professional lighting means a session at eight in the morning in November looks exactly as good as one in June, and means I can create images like the backlit black-and-white silhouettes from this session — soft, graphic, genuinely striking — in an ordinary Havant living room.
You get studio-quality results. You just don’t have to go to a studio to get them.
What the ninety minutes actually looks like
Nobody stands around while I set up. I arrive, we talk for a few minutes, and I work while your baby is settled — which usually means straight after a feed.
Newborns set the pace and always will. There’s time built in for feeding, for cuddles, for a nappy change, for resettling, and for the inevitable moment where everything is perfect and then it isn’t. With an older sibling in the mix, I plan for a longer session, which is why this one ran to the full hour and a half.
Your baby doesn’t need to be asleep the entire time. Several of my favourite images from this session are of a wide-awake newborn looking straight down the lens.
The preparation guide
Every family gets a preparation guide from me before the day. It’s short and it’s practical: what to wear, what to have ready, how warm to keep the room, when to plan the last feed, and how to think about older siblings. Nothing in it is difficult, and following it makes the session run more smoothly for everyone.
Booking a newborn session in Havant
I’ve been photographing families since 2006 and have 78 five-star Google reviews. Newborn sessions are a flat fee of £350 with a £100 retainer to secure your date — everything included, no packages to choose between and nothing added on afterwards.
I photograph newborns at home across Havant, Emsworth, Waterlooville, Chichester and the surrounding areas of Hampshire and West Sussex.
The best time to get in touch is during pregnancy, and I’ll usually aim for the first two to three weeks after birth. If your baby has already arrived, message me anyway — I’ll always try to fit you in.
Frequently asked questions
When should a newborn session at home take place?
Ideally within the first three weeks, when babies are sleepiest and curl most easily. Older newborns are still very photographable, so don’t rule it out if you’re past that window.
How long does a newborn session at home take?
Between one hour and an hour and a half, depending on feeding and how many older children are involved. Sessions with siblings tend to run to the longer end.
Do I need a big or tidy house?
No. I work in a space roughly the size of a sofa and a small area of floor, and I bring my own lighting, so a north-facing room or a dull day makes no difference. Most families are surprised by how little room I need.
What if my older child won’t cooperate?
That’s expected, not a problem. I don’t force children into photographs. I let them warm up, work around them, and photograph them doing what they’re doing. The questionnaire you fill in beforehand tells me what they like and how to approach them.
What should we wear?
Soft, plain colours in a similar tone across the family work best. My preparation guide covers this in more detail before the day.
Do you photograph grandparents too?
Yes, and I’d encourage it. Having grandparents present adds no extra cost and those images tend to become the most treasured ones.
CONTACT ME if you would like to discuss your newborn session at comfort of your home
