Some sessions come with a bit of history attached.
I photographed this couple’s engagement session first, then their wedding at East Horton Golf Club. And now, a little while on, I was standing in their living room in Bognor Regis photographing their first baby.
There’s something quietly lovely about being trusted with all three. You watch a couple move through the biggest moments of their life, and then one day you’re holding a light stand in their front room while they work out how to swaddle a two-week-old. It’s a privilege, and it makes for a very relaxed morning.
From an engagement session, to a wedding, to a first baby
If you’ve followed the same photographer through a few chapters, the session starts differently. Nobody needs warming up. Nobody’s wondering what I’m like to work with.
Their engagement session was the first time we worked together, which is exactly what those sessions are for — a low-stakes hour that makes the wedding day feel familiar rather than daunting. Then came their wedding at East Horton Golf Club.
By the time I arrived for the newborn session, we were three shoots into knowing each other. That shows in the photographs. The pictures of the two of them lying on the floor with their heads either side of their baby aren’t posed in any meaningful sense — they’re two people who’d forgotten I was there.
Why first-time parents choose an at-home newborn session
The first two weeks with a first baby are disorientating in a way nobody quite prepares you for. Feeds don’t follow a schedule. Sleep happens in strange fragments. Leaving the house feels like a military operation, and often it takes two attempts.
So I come to you.
For first-time parents specifically, an at-home session removes a whole layer of anxiety. There’s no worrying about whether the baby will scream in the car. No packing a bag with three changes of clothes and hoping you’ve remembered everything. No arriving somewhere unfamiliar already frazzled.
You open your front door, and that’s the hardest part of the day done.
What a newborn session at home looks like when there are no older siblings
Sessions with older children need extra time and a lot of flexibility. Without them, everything gets simpler and quieter.
The baby sets the pace, and nothing else does
We start when your baby is settled, which usually means straight after a feed. If they need feeding again halfway through, we stop. If they need a nappy change, resettling, or twenty minutes of being held upright, that’s fine — it’s built into how I work.
Newborn sessions run up to about an hour and a half, and without older siblings in the mix they tend to sit at the shorter end. This one was comfortable and unhurried and still covered everything.
Just the three of you
With no siblings to include, almost the entire session is about the new family unit. Mum with the baby. Dad with the baby. Both parents together. And then the baby on their own, wrapped, in a few different setups.
Some of my favourite frames from the session are the simplest — a hand cradling a swaddled baby, two parents leaning in from either side, a set of impossibly small feet emerging from a knitted wrap.
Professional lighting, brought to your living room
I bring my own lighting to every home session, along with wraps, blankets, bonnets and props.
This is the part that surprises people most. Relying on whatever’s coming through the window means your photographs depend entirely on the weather, the time of day, and which direction your house faces. A grey February morning in Bognor Regis is not a promising starting point.
Bringing controlled professional lighting means it doesn’t matter. It’s how the backlit black-and-white images from this session were made — clean, graphic, soft-edged silhouettes of two parents and their first baby, created in an ordinary West Sussex living room.
You get studio-quality results without going anywhere.
The details you stop noticing very quickly
Newborns change almost by the week. The wrinkled forehead, the dark head of hair that will fall out and grow back a different colour, the curled feet, the little half-smiles in sleep.
Parents always tell me afterwards that these are the photographs they didn’t know they wanted. You remember the big moments perfectly well. What goes is the specific, physical smallness of a two-week-old — and that’s the thing worth photographing while it exists.
Preparation, and the questionnaire
Before every session I send two things: a short questionnaire, and a preparation guide.
The questionnaire tells me the practical things I need to know — feeding, how the day tends to run, whether there’s anything specific you’d like photographed. The preparation guide covers what to wear, what to have ready, how warm to keep the room, and when to plan the last feed.
Neither takes long, and both make the session run more smoothly.
Booking a newborn photographer in Bognor Regis
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. That’s everything — no packages to choose between, no extras added afterwards.
I photograph newborns at home across Bognor Regis, Felpham, Aldwick, Middleton-on-Sea, Chichester, Arundel and the wider West Sussex and Hampshire area.
The best time to book is during pregnancy, and I usually aim for the first two to three weeks after birth. If your baby has already arrived, get in touch anyway — I’ll always try to fit you in.
Frequently asked questions
When is the best time for a newborn session?
The first three weeks, ideally. Babies are sleepiest then and curl most easily. Older newborns still photograph beautifully, so it’s worth asking even if you’re past that point.
How long does a newborn session take at home?
Up to an hour and a half. Without older siblings involved, most sessions come in comfortably under that.
Do I need a big house or a bright room?
No. I work in an area roughly the size of a sofa and a small patch of floor, and I bring my own lighting — so a dull day or a north-facing room makes no difference at all.
Does my baby need to be asleep?
It helps for the wrapped setups, but no. Awake newborns photograph wonderfully, and I work around whatever mood your baby is in on the day.
We’re first-time parents and have no idea what we’re doing. Is that a problem?
Not remotely. Most of my newborn clients are first-time parents. You don’t need to prepare anything beyond what’s in the guide I send, and I’ll direct everything on the day.
Do you photograph weddings too?
Yes — weddings, maternity and family sessions alongside newborns. Quite a few of my newborn clients are couples whose weddings I photographed years earlier.
Are you expecting a tiny human? GET IN TOUCH for more information
