newborn & family session at home in Hayle, Cornwall

It was a gorgeous and sunny Spring morning when I drove through this beautiful bit of Cornish countryside to find the family farm just outside Hayle. The sky was blue, flowers were bursting out all over the hedges (I love this time of year - bluebells, wild garlic, etc).

I was there to capture some memories for Carolyn & James - they’d just had their second baby girl, and because of lockdown this was not something they were able to do with their firstborn. This was our chance to document life whilst in the newborn bubble, at home where the memories are made.

I arrived just as Carolyn was feeding Izzy, so I let James give me a tour of the house to see decide where we’d be able to shoot the session.

It was a stunning old farmhouse, with lots of spaces that would be been lovely, but I settled in the spare room which had the plainest wall (once a few things had been moved around).

Mollie (their one year old) was being kept company by her grandmother for the beginning, so while we get things set up it was nice to chat and get to know James a bit. Carolyn brought Izzy upstairs and I popped her on the bed fast asleep for a few warm up shots.

I decided to get her undressed and wrapped up, and thought we could start off with James, Mollie & baby on the bed, but it ended up being a bit bouncy, which unsettled her a bit so she had a top up feed while James read a story to Mollie instead.

I took some photos by the window while Carolyn soothed and settled Izzy, and invited James & Mollie in for a natural-style family shot.

Mollie (being 1!) wasn’t overly keen on any of this, although she managed to hold still for a couple of moments, I wasn’t able to persuade her to stay still with Mollie for a photo. Still, we got beautiful family photos and I took as many photos of Mollie as I could, even if not with her new baby sister.

Izzy was still not very settled so it was more feeding on the bed, and then I asked James to hold Izzy near the window on a yellow velvet stool that caught my eye. Carolyn & Mollie joined in at the end, and I suggested we take a photo of Izzy in her moses basket which I’d spotted downstairs, as well as a beautiful handknitted blanket which turned out to be a bit of a family heirloom so I really wanted to incorporate that.

We stopped on the way to see Mollie’s room and then ended up in the main bedroom doing some more feeding & soothing. Although I got some beautiful shots in-between, Izzy just wasn’t settling, and after a while we decided to call it a day.

But I did manage to get one photo of her in her moses basket!

It was a really gorgeous session, despite an unsettled baby & unwilling toddler, and after seeing a sneak peek on Instagram, Carolyn messaged me to say ‘I’m genuinely amazed how good that family photo is, how you ever got anything of our ‘independent’ toddler is impressive!. Also loved the one of Izzy in James’s hands so natural and beautiful!’.

I love how much magic it’s possible to capture in any session, and how surprised parents always are - I think they don’t realise often how many gorgeous moments there are that only take a split second to capture. No toddler or baby is ever behaving perfectly for me to get good photos - all I do is capture them as they are, and it’s incredible to see what comes out of even the most chaotic session.

To book or enquire about a home or studio newborn session with me, get in touch - I’d love to learn more.