From April onwards, Heartstory will have a specialist newborn photographer as part of the team, and we are so excited!
These photos are of our darling baby August at 8 days old, captured in the studio by Jodi. Jodi comes to Heartstory AIPP accredited with 9 years of experience photographing newborn babies. She is a mum of 5, and dedicated to creating beautifully styled photos where your baby is the superstar.
With Jodi on the team, we can now offer something totally unique that no other Canberra studio is offering… newborn sessions that combine artfully posed newborn images together with relaxed lifestyle family portraits.
Please enjoy this peek into what to expect if you book a Heartstory newborn session with Jodi, and read on for more information.
You will still have a choice when you book a newborn session with us.
What to expect: Designer lifestyle newborn sessions with Jodi
- Sessions are available on weekends at the Heartstory studio in Belconnen. You need to allow 2-3 hours for your session, bearing in mind that the majority of this time is spent posing baby on their own. Mums and Dads are encouraged to use the time to chill out in our beautiful space, and even have a nap on the couch if you like!
- If older siblings are involved, it’s a good idea to arrange for them to come along towards the end of the session once the solo baby portraits are finished. Luckily for us, we are right near one of the coolest little kid playgrounds in town – the Belconnen Markets mushroom – so you even have the option of one parent doing a bit of shopping and playtime while the other hangs out at the studio.
- Jodi will take control of the baby handling. Posing newborn babies requires oodles of patience because they need to be super relaxed and asleep and not distracted by mum’s smell or Dad’s voice! Mums should be prepared for a couple of extra breast or bottle feeds while bub is being photographed to keep him/her super relaxed and content. It’s also a good idea to bring a dummy if you use one, as it helps in settling your baby into the props and snuggly positions.Ā
- After the solo portraits are done, Jodi will adopt a more relaxed approach to photographing the family, incorporating the typical Heartstory style of capturing emotive images of baby with each family member as well as a couple of variations of the whole family together. This means you get the best of both worlds in your portrait collection!
- Babies should be under 2 weeks old for this style of session, with the ideal age being 5-10 days. Older newborn babies are more wakeful and can also be a bit more irritable and unsettled which makes this kind of session much harder. Also they commonly develop hormonal rashes around the 2 week mark. Of course with a new baby, it doesn’t always happen in the perfect timeframe, so rest assured we can still accommodate you.
What to expect: lifestyle newborn sessions with Katie or Jeremy
- Sessions are available on weekdays only at the Heartstory studio in Belconnen. You only need to allow 60-90 minutes for your session, just like our regular portrait sessions.
- The focus is on natural images with minimal posing. Ā We’re not really fussed on whether baby is awake or asleep, and we handle baby minimally (leaving most of the snuggles to you so we can photograph moments as they unfold).
- We include classic ‘looking at the camera’ photos as well as emotive moments of bub with each family member and the whole family together. We often include close up details of your baby’s adorable feet and hands and other squishy bits, and some black and white candid images.
- Ideally babies should be under 2 weeks old, for the reasons stated above, but due to the nature of lifestyle photography, we are happy for babies to be up to 6 weeks. Just bear in mind that the older the are, the more likely they are to be awake.
Both session types will yield a collection of 40-60 photos to choose from,Ā and an in-person purchasing appointment a couple of weeks after your session. This appointment will also take place at our studio, and is your opportunity to see your photos for the first time, design an album or some beautiful wall art and place your order.
