North Shore | Relaxed family photos at home
Second time parents Heather and Geoff updated their family photos with newborn baby Thea.
We’d done newborn photos for our son Evan, so we wanted to capture a moment in time for Thea becoming a part of our family too. However, with Covid and life generally being a little more complicated with two kids, we did it a bit later on this time. But it worked out better with Thea being a little older at 16 weeks - we were really able to capture her personality and her place in the family, not just a sleepy newborn.
I noticed Elena's Little Manly Photography listed on a Google search for best newborn photographers and she really stood out. We have never been keen on the awkwardly formal posed photos or dressing up babies in outfits - I prefer natural family photos and Elena seemed to nail that for her other clients.
As soon as Elena arrived, she just submerged herself into our family - she quickly bonded with Evan and Thea and put us at ease. She was very clear about her tips to make a great photoshoot and I liked that she had our backs to point out any unflattering positions (double chins!) so we wouldn't be disappointed with the results.
We found the session to be fun and casual - it didn't feel forced or contrived in any way. The main concern in the back of my mind was how would the kids go. For our newborn shoot with Evan a few years ago, I felt the photographer was very time poor and impatient with babies if they hadn't been fed and asleep etc. for her arrival. Upfront, I knew that Elena was happy to work with whatever state Thea would be in, which made me feel more relaxed. Elena was amazing at capturing natural family life.
We wanted to have the photos taken in our home. We have a neutral styled, light filled house surrounded by bush so we wanted to include that. I took tips from Elena's website about wearing neutral colours - I wanted everyone to look relaxed and comfortable.
My heart explodes with love when I look at these photos. They capture our children's personalities really well - they are such a treasure to have to look back on for the rest of my life. The photos of my husband and I are also really flattering and beautiful - I feel proud to share them and it will be very hard to decide which photos to have framed.
My best memories from the session are Evan just having fun with the camera and being himself - sticking his tongue out, jumping on the bed, playing with Geoff and kissing Thea. It’s so nice to have captured that rather than forcing a stiff pose.
