#sussexnewbornphotography

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Happy New Year - Welcome 2024!

Happy New Year to everyone! This year, Sarah Fisher Photography is celebrating the milestone of turning 10 years old – a fact for which I am equally excited and grateful!

Normally I have a Cover Star series going on throughout the year but, in honour of my big birthday, I’ve decided to make this one a little different.Every month this year, I’ll be focusing in on one area of my photography. I’ll be…– taking a trip back through the archives– updating some of the services and props (even launching a few new sessions)– gathering together all the advice I can think of that I’ve gathered over the years– and also introducing some very special offers!Roll on 2024 – may it be as fabulous as all of you!Sarah x Read the full article

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Self Care is Important

Especially as we head into the colder months of winter, I read more about how important self care for our mental health.

It’s undeniably true and you’re never too young to start as this tiny lady is proving.  There’s always time in your day to carve out a few minutes to simply relax and be in the moment – maybe even throw in a few pampering spa treatments to help things along!My baby spa prop set does require a pretty settled baby in order to make it work but luckily this girl had tapped into her zen for her photo shoot so it worked like a dream. Read the full article

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Newborn Smiles to Start the Week!

Let’s start the week with some positive vibes as modelled by this adorable little guy – smiling away in his sleep at his recent newborn photo shoot.

Of course there is no way to guarantee smiles at your photo shoot but I’m pretty good at spotting when they are likely to happen so I’ll always catch them if I can. Some babies are sneaky and wait til I have my back turned or my camera out of reach but this guy was feeling very generous with them so his mum and dad will have plenty to choose from! Read the full article

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Newborn Hands and Feet

This little shot is a really popular one when it comes to newborn photo shoots and it will work just as well at other small baby shoots if you’ve missed the newborn window.

Many parents want to be involved in their newborn pictures but also don’t feel enitrely camera ready.  My advice would be to do it anyway and you might want to look back on those very first days as a family and it’s a no-risk scenario as, the worst thing that can possibly happen is that you don’t like the pictures. The solution to that is super simple – you never have to look at them again – and so I think it’s a chance worth taking.However, I get that you might fancy it so including a shot like this is a great way to be in the photos without having any stress! Read the full article

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Newborn Prop - Teddy Shelf

Here’s the latest newborn prop to be added to the collection – the Teddy Shelf!

You have to use your imagination a little bit to picture your newborn ‘sitting’ on the shelf between their two teddy bear pals but I promise you it will be super cute. It’s not available to request on your newborn options form that you’ll receive the day before your session. Read the full article

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Little Feet in Parents' Hands

This little shot of parents’ hands in a heart around their new arrival’s feet is a very commonly requested shot and it’s easy to see why.

It’s cute in it’s own right but also a good way to be in photos if you don’t feel fully camera ready.  However, it’s one of those shots that looks cute in the edited version but looks pretty daft when you’re setting it up – thought you might like to see the pull-back of how we set it up.  The mum gets the easier of the two options as she can kneel down behind the beanbag while the dad has to do a weird kind of crouching leaning over position to get into place then I just arrange your hands to look like a heart once we get there!As with many things in my studio, it’s a bit silly behind the scenes to get a great result in camera. Probably not a bad metaphor for my life either… Read the full article

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Captain America in the Studio!

Sometimes, when you’ve been doing a job as long as I have, it can get a bit repetitive.  Not an issue with my work though, there’s always a surprise round the corner.

In this case, Captain America was in the studio.  Definitely a first for me! Now, to be honest, noone is quite sure why the big brother in question had decided that his new sibling was his ‘Captain America’ baby but he did and so obviously he wanted to dress the part for their first official photo shoot together.  Sometimes, I find, it is best to just go with it and not ask too many questions.  So a quick matching wrap was whipped up and Captain America himself was ready to report for duty. Read the full article

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The 100 Acre Wood Gang

This family were fans of Winnie the Pooh and they brought the blanket and the whole squad in to their newborn photo shoot to be a part of it.

As they had chosen the Natural Newborn style, I knew we would be best to pose them all together on the bed but there was a bit of a problem as to how to do that in terms of me setting it up and getting off the bed without changing the shape of things.  In the end, it was a very inelegant solution indeed which I’ve very glad wasn’t captured on camera – I was lying flat out on my stomach from the bottom of the bed up so I could set up the perfect pose and then shimmy back down the bed without moving things and get the newborn and the toys to stay in exactly the same position that I had put them in.  Totally worth it though – love this shot! Read the full article

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Wakeful Babies and Sibling Photos

This picture is a lovely one of a newborn and her big sister looking down proudly upon her. I can only imagine the mischief these two will get up to in the years to come.

However, that aside, it does illustrate two really good points about posing big brothers and sisters with their newly arrived siblings, particularly when the older child is still pretty young themselves.Firstly, the basket is a great prop for setting up sibling shots.  It’s a stable base where we can get the newborn settled and cosy and the older sibling doesn’t have to worry about supporting them.  Even if they can hold them well, they also have to be able to hold them in a way that looks nice on camera and that can be tricky and get a bit stressful for the older child.Secondly, swaddles are a great idea when working with newborns and their siblings. In this case, the baby was a bit more wakeful so the swaddled helped her stay cosy and secure while we posed her and also held her limbs in place so we didn’t have any of that motion to contend with.  In this image, we used the basket as a way of posing the two together but I’m a massive fan of swaddling newborns when they are posing with big brothers and sisters as having them wrapped up burrito style makes them so much easier to handle and support.  Without having to worry too much about that aspect, we can focus on the expression of the two of them together.As a side note, there is always a parent just out of shot to keep an eye on safety and lend a helpful settling hand if it’s needed while I scoot back and take the picture.  Safety first, always. Read the full article

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Peaches and Sleep

My little drawer is a very popular newborn prop and I love it too as it’s such a versatile piece to style and to pose in.

With some props, you can only really pose the baby in them in one way – this is great if the baby that’s visiting happens to like this pose but not so much if they don’t as I don’t have any options to play with.The hammock is the main one that springs to mind (although it does apply to a couple of my other props). It’s a popular choice and the pictures are gorgeous of your little one relaxing in the string hammock. However, it’s also probably one of the ones that has the highest failure rate.   When babies are a little more wakeful or just not super comfortable on their back, then they tend not to enjoy the experience as much we think they should!  In this situation, there’s really nothing I can do because with the hammock, it’s the one pose or the highway.The drawer is the absolute opposite, there are so many options when it comes to posing either swaddled or unswaddled that it’s a pretty safe bet. It’s also super versatile when it comes to styling – it looks great plain, with florals, with teddies, with textured layers.  If you’re looking for a really versatile prop, it’s hard to pick a better one! Read the full article

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Digital Backdrop - Teddy Bear Love

I wish I could own this beautiful teddy bear themed set up in real life.  I would genuinely love to own that many bears!  Especially the black bear in the top left hand crate – he’s my favourite.

However, while I wait for that dream to come true, I’m happy to make do with this digital backdrop and get my teddy bear thrills vicariously!  When it comes to digital backdrops and newborn photography, you have the chance to choose your favourite before you visit the studio.  The reason for this is that we have to shoot specifically for it at your photo shoot to get the lighting and pose perfect to create a convincing blend in the finished artwork. Read the full article

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Traditional v Natural Newborn Photography

Just over a year ago, I added a new style of newborn photography to my portfolio at the studio and I named it Natural Newborn photography for want of anything better to call it.

It’s now a pretty popular option with many of my visiting families and I’m very glad I did it but I kind of feel that I have made a mistake with the name in some areas as it implies that any other photography style can’t have a natural feel to it.  So let me tell you about it a bit more and how it compares with my Traditional Newborn photography service.So when you come to visit for a newborn photo shoot, you can choose the style of photography that you’d like when you complete your options form the day before your session.  You choose between a Natural Newborn or Traditional Newborn session. Read the full article

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Happy Camper - Sleeping Newborn

With all the time I had on my hands during lockdown, I decided to create a few props that I had been thinking about for a while and this miniature camping tent was one of them.

It’s perfect for newborns and babies that have got the hang of tummy time and there’s something very cute about this little newborn happy camper snoozing underneath the canvas at their recent shoot. Read the full article

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Newborn Ladybird in the Studio

When someone buys you a ladybird outfit for your newborn, you bet your life we’re going to use it!

It would be a terrible shame to let such a cute gift go to waste.  The rest of the session was along a neutral colour palette so I grabbed up some of my leaves from my jungle prop set to give us a ladybird friendly backdrop.  That’s the really nice thing about my prop hoarding compulsion, I can usually find something to complement what you bring along.  The downside is a rapidly diminishing storage space but I choose to focus on the positive. Read the full article

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Newborn Photography - Adding the Moses Basket

When you book a natural newborn session, for most of the photos of either your newborn alone or you as as family, we will be using my bed set.  However, we do also add in my Moses basket to give you a little more variety.

You can choose the colours you would like in terms of the blankets we use so we can match your colour scheme and style and also you can select to have either a light or dark flooring.  It actually makes it a surprisingly versatile prop to use! Read the full article

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Very Proud Big Sister in the Studio

I photographed the very proud big sister in this image when she was just as tiny herself and it was lovely to catch up with the family again and meet their newest member.

The basket is a great prop to choose for your newborn shoot if you’re incorporating older siblings.  It looks great with the newborn on their own, it’s an easy prop to work with and also when it comes to adding in siblings, we can simply pose them behind it.  That way they don’t have to worry about providing support to a newborn and they can just focus on their smiles!

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