Newborn Photographer | Anna Nowakowska

I started to take  newborn and  baby pictures 15 years ago with my film camera and have been practicing my photographic skills since. I continued my practice throughout the years on my own children and those of my friends and relatives continuously. And I am still learning every time I have a pleasure to photograph new baby, new life… Baby photography and newborn photography therefore are special to me. Capturing those first moments of life is precious and very rewarding. For me also very important is not to be cliche and therefore I always try to photograph each child differently using different and unique hand made props  every time.

Safe and enjoyable photo session primarily consists of:
Experience, preparation, peace, patience, warmth, hygiene, conversation, a little more patience and rhythm.
One of the most important stages of newborn session is the preparation,  I always in every detail and accurately describe how our meeting will look like and how to prepare for it, so that nothing was a surprise . I spend quite some time writing “preparation”  emails  I want to personally answer all your questions and concerns before the session (regardless of whether it is in stating the two e-mails or forty :). The littlest ones are like high-voltage sensors, so my job is to make you feel most confident, calm and comfortable  about letting me into your home.

At the session, I always try to act in the rhythm of your baby, do not pull out the camera after two minutes of crossing your threshold (mostly doing home sessions so that the pictures were for you real memories of those first days of the time spent on this particular couch and the rocking chair: ) I bring along my portable studio never in a hurry, hygiene is extremely important to me: I clean hands on arrival, gather the hair, blankets and accessories are washed in safe detergents ( I always ask parents about allergies anyway), When posing :Your baby is always assisted ( parents taking actively part in the session as helpers) and in secure position, I also care about the proper temperature in the room and best conditions for posing. I also try to explain to parents why I use and love natural light and where to find the best of those in their home. I explain what I am going to use and how I am going to proceed in stages. Also I am very open to your ideas and I like when you share those with me. I am also the member of qualified International Newborn Photography Association.

How this all works:

I have listed below the most important information about the newborn baby shoot

1 Please have your house (or one particular room that I could use for posing the baby extra warm ( a bath and feeding before would be great but I know that it’s not often possible) that will calm your little bean (but every baby is so different and sometimes that doesn’t work anyway). Babies have their own reaction to the photo session each time, That means that the session can stretch in time from 1 hour to 4 hours..(4 hours is my record)
2 Please think of a plain space in your home (piece of plain color wall or double bed ) for posing.
3 If both of you (proud parents+ maybe extended family-that is also possible with no additional cost)will be joining the session please think of clothing that is matched in patterns as well. Too many different patterns and shapes are of a distraction to the face in the image. I love colours but please match accordingly to each other clothing and skin tone:)pure wite and black is not looking good also.
4 I’d need a room with a window light if the weather stays like this we will have plenty of diffused light around the house anyway.
5 When I’ll arrive I will have to look around to pick few best places for various set-ups, for family portrait, mum only portrait with Baby, dad + baby only portrait, close-ups, posing in the basket, and candid shots that will just happen on the way..
6 I work in a very relaxed, gentle manner and my aim is that the session is memorable and fun for all,so [lease do not feel stressed about anything I work as a family photographer for a long time and some amount of trust is vital as well:)

Important questions you might want to ask right away

Why should you book Matchbox photography?

I am an experienced, fully qualified insured photographer represented by a professional body of Irish Professional Photographers and a mother myself!
You can trust me when I say that I know how dear your little baby is to you, so I can guarantee I will provide you with safety and amazing photographs and fine art prints that will keep on reminding you of those special moments forever.

When should you book?

You should book weeks before you want the shoot to happen, so I could prepare for it and keep your slot secure in my calendar. Be sure to book early, because I have limited photo shoots per month. However sometimes there’s still space for a last minute photo shoot. Very often I get phone calls form parents who were stood up for some reason by another photographer and they need urgent help.

What is the best time for newborn photo session and what if I missed it already?

The best time to have a session is when your baby is from 4 to 14 days, however I will take babies that are older than that. We all know how wonderful it is to first get a baby and how happy they make us, but sometimes it is also overwhelming and tiredness and chaos wins. Don’t worry if you missed your newborn span for some reason, got too cought up and realized you wanted to book a session too late! It’s never too late to get a session, sometimes I photograph babies who are even 2 months old and the pictures still look beautiful!
Best Newborn and Baby Photo-session