This is Noah visiting for his newborn photos, also affectionately known as Monkey Nut.  This is because, at a very early scan, this is the term that the sonographer used to point him out to his mum and dad and the nickname kind of stuck throughout his time while he was a bump.

So here he is in the studio pictured with his nickname in Scrabble tiles and of course with a monkey friend giving him a little cuddle as he snoozes.  I keep a bag of wooden Scrabble tiles in the studio as well as a couple of sets of alphabet blocks so we can usually make up names and nicknames – the Scrabble tiles are ideal for longer words and phrases. Just don’t pick anything with two Z’s in it (that’s an incredibly good Scrabble joke if you don’t play it yourself!).

He had a good long sleep for his session so we had time to work with the props and accessories that his mum and dad brought along with them as well as a few of my bits and pieces.  Then he was in a more wide awake mood so we got the opportunity to get some good ‘eyes open’ shots as well – best of both worlds!

A newborn photo shoot is best when your baby is between 5 and 10 days old as this is when they are at their maximum sleepiness and poseability to capture those dreamy shots.  For this reason, I definitely recommend that you book when you are pregnant as this is one less thing to worry about scheduling when you’ve just got home from the hospital.   We make an appointment for your due date plus 7 days and then adjust it as needed.

My newborn shoots include your three favourite digital images which you select from your online gallery a few weeks after your photo shoot – I don’t make you attend a sales or viewing session.  Sessions take place in my warm and cosy studio in Crawley Down and cost £95.