NEWBORN BABY PHOTOGRAPHY

picture of myself, the photographer behind Rocking Horse Photography

With 9 years of experience of handling newborn babies, I've met countless London families for their newborn photoshoots for first, and subsequent babies (even after they’ve left London!)

Photographing these first new baby moments is particularly important to document; newborns change so quickly, it's easy to forget how tiny they once were. Families often marvel at their newborn photos, amazed at how much their baby has changed in just a few weeks. That’s why I have specialised in, safely capturing timeless and lasting memories of these first days and weeks, having been trained by top UK and international newborn photographers.

Depending on what you are after, I offer two types of newborn photography shoot - the classic newborn session, and a newborn mini session…

Hi, I’m Sara, your newborn photographer - loved and trusted by hundreds of local East London families - here to create timeless portraits of your precious new baby.

Classic newborn baby photography

My most popular newborn baby photoshoot.

Approx 4 hour session (but untimed, so there’s no pressure).

Create a series of around 20 different portraits covering:

- Baby curled up, with skin-showing
- Baby wrapped and posed in props
- Family portraits including sibling and grandparent shots
- Close ups of hands, feet and all those little details as classic black & whites

Ideally done when baby is before around 3 weeks new.

Most families spend around £950-£1300; prices start from £550 for the session and five edited digital images of choice.

Printed products also available. See below for full pricing details.

Newborn baby mini photoshoot

Perfect for fewer photos and/or bigger babies. 

Quick 90 min studio session.

Focus on capturing around 5 portraits, of your wrapped baby, covering:

- Baby wrapped and posed in props
- Family portraits with the parent(s)

Ideal for babies from about 1 week - 6 weeks; though particularly suited to older and bigger newborn babies


90 min session, inclusive of 5 edited digital images - £450. When additional images are captured, you may purchase extra images.

Printed products also available. See below for full pricing details.


newborn photography pricing

Classic newborn session pricing is broken down into your session booking fee plus your choice of digital image package and printed products. Newborn mini sessions are structured differently, see below.

Classic Newborn Sessions
Most families spend around £950-£1300 on their digital images and wall art/album after a classic newborn session; prices start from £550.

  • Covers everything up to and including the session itself, excludes edited images/printed products.



  • Two weeks after the session, view around 20 edited photos at the studio. Choose from:


    “The Taster”: any 5 edited digital images - £400

    “Your Favourite Ten”: any 10 edited digital images + £50 voucher - £600

    “The Complete Works”: All edited digital images + video slideshow + £100 print voucher - £800



    Additional digital files can be added at £40 per image.



  • Ordered at your viewing appointment, using your print voucher if included in the digital package you’ve selected.

    Fine art prints from £40

    Wall art & frames from £180

    Luxury albums from £550

Newborn Mini Sessions

£450 inclusive of the 90 min session as well as five edited digital images.

If there are more than 5 images available to pick from then you can purchase additional edited digital images at £40 per file.

You can also purchase frames, prints & albums as listed above.

The newborn photography experience - your questions answered

  • 
New baby photography is best done when your baby is up to around 3 weeks new, although I have successfully captured newborn photographs of babies up to around 6-8 weeks, and premature babies at around 4 months.

    I specifically recommend avoiding days 7-9 as new babies tend to cluster feed around this time. I also recommend waiting until feeding is well-established before having your session; this can sometimes take several days.

    I keep some flexibility in my diary each week so I can usually shift your booked session date, if baby comes early / late etc.



  • The best time to book your session is after your 20 week scan and before you are around 7 months pregnant. I only book a fixed number of sessions a week. This is so that I have the flexibility to change newborn session dates with you, if your baby arrives earlier or later than expected. Newborn sessions are only available on weekdays. For these reasons, early booking is advisable.

  • Sessions take place in my comfy, home-from-home, East London family & baby photography studio (less than 10 mins from Canning Town, Stratford and Canary Wharf, on the border of Tower Hamlets and Newham).

  • In the last weeks of your pregnancy, we will chat through preparation tips for your newborn photography session. We will also discuss clothing and colour schemes to match your tastes and home decor. This is to keep everything beautifully coordinated so you have a lovely selection of images to pick your album and wall art prints etc from.

  • My classic newborn photoshoots usually take around 4 hours, this can depend a bit on how much baby feeds during the session, when baby sleeps and how many other siblings there may be. These sessions are untimed though, so you can sit back and relax. There’s no pressure to get done in a particular time frame; I set the whole day aside exclusively for your session. This means we can even decide on the start time, on the morning of the session, depending on how your night with baby has gone.

    Newborn mini sessions are focused 90 min sessions. Because these are much shorter sessions we focus on wrapped shots of your baby in props and wrapped parent portraits as these can be acheived whether baby is asleep or awake.

  • Classic newborn sessions are perfect for your immediate family, including siblings. (The largest newborn family I’ve photographed so far at these sessions is new baby plus 3 siblings). If you would like portraits with grandparents or aunts / uncles too, just let me know and we can plan for this.

    Newborn mini sessions are exclusively for you, the parent(s) and your new baby.

  • It is an honour to be trusted with photographing your new baby, and so as regular training in the art of safe newborn baby posing, I have also taken baby first aid courses, so that I can safely create these baby photos for you.

    You will find that there are couple of poses that I will not put your new baby into, as I believe there to be risk associated with these. You will notice during the shoot that I am conscious of your baby’s airways, temperature and comfort throughout the session.

    

For your reassurance, I am also a registered member of BANPAS (the baby and newborn photography network) as well as most of the UK’s other leading professional photography associations.

  • We meet again, about two weeks after your shoot, to go through your edited images. When we meet we decide on which package of (digital) images and printed items you would like. There are a few packages available. See below for more details.



    Before coming back to this appointment, I recommend sending me photos of walls and rooms you’re thinking of hanging pictures up on, so I can take this into consideration when preparing your images for your viewing.

  • Mini sessions are ideal if you’re on a tight budget or only want a few photos to remember this stage and age by. They are quick 90 min sessions, and we’re aiming to capture five different portraits: wrapped and in props and wrapped and in the parents’ arms.

    If you’re after more images, or a wider variety including ones of your baby curled up with their skin exposed, close ups of the little details like lashes and fingers, and more family portraits, including ones with siblings, then I would recommend the classic newborn photoshoot.

    

Regardless of the session type, you can always add on frames, prints and albums, though I’d suggest that the minimum number of images you’d want for an album is 10.

Any questions? Ready to book?
Get in touch.

“Sara combines an innate ability to calm even the youngest babies with a searing eye for detail and immense technical skill. She was extremely good natured throughout the shoot, and produced some stunning images at the end. Her studio is well equipped for all manner of settings and backdrops, it's comfortable, and I was even able to get some work done during my son's shoot. We now have some brilliant images which we will keep for the rest of our lives, and in the short term, bombard our friends and family. Lovely stuff.”

— Alex, 5* Google Review

But, don’t just take my word for it.
See what other families love…

Check out hundreds more 5* reviews

Want more info? I’ve got a number of useful blogs with more information and details here, including what to expect from your newborn photographer & photoshoot (5 min read) and answers to more newborn photography FAQs.

More resources for new parents…