I would like to begin with thanking you for being here. 
I would not be where I am today without any of your support.
This time last year, when I was celebrating 11 years in business I took some time to reflect on how I got into photography, and how and why I started my own business. If you are interested in that, please do check out last years blog - 11 years of Samantha Prewett Photography. There was no point in repeating that all over again.
This blog is mainly a personal review and reflection of the past year for me. I wrote it mainly for myself, but please do read on if you are interested.

2024 was a tough year for me health wise and I have had to seriously slow down my work/pace of life. 
Thankfully, running my own business meant that I could do exactly that (hard as it was for me to learn how to though!) I am able to set my own hours and work around whatever else is going on. I honestly do not think that I would have lasted in an employed job this past year.

Last year was the first time in 12 years that I have taken set work holiday time! 
Everyone who is employed gets 5-6 weeks of holiday a year, so why shouldn't I? The sad difference is that I don't get paid for mine haha. It was definitely worth the break though, and this year it was needed more than ever. Going ahead I will be doing that every year now.
As a family we managed 2 mini holidays last year, one to the Isle of Wight (where we have been many times but never stayed overnight) that was my first and definitely wont be my last Air b n b experience too! We also went to Cornwall where we have been going most years since our first born was just 3 months old for our honeymoon (he is 16 this year eeekk!)

Overall, it has been a great year business wise (just a little slower this year) and I have enjoyed photographing so many of you and your families through newborn, baby, cake smash and outdoor family photography sessions. For the second year running I also held my Christmas mini sessions which went down a blast again. I am already beginning to think about this years!

I managed to get my silver "Plastic Free" award in 2024. I got my Plastic Free status back in 2020 during the height of lockdown, by replacing 3 single items of single plastic that I use in my business. It made me take a big long look at what I was using and what I could change it for. If you are interested more in this, you might like to read the blog that I wrote back in August 2020.

I hosted 2 baby events last year, in the Dolphin Centre in Poole, and they were both hugely successful. To date these events have now raised over £1000 for Spring support who are a charity based in Poole hospital who support families who have sadly lost their baby.

I got a gorgeous new sign for my studio last year too. I love it so much , it is exactly what I wanted. Not only does it look great, it also stops me from walking into the glass door when it is shut (which I may have done a few times, whoops!)

Last year was the first year ever that I didn't set any big plans for the year. This time last year I was working on slowing down. However, this year I feel motivated to pick up the pace a little again and have already made lots of personal goals/plans for the year. One of these being to photograph a birth! (if you are due and would like to help me with that, please do shout) that has been on and off my list for years!
I have also planned 2 baby events again this year which are going to be amazing as always.
I plan to go for my gold Plastic Free award this year too. This will involve organising a group beach clean, so please do let me know if you are interested in helping out with that.
Personally, I am re igniting my love for landscape photography, I have purchased myself a new zoom lens and tripod, and I have already been to one workshop this year (photo below) with an amazing local photographer who I have adored for many years , and I have another booked for later on this month too!

As usual, I am kicking off the new year with a special offer to celebrate my business birthday.
If you are interested in me capturing some beautiful family memories for you this year, now is the time to book.
If you book in a newborn, baby, cake smash or family session for 2025 before the end of January you will get one of my beautiful mini accordion albums for FREE!

I hope you have enjoyed reading this, and if you are interested in helping me with any of my goals (birth photography and organising a beach clean) this year, please do comment below I would love to hear from you.

Welcome to my haven.
My beautiful, calm space.
My beautiful baby photography studio backs onto my house in Oakdale, Poole, Dorset.

If you haven't already visited, I would love to show you around.

I have been photographing babies for over 11 years now. I have been in my current space for 2.5 years so I thought it was time for an update!
As a natural light photographer, the available light is absolutely essential when choosing a space for my newborn photography sessions. My studio is ready for all light conditions, and in the summer I add diffusers to the extra sunlight that comes in. In the colder months I have extra heaters to make it warm and cosy for happy content little bundles. 

My studio is kitted out with everything we will need for your baby photography session, and more!
Whilst your beautiful little one will be at the centre of every single photo that I take, I do have a gorgeous collection of props, wraps and outfits to make those photos just that little bit more special. It is my job to work with your baby to create the most beautiful, natural images for you to treasure forever.

I offer beautiful, natural newborn photography from my studio for babies from just 4 days old up to 6 weeks. 
Please visit my newborn photography pages for more information.

Cake smash sessions are the perfect way to celebrate your baby turning one. Please visit my cake smash photography pages for more information.

When you come to me for your photography session, you will see my stunning range of wall art on display, as well as some of my photo books. Should you fall in love with any of these, I have a special "on the day" price list for these products.

If you are expecting or have a little one under 1 year, I would love to hear from you to see how I can help you capture this special time for you. Please do get in touch for more information.

In April 2024 I hosted the 7th Poole Baby Event.
It was an absolutely fantastic day, and it was our busiest event to date.
We ran out of goody bags by lunchtime! 

Along with 12 other amazing local businesses, we put on a full schedule of talks, demos and taster classes throughout the day.

Biscuits by Sarah B was with us again and Sarah provided free hot drinks throughout the day and offered free biscuit decorating for our visitors (and we got to have a go too!) 

Marial from Sing and Sign was with us for the day providing a play area for the small guests and also a free taster class in the afternoon.

We held a fantastic tombola style raffle and raised £180 for SPRING Support who help families who have lost their baby.

We are back again on 3rd November 2024.
Join our facebook event to keep updated.

If you are a local business interested in attending, you can join the waiting list here.

Photo disclaimer: these photos are a collection of snaps from phone cameras, I did not take my professional camera along to the event.

In April 2023 I hosted the 4th Poole Baby Event at the Dolphin Centre in Poole.
The event was kindly sponsored by Puddle Ducks Dorset.

As usual, it was a fantastic day with lots of amazing local baby related businesses getting together to put on a display of their products and services and holding taster classes and talks throughout the day.

The event was free to attend and each family attending received a free goody bag.

Biscuits by Sarah B provided FREE biscuit decorating and hot drinks throughout the day.

We all had a great day meeting lots of lovely local families and expectant parents.

Sarah from Little Leaps Sensory & Sign provided a baby play corner which everyone loved and she held a taster class too.

We had talks from FAB about breastfeeding, Bourne Green were on hand throughout the day to talk about baby wearing and cloth nappies and we had a first aid demonstration from Daisy First Aid.

We have a few prizes to giveaway from some of the lovely businesses who supported the event.

The prizes are :
* £25 class voucher for Daisy 1st Aid 
* £25 class voucher for Daisy 1st Aid
* £25 Bubba Hub voucher
* £25 voucher for Anne-Marie's hair & beauty
* Birth Affirmation playing cards from Talking Babies

To enter the competition please leave a comment below letting us know which prize you would like to win.
You can enter for more than one prize but you need to leave a separate comment each time.

5 winners will be chosen at random after the competition closes at midnight on 27th May 2023.
The winners will be announced on Facebook.

The Poole Baby Event in back again on 30th July 11am - 3pm at The Dolphin Centre in Poole, Dorset
Poole Baby Event July 2023 | Facebook

In January 2023 we held our third Poole Baby Event at the Dolphin Centre in Poole.

The FREE event which was sponsored by Cadbury Physiotherapy brought together many of the areas leading baby related businesses and provided a full schedule of taster classes, talks and demos.
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We had lots of amazing local maternity and baby related businesses join us on the day to offer advice on local services. 

We had baby massage and sensory & sign taster classes. Talks on breastfeeding, antenatal advice and more.

Biscuits by Sarah B held a FREE biscuit decorating class at the end of the day and throughout the day anyone was able to drop in a decorate their own biscuit at her stand.

We held a huge tombola style raffle and raised £180 for SPRING support who support families who have sadly lost their baby.

We all had such a great time that we have decided to make the event a regular thing and the next one will be 30th April 2023 from 11am-3pm at Poole Dolphin Centre.
We would love to see you there.

Thank you to Carly from C Y Wild Photography for the awesome photos. It was lovely that I was able to be in some of the photos for a change.

Last month I celebrated 10 years in business with a party!
I invited the lovely Sarah from Little Leaps Sensory & Sign into the studio and gave away places at the party.
We started off with a fun sensory and sign class followed by a mini photoshoot for each baby and of course hot drinks, cake and goody bags!

The babies had a great time and I absolutely loved watching them enjoy party!

Sarah was great at keeping the babies interacting with the class it was an absolute joy to watch.

After the class, I photographed all of the babies and everyone enjoyed tea and cake.
All of the babies who attended received the photos that I took as a gift.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Sarah from Little Leaps Sensory and Sign and to all of the Mum's who brought their babies to the party to help me celebrate my 10th business birthday. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.

I have had my business for almost 9 years now and 8 weeks ago I moved house, complete with the most beautiful newborn photography studio attached to the back of my home.

I couldn't be happier with how it looks and feels, so I really hope you want to read on to see for yourself too.

In January 2022 I will have been running Samantha Prewett Photography for 9 years!

I was so fortunate to have a gorgeous light open plan space in my previous home , where I started offering newborn photography sessions almost 9 years ago.
As well as my family, my business has also grown and it was time to move into a bigger home with a separate newborn and baby photography studio.

I officially opened my studio in Poole (less than 2 miles away from where I lived before) at the end of October and immediately fell in love with it.  My first session was absolutely everything I could have wished for and more. You can read about it here if you would like to.
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As a natural light photographer, the available light is absolutely essential when choosing a space for my newborn photography sessions.
I spent a lot of time looking at houses, and at different times of the day to assess the light coming in through the windows (and as it turns out , even the roof!)
If you would like to find out why I choose to only use natural light, the answer is the word, it is  "natural" . If you are interested to read into this more, you may like to check out my natural light newborn photography article. 

My photography studio has a beautiful brand new sofa which doubles up as a comfy place for parents to chill out during their session (whilst I take care of their baby and create beautiful memories) and a place for the parent and baby photos. I have found myself migrating to the sofa over the past few years rather than a backdrop as parents are more comfortable and relaxed, so this helps produce beautiful natural images. It also makes the perfect setting for cosy family photos should you have any older sibling(s) that you might wish to bring to your newborn session.

​I have a lovely brand new coffee machine , which uses recyclable pods (I am working on getting reusable ones) and plastic free snacks available, as well as cold drinks.

I have wi-fi access for you to use, with the password on the wall.

The studio is attached to the back of my house, with the kitchen right next to it should you need to warm up bottles. 

I am a naturally clean and tidy person so you should feel at ease if you need to use the bathroom whilst you are here. I ensure this is thoroughly cleaned before each photography session. 

I have built up a stunning collection of neutral co ordinating props, outfits and wraps over the past 9 years. I love putting the natural colours and textures together to create beautiful set ups that compliment your baby. Your baby is always the focus of every single image I take, not the props.

Well, here I am celebrating 8 years of my beautiful amazing business that I love so much.

The last year has been challenging to say the least (as it has for all of us!) and this is not yet the end, but I am still looking ahead to better times.
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I have been fortunate enough over the past year to have been able to work a bit in between the lockdowns and capture some beautiful memories for many of you. I would like to thank each and every one of you who have booked me over the past 8 years , the last year in particular. 
With no work at the moment, what better time to reflect upon the past years and what I have achieved, what has changed, and what I hope will happen in the future. 

I could write forever about my business over the past 8 years, and I do easily get carried away as I am so passionate about what I do , so I have decided to stick with a few highlights:

* I launched my family photography business in January 2013. In September 2015 my youngest started school so I was able to take my business to full time. 
* In October 2013 I went on my first newborn photography training course, I truly caught the baby photography bug, this was the start of my new found passion which is still going strong today!
*I photographed my last wedding at the end of 2015 and have never ever looked back! Newborn babies and family photography is exactly where I want to be.
*Little packs of love- I spent 2 years with a dozen or so other local baby businesses creating goody bags full of exclusive offers and samples for our clients. Unfortunately this sort of fizzled out but I stil enjoy putting together beautiful little goody packs for my clients now.
* Mothercare expectant parent events - these played a huge part for 3 years of my business. I simply loved meeting so many new parents to be and talking about my newborn photography.
* Expectant and New parent event in the Eco Hub 2019 - I organised and ran my first event in the Dolphin Centre in Poole last October and it went so well that I had planned to do it again in April 2020 but unfortunately like most things, Covid put a stop to that.
* 2020 The year no one will ever forget. Covid put a stop to so many businesses last year and it continues into this year.  I did however manage to get myself a plastic free business award which I am particularly proud of, and a page in the Daily Echo about this too. Along with a few other local baby businesses we had planned to do a year long string of Expectant Parent Events at Smyths Toy Superstores but these have been put on hold also.
I also managed to get a beautiful video made in 2020 which I love, even if we are wearing face masks!

This year I am celebrating 8 years of Samantha Prewett Photography with a month long Facebook event with lots of competitions, giveways and games, you can join in here:
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Samantha Prewett Photography's 8th Birthday Celebrations | Facebook

To celebrate 8 years, I have a fantastic offer on this month for any 2021 session that is booked in January. You can find all of my price lists on the website. This offer is valid for ANY session; Maternity, newborn , baby, first birthday photo sessions, or family.

Please do get in touch if I can help you create some beautiful family memories to cherish this year, I would love to hear from you.

It has been almost 1 year now since I started #LittlePacksOfLove.
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Along the way a few companies have left us , and a few more great ones have joined in, but the same few of us continue to meet up every 2 months to put these beautiful little packs together. I now make these packs up with the lovely Sophie from Puddle Ducks Dorset, I am really excited to start working together.

Little packs of love is a Dorset not for profit project that sets out to give local mums to be and new mums with babies up to 12 months old lots of useful offers and samples from other baby related businesses. It is so much more than just a pack of leaflets, each local company who contributes to these includes an exclusive offer, and we have goodies and samples in each pack too. The packs then get handed out to our clients and also they get handed out at local baby events that we attend. 

As you can imagine things always change in a year. For us change has been for the better! I decided that I would like to get larger companies involved, and to my amazement the support we have received from such huge companies has been outstanding. Currently JoJoMaman Bebe are supplying us with bags, which I am sure you can all agree look beautiful. And lots of other amazing brands such as Pregnacare, Bio Oil, Water Wipes, Jackson Reece, Pukka Tea, Dorset Tea, and Bepanthen have sent me goodies to include in our packs!

So we ask again, what does the future hold for little packs of love? Well who knows! They are still going to be kept small and local and handed out to our clients but want to create a community so we are currently thinking about a group where we are bring together the new parents in Poole and provide them with useful information and promotions for our services. 
Meanwhile if you would like a pack and have not yet had one, please do get in touch with me. 

It has been just over 4 years now since I set up my newborn and family photography business in Poole,Dorset. 
Over these few years the way that I present and package my work has changed significantly. 
The biggest change has been of me previously providing a CD of digital images to now providing a USB. Over just a couple of years technology has changed so much, that now not everyone has a disc drive on their computer. In fact not everyone has a computer, but a USB can be used on most well know tablets or smart televisions, so I decided this was the best option to go forward with. 

You could say I have somewhat gone "backwards" with presentation by providing prints with my standard and top packages. In a digital age, I think we are all starting to realise how important it is to print our photographs off rather than having them stay as just digital files forever. Whilst I realise that most clients do print off their photographs and put them up on their walls, there were always a few people that would just keep the digital files and never get round to doing anything with them. Bearing this in mind, at the beginning of 2016 I started to provide a print of each digital image with my standard and top packages. I do still continue to offer a basic package of a few digital images sent via email as a starting point, but almost everyone that books this package will go on to purchase a book or wall art from me aswell. There are of course exceptions to each situation, but I want to give these options to help keep my photography affordable to most that desire it. 

My current packaging, which has evolved over the last 4 years, reflects my brand and natural style. Where possible I use natural and recycled materials, which compliment the natural beautiful photographs that are contained within them. I am always researching new ideas to add to my packaging and it seems to be constantly changing, but only slightly, and always in keeping with my style.
For information on my pricing and photography packages that I offer , please visit my maternity photography, newborn photography or baby photography sections on my website. Or for information about the additional products that I offer alongside my photography packages please visit my products section here.