Newborn baby photography and siblings

Most families that come to me for their newborn photography sessions are first time parents. We spend most of their time with me focusing on the brand new little bundle that has just arrived and brought so much love but turned their entire lives upside down.
But what about when you already have children? Many families would still like their older child(ren) involved in their newborn photography session and of course it's my job to help with this. 
Whilst most older siblings are happy to come over and have a photo taken with the new addition to their family, the typical 2 year old is not. 

With this in mind, I thought it would be really helpful for you all to see just what happens when they don't want to "pose" for the silbing photo that I have set up, and how I manage to still create such beautiful natural photographs of your precious babies together.

I met a lovely family a few weeks ago who had booked a newborn photography session for their second child and of course wanted to bring their older child with them to involve him too. A newborn session can last for up to 4 hours so I always recommend to everyone before hand if possible, that they bring their older child either for the start of the session or towards the end so we can get those all important sibling photos and they don't have to wait around all that time as it can be boring for them. Of course this is not always possible for some families and they are welcome to stay if they need to. 
When I am expecting a sibling I tend to set up for photos of them together at the beginning and if this fails we come back at the end of the session. This certain little man was not too keen to joining his baby sister in the photo taking. He was still sussing out life with a brand new baby sister and at 2 years old is still very much a baby himself, he was in a strange place, and whilst I always try my best to help them feel more comfortable, if you have or have had a toddler yourself you will know this isn't always possible.  His baby sister patiently waited whilst we tried to persuade him over but he wasn't coming in this instance.  No worries, I move on and take this opportunity to take a few photos of his baby sister so he can see whats going on and feel a little more settled. He watches from a distance and starts showing a little more interest. 

After a few more photographs of his baby sister, he decides he would like to come over and join her, but not to lay down on my specially set out blanket on the floor so I have to improvise. I decided to try something a little different and I am sure you will agree, the results were amazing. The photographs are all completely natural, he came over in his own time and you can really see the love between them.

We did "plan" to try some slightly more posed siblings photos again towards to the end of the session but Dad took him to the park and he fell asleep in the car so he spent the remainder of their time with me asleep! aaaaaaaww.

So there you go, things don't always go to plan. And not just for sibling sessions, for newborns on their own too , every baby and every child has their own schedule and agenda and they don't run by ours, which is why every single one of my sessions from newborn, to family and all the babies in between are completely led by you, not me.  My aim is to capture your family, as they are , beautifully and naturally and to make this into beautiful memories that you will treasure forever.

If you are expecting again please take a look at my newborn photography section or drop me a message I would love to chat about your session.