Baby Izaiah ~ 9lb's of adorable! {Melbourne Newborn Photographer}

I am so blessed to be able to do what I do, and photographing baby Izaiah was no exception, despite the initiation of bodily functions he kept throwing at me. I am more than accustomed to getting messed in a session, and more than prepared for the likliehood, but I always get a chuckle out of my clients reaction to such events.

I remember reading via a friend on facebook that Izaiah's mum had gone into labour and I instantly went into excitement overdrive planning the perfect day for the session... but baby Izaiah had slightly different plans, he was breech and eventually needed an emergency caesarian, and I'm sure at just over 9lb's he was well and truly ready to arrive... 

I am a big fan of chubby cheeks, and Izaiah certainly put on the charm. Though he wasn't very keen to accomodate my desire to use a few new props, he certainly worked the bean bag poses for me... and how can you go wrong with such a gorgeous chubby face?

Enjoy. xo

Master Lucas, 16 days new { Melbourne Newborn Photographer }

Such a sweet newborn session, but not without it's hiccups, caused by none other than my own baby boy... (I say baby but really he's a toddler now.) Around half an hour after I arrived to photograph Lucas, and just as everything had been set up fort the first pose, I had a phone call from my children's childcare centre explaining that Dylan had eaten lunch and his mouth and face had swollen up. It's any mothers worst nightmare, I was so thankful to have such understanding clients, who not only allowed me to drop everything (don't worry, not literally) they also allowed me to leave my set up in their home until I later confirmed to be able to reschedule the session for the following day. I have said it before and I'll say it again, I really do have fabulous clients.

After rushing my baby boy off to the Royal Childrens Hospital with my heart in my chest the whole way we later discovered it was not an allergic reaction (and his tongue never swelled, so we were never in any dire trouble) but rather a severe reaction to a viral infection. PHEW!

So... the session followed a day later, and it was a blessing in disguise really, because it meant we were able to get some gorgeous photos with dad as well. Had it been a day ealier we would've been rushing through the family shots so he could race back to work... I am so glad we could take our time because I'm really happy with the shot with dad, putting more of my Baby As Art workshop notes into practice.

Enjoy. xo

Lilly with two L's {Melbourne Newborn Photographer}

Two days after attending the Baby As Art Workshop in Melbourne and equipped with a wealth of confidence and idea's I got brave and asked my post workshop clients if they would be willing to allow me to do an outdoor newborn session. I was delighted when Lilly's parents (whom you may remember from their wedding blogged earlier this year) were so willing to be my test subjects for what an outdoor session might look like. The result is what came of that trust, gorgeous outdoor images.

This session would never have been such apositive experence without their faith in my vision and ideas, and allowing me to have control of the session. I am so grateful to Lilly's parents for allowing me to use their daughter as my first outdoor newborn model, especially given she is their first baby and was only 8 days old.

I offer outdoor sessions to all my clients now, if you'd like details please contact me via www.emilyblackphotography. Of course outdoor sessions are weather dependent and I can't always guarantee the outdoor component of a newborn shoot, but they are well worth the time and planning for some unique images.

A few days later we followed up with Lily's indoor session, this was where I could put even more if my idea's in to practice from the Baby As Art workshop and I was delighted with both sessions.

Enjoy, xo

Two Days That Changed my Life ~ Baby As Art workshop, Melbourne ~

I know it's a big statement to make, but the two day workshop in early November (which I am only now getting around to blogging) with Baby As Art's Carrie Sandoval and Brittany Woodall have made such a defining impact on my newborn photography.

I think I knew from the moment I had my children that photographing babies would become a big part of my life, but after following the work of Baby As Art from it's inception (and in it's beginnings as Captured By Carrie) I was in awe of the seemingly simple poses and calm of the images. It was something I had attempted to emulate, but felt I was always missing the key element.

Imagine my delight when I found out they were doing workshops in Melbourne. I knew I had to be a part of it and set about making it happen. It was an experience I will never forget and one that has confirmed in my mind that newborn photography is where I want to be, and what I want to focus on as a photographer. {in all honesty I believe my husband is happy about this because I get my newborn fix on a regular basis and have stopped hassling him about having 'just one more baby'.}

Every piece of advice has helped me better my newborn photography and inspire my approach and confidence in this specialty.

Following are action shots from the workshop and images posed by Carrie and Britt, photographed and post processed by me.