The Lawrence Family — An In-Home Newborn Session in Launceston

There is something really special about being invited back to photograph a family as their story grows.

I first photographed Norika and Alex when their eldest son, Oscar, was a newborn. A few years later, I was back in their home to meet their newest little boy, Max, and document this next chapter for their family.

It was a miserable, rainy day outside, which made it the perfect day for a relaxed newborn session at home. Everyone could stay warm and comfortable, we didn’t have to worry about what the weather was doing, and we could simply work around the boys as the session unfolded.

Meet the Family

Norika and Alex are now parents to two beautiful little boys: three-and-a-half-year-old Oscar and two-and-a-half-week-old Max.

Because I had already photographed them when Oscar was a newborn, this session felt wonderfully familiar. They knew how I worked, I already knew them, and there was no pressure for the morning to follow a strict plan.

One particularly sweet detail was the boys’ matching teddies. Oscar had been photographed with his teddy during his newborn session, and Max now has a matching brother teddy of his own. Being able to recreate some of those photographs with Max was such a lovely way to connect the two sessions.

Max was a little unsettled when I first arrived, but that is completely normal during an in-home newborn photography session. Babies don’t know or care that we have photographs planned, so rather than trying to rush him, we simply gave him the time he needed.

While Norika fed and settled Max, I started with Oscar.

We photographed him with his teddies and then captured some images of Oscar and Alex together. It meant we could ease into the session without anyone feeling as though we were waiting around for the baby to be ready.

Once Max had settled, we worked through all the combinations that mattered to Norika and Alex. I photographed Max with each of his parents, Oscar with each parent, the two boys together and, of course, the whole family.

The session took around an hour and a half, with plenty of flexibility for feeding, settling and moving between different parts of the house. There was no strict schedule and no expectation that either child needed to cooperate perfectly. We simply followed their lead and made the most of each little window as it appeared.

That flexibility is one of my favourite things about newborn photos at home. The older sibling has their own toys and familiar spaces nearby, the parents have everything they need, and the baby can be fed or changed without the whole session feeling disrupted.

Recreating an image from Oscar’s newborn photos with Max and his own teddy created a beautiful connection between the boys. On their own, the images are very sweet. Together, they tell a bigger story about their family and how much has changed since I first visited their home.

I also loved photographing Oscar with Alex while Max was being fed. Those quieter combinations can sometimes be overlooked during a newborn session, but they are just as important. This was not only a session about welcoming Max; it was also about documenting who Oscar is now and his relationship with each of his parents.

And, of course, the photographs of the two brothers together are incredibly special. Max will never remember being this small, and Oscar may not remember exactly what it felt like to suddenly become a big brother, but they will always have these images showing the beginning of their relationship.

Norika and Alex chose an 8x8-inch album with ten spreads, along with a handful of matted prints and the digital file add-on.

They had created an album after Oscar’s newborn session and wanted to do the same for Max, which I absolutely love. The two boys will each have an album telling the story of their earliest days and showing what their family looked and felt like when they first came home.

Albums work particularly well for newborn sessions because there are so many little parts of the story worth including: the baby on their own, photographs with each parent, sibling images, family portraits and all the smaller details that would be difficult to narrow down to just one or two favourites.

The matted prints give them a few individual images to display or gift, while the digital file add-on means they also have the convenience of the full collection alongside their printed photographs.

Photographing the Lawrence family again was such a lovely reminder that family photographs become even more meaningful when they are created over time.

Oscar’s newborn album now sits alongside Max’s, and the matching teddy photographs connect two sessions taken several years apart. These are not just photographs of two new babies. Together, they show how Naruca and Alex’s family has grown.

Rainy weather, an unsettled baby and a busy three-year-old did not stop us from creating a beautiful collection. We simply worked around real family life, which is exactly what an in-home newborn session is designed to do.

If you are looking for relaxed in-home newborn photography in Launceston, you are welcome to get in touch. We can have a chat about your family, how the sessions work and the different ways you can enjoy your photographs afterwards.