Newborn Photoshoot with Shaista Lakha Photography

A couple of weeks after Aadam was born, I was scrolling through my photos to find that only a handful of photos had been taken of me and the little guy. Sure, there were a few straight after birth (which I hope do not EVER see the light of day), but otherwise there were photos of him and his dad, or with his grandparents. I felt a little sad considering I had carried him for 9 whole months and endured all that weight gain to not have a single nice photo?! Ha, not in my books. I wasn’t sad for long as I booked myself in for a newborn shoot with Shaista Lakha Photography.

I have always admired Shaista’s work from when she did both my friends’ weddings, but I had zero clue about her newborn photography until I was (admittedly) stalking her Instagram page. Hm, not one for photoshoots, Shaista reassured me that it will be a fun session for both myself and the baby, and will create a ton of memories. Convinced, I booked a session for when Aadam was three weeks.

As soon as I entered the studio, Shaista took over and made us feel right at home. She managed to get Aadam to sleep and relax (something I’ve only just got the hang of!), as well as being patient when he needed a feed or a change. She had curated the entire photoshoot around the brief questionnaire I filled in beforehand asking about themes and preferences, and two hours later, we were done!  

Needless to say, I am over the moon at how the photos turned out and I cannot wait to share them with you all, as well as family and friends too. See below for the pictures and information on booking Shaista.

Here are a few words from Shaista herself:

1.What made you get into photography/newborn photography ?

I’ve always enjoyed being creative and I chose to study visual communication at university where I specialised in graphic design and photography to allow me bring my love of creativity into whatever I chose to do in the future. I’ve realised that life goes past at an incredibly pace. I’m a strong believer in creating memories and it gives me so much joy being able to capture those first moments for families. I believe giving birth to life is such an outstanding achievement and what better way to cherish those memories than to freeze the time with photos.

2. How do you balance the mum life whilst being a photographer ?

I’m so lucky to have a great support system at home, where I have the ability to follow my passion of newborn photography and forever improve on it. It may seem like I have everything under control at all times but that’s certainly not the case.  Ever since they were born, I’ve instilled a strict routine for my children which helps both them and myself to be organised and remain calm which certainly helps!

3. What is your favourite thing about newborn photography ?

The ability to freeze the moment where they’re so tiny and small. I love capturing the details of a baby, their small hands, small feet, the baby rolls. I love experimenting with colour, and I love how newborn photography gives me the opportunity to create unique set ups for my clients using bright colours, flowers and various different props/wraps.

4. How long is a shoot and how long do you spend editing ?

All my sessions are completely baby led and typically last up to 3 hours where we stop for feeds and nappy changes as well. I’ve cruised through shoots in under 2 hours for babies that remain sleeping and had to make a few stops for those that want to see what’s going on.  It’s never rushed and I’ve positioned my packages to be as transparent as possible, increasing with the number of images so it’s always in my interest to get as many beautiful images as possible for new mummies and daddies. The best time for a newborn shoot is with in the first 2 weeks of the baby’s life as this is when they are the sleepiest and are incredibly flexible so I’m able to pose them in all of those beautiful positions. Depending on the skin of the baby a full newborn gallery can take anywhere up to 40 hours to edit. Juggling between the current week’s sessions and last week’s images that parents have chosen, parents typically receive their final images after 2 weeks with products they’ve opted for following shortly after.

5. Any tips on making the most of a newborn photo session ?

As long as you’ve filled in my very short newborn questionnaire prior to the shoot, I take care of everything in terms of clothing, props and everything else to make the shoot as beautiful as possible. New parents just need to bring the baby, milk and a dummy if necessary. I also always strongly recommend new mums and dads take some photos with their newborn baby, however tired/drained they feel. Having been in the same boat when I gave birth, I know how exhausting the first few weeks are but looking back at these moments through photos will certainly be worth it all! I include parent and sibling shots, with no additional charge, in all of my newborn sessions for this very reason

For more information, prices, and bookings, please visit her website here.

For her social media, click here.