Our babies are our precious treasures and we treat all our clients’ babies, as if they are our own children, being sensitive to how little they still are, and how they have certain needs. To photograph babies is not the easiest task, because babies and smaller children rule the world – if they want something done now, chaos breaks out of they don’t get it. Little newborn babies are still used to being very close to mommy and daddy, and being by themselves can be quite intimidating, so we make sure to create a soothing environment, as to not scare them and have their first shoot be a negative experience.

Our Maternity- and Newborn combination package is a great value-for-your-money package, making sure you get those moments of your pregnancy when your tummy is still round and full, showing the miracle of an actual baby living inside of you, and then the shoot with baby is so special, because they seem to grow so fast, that that amazing newborn look with wrinkly skin, and bend-in little knees, start to disappear faster that you would like it to.

Riani has quite the magical touch with these little human beings, she seems to have a soothing touch, and some skills to make sure baby does not freak out in the shoot. Too bright lights, or being too far and too long away from mommy, could unsettle them, and we make sure the necessary is done to make the experience as positive as possible, for both newborn and its very proud parents.

Yolandi Jacobsz & Riani Labsuchagne

Newborn baby photos

Choosing a name for newborn babies are quite a process, some people tend to be more traditional and use “family initials” and others choose the name based on the meaning, like “gift from God” and some names are chosen purely because they sound good.

I remember asking this daddy his son’s name and he told me it’s Mattheo.  So of course inquisitive me I asked him why they chose the name, if there’s any special meaning to it and guess what he told me?  It’s one of the few Italian names that doesn’t sound like a restaurant, interesting and very true J

Newborn shoots like this one can be done in the comfort of your own home, all you need is a room of about 3.5mX3.5m which can be easily heated.  The best temperature for the room where the newborn photos will be taken is 24 degrees Celsius.  This ensures that baby’s core temperature stays regulated and they are comfortable even when undressed.

Capturing these photos of your newborn baby is a magical time, and one day when you look at the cheeky teenager standing next to you you’d never believe this little bundle was them.

Riani Labuschagne & Yolandi Jacobsz

Newborn baby photos in studio

We get to form a bond with families visiting us for the second or third time, and we have had the opportunity to photograph some families on even more than third occasions. We are very proud of the fact that we produce good products for clients, which is what makes them return and keep us in mind when they want another shoot done, whether it be in the studio with their families, or and event they are attending or organized and want some pictures of.

This family has been with us for their Maternity shoot and we fell in love with their personalities immediately. After their beautiful baby boy was born, they brought him back where we had the chance to give them the first professional photos of their little miracle, and Riani did such an amazing job with him.

Our Maternity/Newborn package is a favorite and quite a roaring success. It makes us as photographers form a bond with the new parents, and we will always have our clients back for more and more amazing shoots – more memories to be treasured.

Yolandi Jacobsz & Riani Labuschagne

Pregnancy and Newborn baby photos

Taking photos of newborn babies have taught me many things over the years…

 Patience is the first and foremost, take everything you have had in your life to teach you patience and multiply it by 5!  I have learnt that the best way to capture the innocence of a newborn baby is to forget about what you have got to do and just tap into their rhythm.  If they want to feed and you want to shoot, you will soon realize the error of your ways J  Happy baby, happy photographer and memories for parents to treasure!

Feeding in between truly does soother your baby in such a way that they cope much better with the experience of giving you wonderful photos.

A warm cozy environment is the second lesson.  Even though you as the photographer feel like you are in a sauna your little model is very snug and relaxed because of the heat, so make sure that you regulate the temperature for them.

It’s the little things that count, so do heat your hands before you touch the baby as they tend to be a lot more keen on being moved and tilted around.

And don’t forget to enjoy this little miracle!

Riani Labuschagne & Yolandi Jacobsz

Newborn baby photos

Looking at your two year old toddler can you ever really remember how small she was…?  Not really, and if you take a look at your precious newborn photos taken in baby’s first three weeks it’s astonishing to see just how much they have grown!

They start out as precious tiny little miracles who need all your love and support and finally start growing into this independent little person who still needs your love and support, just in a very different way.  Anyone with toddler experience will know all about giving your toddler a chance to try something themselves (cos they want to and even though you know they can’t yet do it themselves you stand close by and help when they ask) 

With our pro newborn baby photography we truly aim to capture the magic of every frown and yawn, capturing the very essence of this beautiful new life you so cherish.  We understand that it’s a life changing event to have this little person who is now the biggest part of your world, and I think that is why it is just so special.  Using your hands in some photos we try to “add scale” to show just how small they really are, so that in years to come when they are almost just as tall as you, you will look back at these photos  and remember just how they started out.

We would love to meet your newest addition to the family, and so for more information don’t hesitate to contact our friendly photographers at 011-869-7759

Riani Labuschagne & Yolandi Jacobsz

Pro newborn photography 

I have always loved newborn babies, ever since I was old enough not to be a one anymore.  Ask my sister and she will tell you that I will walk up to people in the shopping centre and tell them that their little newborn or baby is just the cutest little thing ever  

Once while shopping for books, I found this fantastic book called “Sleeping Beauties”, filled with high-key newborn baby photos and I instantly fell bought it and fell in love with this particular style of newborn photos.  Of course I had to shop around on my weekend for a few new props like textured materials (which are textures but still soft enough to place a newborn on) as well as baskets, a woven magazine holder and much more…

I was so excited that I phoned up a friend on that very same day and scheduled a photoshoot with her little darling Izabella who would be 16 days old on the day of this particular newborn photoshoot.  And so the day of the shoot finally arrived and the weather was miserable… But I was my mind was put to rest as we have a powerful aircon to heat the studio to just the perfect temperature to ensure this little angel woudl be perfectly comfortable.

Because this photoshoot was all about experimenting with the new props and lighting the shoot took roundabout three hours, with baby having a feed or two inbetween and a little picnic snacks for us

So have a look at our works of art and my new samples of high-key newborn photography and let me know what you think?

Riani Labuschagne

Newborn baby Photography 

Babies, will always be cute, and we- HAVE to capture that. It’s such a waist to have those terrific toothless smiles, chubby cheeks and soft little bodies, and not photograph them. For your little person it could be quite new experience, even with maternity shoots, we find the mommies tell us how they can feel the baby move inside, as they definitely sense the light.

Studio lights are very bright, they are calibrated to sunlight, which is white, stark light, and so your little one could be a bit intimidated by all of it, and start to get a bit fussy. We really try and not push them beyond their limits as they are still so small, but we advise parents to bring baby when they have fed, and have gone down for a nap, we want them as comfortable as possible, as this will obviously make for the best photos.

Newborns keep their newborn-look only for awhile, after that they start to be aware of things around them to a degree, and wriggle a bit more. We have a package in our list, that is a combined maternity- and newborn shoot, and we ask the new mommies & daddies to bring their baby, as soon as they can after birth. We understand that it isn’t always possible; sometimes baby has to stay in hospital for various reasons and getting used to this little person’s new routine in a household, is quite a challenge. But when you can, bring baby, as new, and young as possible, and you will be guaranteed to great, stunning professional photos here at Louise Diesel Photography studio, The Real Life Studio.

Yolandi Jacobsz

Professional newborn baby photos