Introducing little 5 month old baby Maia from Rushden. Maia isn’t special just because she’s so wonderfully happy and totally gorgeous, she’s my baby Niece too! The very special first daughter of my little Sister Amy (she’ll always be little to me even though she’s in her late 20’s) and my Brother-in-law Mike, or Muncle Mike as our kids prefer to call him.
I feel mildly embarrassed to admit that this is actually the first baby portrait shoot I’ve taken of Maia since her birth. I’ve been meaning to get my hands on her and capture her little character all summer but such is life!
Anyway, we got there in the end and in a way I’m glad we waited till she was just that little bit older as she rewarded us with the most wonderful display of expressions. From cheeky chuckles and toothless grins to her amusing raised eyebrows and intense baby stares, she was an absolute joy to photograph.
We started off by cranking up the studio heating and stripping Maia down to her nappy to reveal her lovely chubby little body. I personally prefer to photograph babies naked in the first year of their lives as their skin is so naturally soft and perfect, it seems a shame to cover it up with man-made clothes! We plonked her in a blanket covered Bumbo and concentrated on capturing mainly headshots, images that captured her lovely relaxed and happy personality.
We then laid her on her front, on a heavily textured rug, and let her do her cute baby push-ups. She wasn’t so keen on this position to be honest and really just wanted to see what was going on around her. A very nosey little lady, definitely her Mother’s Daughter!
Even at such a very young age, infants always tell you exactly what they want and are comfortable with. As long as you listen to them and respond to their needs, they’ll almost always reward you with those killer smiles!
I could tell Mum was itching to pop Maia into the posh new frock she’d bought with them, so once dressed and looking like a perfect little doll, we laid her on her back to capture some lovely full length body shots.
A massive thanks to my Sister for letting me get my hands on my gorgeous little niece and of course to Maia, for just simply being so very very lovely. It was a treat to spend some proper quality time with you both!