HELEN PUTSMAN
Portrait Photographer

Words of love from one of my Maternity Clients

Helen is amazing! she is an incredible photographer, very professional, kind and attentive. That’s why we have chosen to hire her for our maternity photo sessions as well as for our recent new born and baby shoots. During the whole process she was very informative as to how to prepare for each photo shoot and what to expect. At the shoots she was extremely patient and gentle with our newborn and our toddler. Each time the pictures were absolutely breathtaking, we really had a hard time picking our favourites! At the end, we printed them in metallic prints and hand crafted Photoblocks in order to treasure them for ever, and we couldn’t be happier with the final result. Helen really takes photography to the level of art. We highly recommend her.

When to book your session?

Pregnancy photos are best done between 28 - 34 weeks pregnant. So please reserve your session ahead of time and I will move the session if necessary.

If you would like to view my gallery of maternity photos, please click here.

Photo sessions can take place in my studio or on location. I have some dresses for you to choose from or I can drape you with tulle or you can bring your clothes with you. I will help you style the shoot during our first consultation. In order to reserve your date, you will need to pay 50% of the Session fee.

Trained Newborn photographer

I have been trained to work safely with newborns by some of the top Newborn photographers in the world, namely, Kelly Brown and Julia Kelleher. 

I always say that we will try to get certain poses, but it will be your newborn baby who will decide exactly what he or she wants to do. Your baby will never be left unattended, never forced into any position that they don't like, I will always check the temperature of your baby during the shoot so that they are not too cold or too hot. You can rest assured that your baby will be well looked after in my hands. 

How will we know when to reserve our newborn session?

As soon as possible!  It’s best to contact me to reserve your custom photography session during the second trimester of your pregnancy to ensure my availability around your due date.  I typically book sessions 6-12 weeks in advance, and during busier seasons up to 20 weeks in advance. 

Once you book your newborn session, I will reserve availability around the time of your due date.  Babies come in their own time, so once your little bundle has made his/her grand arrival (whether early, late, or right on time) I will finalize the date and time of your session. The ideal time to photograph your baby is around 5-14 days new.​ However, if your baby was born premature, I would suggest waiting until your baby has put on a bit of weight,  at least 2.2 kg would be best. In order to achieve the sleepy poses, your baby needs to feed reasonably well.
I am happy to photograph newborns up to 6 weeks old, there will however be a little less sleepy poses in the session.  Wide-awake photos can also be charming.

Where do the newborn sessions take place?

If you want posed newborn photos of your baby with the possibility of using all my beautiful props and blankets, you would be coming to my home studio in Chêne-Bougeries. If you would prefer to have lifestyle images of you and your baby (and siblings), I can come to your home.  . In this case, photos can be taken of the baby during the first four weeks of the baby's life. For these kind of photos, It is essential to have reasonable daylight in your home.

Does the newborn session include images with mum, dad, and/or siblings?

A newborn session focuses on capturing all the beautiful little details of your new baby, as well as capturing the loving bond between parents and baby, and siblings and baby. The amount of family/sibling poses will vary depending on baby’s co-operation and the co-operation of older siblings.  Having a new baby in the family can be a big change for an older sibling, and every child handles it differently.​

How many images or setups will we get during an average session?

Every baby is different so the amount of photographs we take will depend on baby’s co-operation, and his/her need for soothing, feeding and changing. The session may last anywhere from 2-3 hours, allowing plenty of time for comforting and feeding.  Once I know what your favourite colours are, the styling of the shoot will be very simple with a beautiful timeless setup, providing you with images that will never date.​

Managing your expectations

If you’re considering getting your own newborn photos done, you have very likely looked at loads and got a few ideas. Parents send me all sorts of poses and ideas grabbed from google or Pinterest boards. My take is very simple: whatever we want from the photoshoot is not necessarily what the baby wants.

Planning for the end result

This is an often-overlooked point, but nevertheless, extremely important. It is wise to think about what you want to do with your photos before you create them. here are several very different examples.  The one on the left was specifically shot for this end result. The middle photo is showing a Photoblock, hand-made in Holland.  The image on the right is showing an Italian made Graphistudio GoBook with box and lid.

 All sessions include:

• A pre-session consultation to plan and prepare for your bespoke photography session, we discuss your style, favourite colours etc.
  
• This meeting helps you to reflect where you would like to hang your prints or plan for an album, unless you only want digitals
  
• The editing of your images, including artistic enhancements
  
• My time and experience in producing beautiful photographs for you
• A private viewing session to choose your images and prints
• When you purchase prints from me, you will be given same-size digitals for each print you orde

Maternity and Newborn Photography pricing

I have photo packages to suit everybody

Maternity and Newborn photography sessions start at 395 CHF

If you would like to enquire about my pricing, please send me an enquiry telling me about what kind of photo session you are looking for

I look forward to hearing from you!