Newborn photography of 11-day-old Jasper and his family

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to grow up in a big family. From what I’ve seen of the Plested family, it’s every bit as magical, lively and beautifully chaotic as I’d imagined it would be.

The Bicester-based family have just welcomed in their fourth and final child, a handsome little dude called Jasper. Eleven days after he made his appearance into the world, Jasper’s mum brought him round to my studio for a newborn photography session.

These are some of my favourites from our shoot:

The family’s house is light and airy with impeccable decor. This is no surprise, as mum Kimberly’s background is in interior design; she even made it to the quarter finals of BBC 2’s Great Interior Design Challenge. She’s used lots of soft creams and warm greys around the family home, so I wanted to ensure that the portraits I captured would work well when displayed there.

I love Jasper’s little smile here: he looks so content and completely chilled out. The loose swaddle means we get to see his adorable fingers and toes poking out for extra cuteness.

Next I switched to a cream set-up, with the plaited fabric behind Jasper adding subtle texture and visual detail to the background:

I love the clasp of his hands and the simplicity of the tones in the shot. This portrait will look stunning in a neutral frame on a cream wall in the family home.

To give the family maximum choice and variety, I included one of my favourite newborn shots, which is distinctly different in style and very striking:

Here, a curious Jasper looks straight down the lens while supported in his mum’s hands. I love the L-shape of his body, and how his left arm draws your eye back to his face. Please note that although it looks like Jasper is midair, for safety reasons this portrait is created with some photography trickery: please don’t try it at home!

Kimberly was also looking to update her family portraits now Jasper had arrived, so we made time for all the family to join us separately to the newborn portion of the shoot:

We had time for one last shot before the children needed to change and head off to school. Kimberly asked if it would be possible to get a portrait of the four children together. Well, of course:

Jasper is one lucky guy to have these three awesome siblings to learn from, play with and grow up with 🙂

Afterwards, Kimberly said:

“We are absolutely in awe of the newborn and family photos Sarah has taken. Her patience and determination to get the shot just right really shows in her work. There is a very delicate balance of professionalism and a friendly warmth to the way Sarah works, it made us feel relaxed and resulted in all 6 of us captured with very genuine smiles.
My newborn was certainly throwing what he had at Sarah and still the images she captured were perfect and so special. I had to hold back the tears when we sat viewing them. After viewing our photos we were made to feel very comfortable choosing our package. What an easy decision to make – we simply wanted them all! Thank you Sarah.”

If you’re interested in newborn photography for your baby and would like to find out more, please get in contact by emailing [email protected] or submitting the form below:

Sarah Plater is a newborn portrait photographer based in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

(c) Sarah Plater Photography