Baby photos of one-month-old Ben

What do you get if you combine a Brazilian economist with a theoretical physicist from Germany? Sorry to disappoint you if you’re hoping for a punchline: the answer is that you get a very happy couple and a VERY handsome son 🙂

Stefan was about to start a new placement in Brazil when he reached out to his contacts for suggestions for places to stay and things to do. Clarisse volunteered to help him settle in, and the pair hit it off immediately.

“We’re both crazy academics!” Clarisse told me, explaining that their work meant everything to them. I think it may have slipped down to second place in importance now, though, as they’ve both fallen madly in love with little Ben.

Ben was one month and one day old at the time of our newborn photoshoot. Although this is slighter older than most of the newborns I photographed, he was perfectly happy to snooze away, especially when he was swaddled up!

The pair love cuddling up with Ben, with Clarisse loving how he falls asleep on her chest, while Stefan likes how Ben tucks in against him like a little koala bear 🙂

Stefan and Clarisse chose the name Ben because it is pronounced in a similar way in the three languages they speak between them: English, German and Portuguese! They plan to teach all three tongues to Ben as he grows up, which means he’s going to find learning languages at school much easier than I did!

Ben’s grandparents can’t wait to meet him very soon: Stefan and Clarisse have been together for ten years, and their parents were getting impatient for a grandchild! Both sets were delighted to hear of the couple’s pregnancy, and are looking forward to their first kisses and cuddles with him.

In fact, Stefan and Clarisse are planning a trip back to Brazil in the New Year, and I’m sure it will be the first of many. This couple love travel, and are happy to put in the legwork to go right off the beaten track: even if that means a three-day hike up a mountain in the rainforest, where you carry everything you need and can’t leave anything behind (not even your toilet ‘droppings’!).

The pair can’t wait for Ben to start walking, so they can go on new adventures as a family of three. Their journeys together will be mental as well as physical: Stefan has already bought Ben his first physics book and is looking forward to figuring out equations with his new son when he’s a little older. We’ll wait and see if Ben is more interested in Economics! 🙂

After our shoot, Clarisse said:

“I am extremely pleased that we found Sarah. She did a photo sessions of our newborn. Besides the lovely atmosphere, the resulting photos look stunning. I can’t recommend her strongly enough.”

Clarisse, Newborn photography & family photography client from Oxford, Oxfordshire

If you’re interested in newborn portraits or family photography in and around Bicester, Oxfordshire, please get in contact.

Sarah Plater LMPA is an award-winning qualified, certified professional newborn and family portrait photographer based in Bicester, Oxfordshire. She is the Master Photographers Association Newborn Photographer of the Year 2019 for the Central Region (covering Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire).