Newborn photoshoot with 16-day-old Alice

September 2022 update: The above image has just won a Highly Commended Award in the August 2022 monthly newborn competition run by the Master Photographers Association (MPA).

Judge Sarah Tate FMPA commented, “Beautifully done: absolutely beautifully wrapped, hands are good [and] handled really nicely. I’m not going to critique this at all because I think you’ve done it really well – it’s spot on. Very well done, Sarah.”

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I last saw Fran and Charlie three years ago. Charlie was just three weeks at the time, a tiny little nugget of perfection (see the photos from his newborn photoshoot here).

Clearly the sands of time have been rushing through the hourglass, as all of a sudden Charlie is walking, talking and – most of all – singing his little heart out. 🙂

Partly that’s because his Nanny bought him a toy with a microphone for his birthday.

Clearly Charlie has been making good use of the gift, as I could hear him giving a very enthusiastic performance in the background of my pre-shoot consultation with his mum, Fran. ?

Fran told me that given a choice, Charlie would be watching Paw Patrol or Blaze and the Monster Machines as those are his clear favourites.

He’s very active, always on the move, and loves being picked up and carried (even if that’s just from the lounge to the kitchen!).

He’s not at all shy, and happily chats away to strangers.

Fran and Charlie walk the dog together every day, and Charlie shouts out a warm ‘Hello!’ to everyone they see, which can make for slow progress as so many people want to stop and chat with him!

As a mum to three daughters, Nanny was worried that the first boy in the family would be quite boisterous, but Charlie has been the opposite: kind, gentle with Alice and very caring indeed.

He also enjoys throwing and kicking balls, and singing along to nursery rhymes (The Finger Family Song, Wheels on the Bus and Row, Row, Row your Boat are current favourites).

Very soon, Charlie will have someone else to teach all these songs to, as he’s just been promoted to Big Brother.

His little sister, Alice, clearly couldn’t wait to meet everybody, as she arrived a week before her due date.

That means that she, her brother and her mum all share July birthdays – with just a couple of weeks between them!

Charlie was very excited to see Alice, and has even cuddled her a few times, too.

He’s not quite so keen when she starts crying though, suggesting at these points that she returns to mummy’s tummy! ?

Happily, Nanny came along to help at the family’s newborn photoshoot with Alice.

This meant that once we had created some pictures with Charlie and Alice together, Nana could whisk Charlie off to play while I focused on capturing Alice’s perfect little newborn features.

What struck me most is how similar her face is to her brother’s at the same age – like two peas in a pod.

It seems that she shares many of his characteristics too, being very calm and chilled out – great news for his wonderful family and also it will no doubt mean that she and Charlie will soon be the best of buddies, too. 🙂

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

Sarah Plater AMPA is an award-winning qualified, certified professional newborn and family portrait photographer based in Bicester, Oxfordshire. She is the Master Photographers Association Young Families Portrait Photographer of the Year 2022 and Newborn Photographer of the Year 2019 for the Central Region (covering Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire).