So I am back from my holiday... and feeling human again, which is lovely. I have lots of catching up to do so please be patient with me this week - I have 300 emails of which more than 100 actually need answering! Please note that availability wise , the earliest sessions I have are week commencing the 20th of September, but I envisage that by the end of this week this is more likely to be October. And I know its early mentioning this - but the cut off date for a session to have your order guaranteed for Christmas is the 8th of November.

And I know I keep repeating this - but I have had lost of enquiries for newborns 10 days old and above. Unfortunately it is very hard to get the images you see on the website once your baby is over 10 days - the best time for newborn sessions is between day 4-10, ideally day 5/6.

Also I can rarely accommodate short notice appointments, and slots only ever become available if lots of newborns don't come on the dates that they were meant too...so if you are reading this and are pregnant please note that typically I am booked 6 - 8 weeks ahead, and you need to book as far in advance as you can.

Hello to all of you :) Just a quick update regarding the studio diary . I am now taking appointments for the 2nd week of September and cannot accommodate anyone before that time. We have now entered wedding season, so most of the weekends will be spent away from the studio...check out www.loveasart.co.uk for my recent wedding images.

I am also away for 2 weeks in August. As you can see from the blog, I have been rather busy (and there is more, but not every session makes the blog!), and now have a little bit of a backlog. So as always I need to put my head down and try and get everything up to date before the holiday - I am so looking forward to more than 4 hours sleep a night!

Please please remember that if you are looking to book a session, give me as much notice as possible. I have put home visits on hold for the time being, as they usually mean a day out of studio, and with Isabelle breaking up from school in a couple of days I think she really needs (as do I ) a little bit more of mummy time!

I already have newborns booked for their Welcome to the World sessions in for October and December so if you are over 6 months pregnant,  then it's never to early to secure your slot. September, October and November are by far the busiest months of the year and normally booked about 8-9 weeks in advance.

If you have emailed me or called with an enquiry, I will get back to you , but it may take a day or two - I normally shoot during the days and it's not unusual for me to come back to my desk after a shoot to 50 emails - so please bear with me.

I very much look forward to seeing you - and I leave you with this lovely image of some baby tootsies!

Ok time for a mega post - yes I am still alive and well! After returning from holiday, when I finally caught up with my sleep I had to really try and get through my 300 emails and the sessions I came back to this week - whew, almost there! Just a quick update for you on availability - I am now booking sessions for the week commencing 23rd of August onwards, and September is starting to look busy, I envisage another baby boom around that time....So if you are pregnant and keep on having your newborn bundle of joy photographed, please do get in touch sooner rather than later. I am booking all newborns in for 5 days following your due date - this is on the basis that it is a "floating" appointment. Of course babies have their own idea as to when they decide to come into our world, and we may need to swap with someone else, depending on how everything happens. But, at least the time in the diary has been booked out and I always end up somehow juggling things around. Things got a little hairy recently, with 3 newborns coming early, but it all worked out in the end. So please, please don't leave it until the last minute, as there may be a possibility that I won't be able to accommodate you. Newborn photography is something so precious, and we have such a small window to do the session - most of the babies you see on my website are between 3-10 days old. From experience, day 5/6 are best - however I realize this is not always practical.

On another front , I am now maybe looking to move! Great news for all my West London clients as I am looking at the area of Winchester and surrounding villages, it certainly will make the commute a little easier. I am going to have a little look around the weekend after next, looking forward to some country living...we shall see - nothing is set in stone at this stage.

I also wanted to say a huge thank you to some of my lovely customers who took the time to write me a review on the Baby London Website  , I really appreciate it!

I am going to keep this post pinned to the top, but below you will see some sneak previews I have been meaning to post for ages - but as I literally didn't sleep for 48 hours flat before I went on my holiday trying to get proofs and orders out, and I never got round to those... Enjoy and hope to see you soon!  

 

Just a quick hello and update! July is now almost fully booked - I have 2 or 3 more slots left and then we are going into August. Please remember if you are expecting a baby and would like a newborn session, these need to be now booked well in advance - please call me if you would like further details. I will be away from the studio between the 8th and the 17th of June, back in the studio on the 19th. Hope you are all enjoying the fab weather!

Just wanted to say a quick hello and give an update on my schedule. I am now fully booked until the end of June, and only taking bookings for July onwards. If you are looking for a newborn session ( strictly 10 days or under) by all means please do get in touch and I will see what I can do , and I am happy to recommend another photographer if I cannot accommodate you. I have a waiting list that I am happy to put you on should cancellations arise, but these are few and far between - the baby boom continues!

Please note that if you are pregnant and you would like a Welcome to the World (i.e.newborn) photography session, please do get in touch well in advance - I will book you in for 5 days following your due date. Of course the baby arrives as and when it decides to be here, but at least if you are booked in I will be able to swap you with someone else - i.e the time has been booked out of the diary.

The session fees are strictly payable on booking your session - I cannot hold appointment times unless the session fee has been paid and I have your full details.

I have recently had a lot of enquiries for newborn session where the baby is between 2 - 8 weeks. Unfortunately the likelihood of getting those lovely squishy newborn images is reduced by about 50% once you go over the 10 days, and by 75% once you go over the 2 weeks. Unless your little one is particularly sleepy ( this is the case sometimes with early babies), then I cannot promise you these types of images.

At that point you are much better off waiting until the baby is 12 weeks +. The period between 2 weeks and 12 weeks ( bar an occasional exception) is a bit of a no man's land for baby photography. At that point we have missed the beautiful newborn stage, and the baby is not quite strong enough to lift their neck or do anything much - so you will not get a great variety of images. Once your baby is over 12 weeks, they will be able to lift their head much better, maybe lift on their tummy and properly smile. We can still get some lovely natural images appropriate to that age group.

I leave with you with another image of the beautiful baby Neeyah, at 8 days old.

Take care and see you soon!

Maria :)