A rainy day in Barwon Heads, terrible light, a fresh baby, some 35mm film and why the best newborn photos happen when nobody’s trying to be perfect
Some connections are meant to happen, even if they take thirty-odd years to fully form.
This mum and I have been orbiting each other since we were kids – we share a couple of close mutual friends from our primary school days (shoutout to those legends who are still putting up with us decades later). We met properly in our twenties, became mums in our thirties, and somewhere along the way, life kept weaving our paths together.
So when she told me she was pregnant and wanted me to photograph her newborn, you can imagine my absolute delight. Not just because I adore newborn photography, but because she specifically said she didn’t want the standard conventional clean/posed/light-and-airy vibe that’s flooding Instagram right now.
Don’t get me wrong – those photos are lovely to print and treasure. But from an artistic standpoint? They’re about as interesting as watching paint dry on a beige wall.
A Dreary Day in Barwon Heads (Perfect for Honest Photos)
It was one of those properly dreary, rainy Bellarine Peninsula days when I knocked on their door in Barwon Heads. The kind of day where you question leaving the house at all, but as a photographer, I secretly love these conditions. I love soft, moody window light.
We’d caught up at Annie’s Provedore in Barwon Heads while she was still pregnant so I could meet her partner (because I’m a firm believer that knowing my families before our session creates the ease, familiarity, and trust that leads to truly honest moments). Now here they were, brand new parents in their cozy home, and I was about to document one of the most profound life changes humans can experience.
The maternal grandparents popped in for a cuddle during our session, adding to that lovely, calm, multi-generational atmosphere that makes newborn days so special. This wasn’t about getting the perfect shot – it was about capturing the rhythm of their new reality.
Why I Photograph Newborns on 35mm Film (most of the time)
The light was quite flat that day – technical photographer speak for “not ideal but workable” – so I shot a combination of digital and 35mm film. Digital gave me the flexibility I needed in the darker corners of their home, but oh, the film shots by the window.
Black and white 35mm film in soft window light with those deep, beautiful shadows – it creates this nostalgic, timeless aesthetic that just hits different. The grain adds texture and soul that digital can’t replicate. These are the photos that will look just as stunning in twenty years as they do today, because film doesn’t date itself with the digital trends of whatever year we’re in. Here, I’ve included a mix of both digital and black and white film. These colour photographs are digital. To me, the digital images feel a bit more polished and lifestyle genre, whereas the black and white film a bit more artful and documentary.
The Anti-Pose Approach to Newborn Photography
Here’s where I probably lose half the newborn photographers reading this: I don’t spend ages perfectly posing parents. I definitely don’t pose babies like frogs or put them in teacups (seriously, when did that become a thing?). And I absolutely don’t cycle through the same series of “lifestyle poses” that seem to be the Instagram norm these days.
Instead, I’m all about presence, observation, connection, improv and play. I follow the actual rhythms and routines of life with a newborn baby. Heating up a bottle, putting them down for a nap, nappy changes – the real stuff that’s happening anyway. Often the best photos happen when baby is stripped down to just a nappy, because it’s not about the cute outfits. It’s about those perfect tiny fingers, the way they stretch and yawn, the impossible softness of brand-new skin.
This mum was wearing comfortable postpartum clothes (because let’s be honest, your body is doing extraordinary things and comfort trumps fashion every time), and dad was in a t-shirt and jeans. They looked like themselves on any other day, which is exactly what I wanted.
The Magic Lives in the Gaze
What I’m really trying to capture is something ineffable – that gaze between parent and child that contains everything. The deep love, the deep fatigue, the overwhelm of what it feels like in your body to nurture this little life when nothing, absolutely nothing outside this small world could possibly compare with the enormous life change you’re experiencing.
I want you to look at these photos in five, ten, twenty years and feel your heart squeeze with the memory of those early days. The way your baby felt in your arms, the weight of them, the way they smelled, the particular quality of light in your home during those first weeks.
This is why I don’t want you performing for the camera. I want to see you like a close friend would when they pop over to visit in those early newborn days – comfortable, present, real.
Documentary Newborn Photography on the Bellarine Peninsula
As a Bellarine Peninsula newborn photographer working across Geelong, Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads, and the surrounding coastal areas, I see a lot of families trying to create some version of perfection for their newborn photos. Clean houses, coordinated outfits, everyone smiling on cue.
But here’s what I’ve learned: the most powerful family photographs happen when we stop trying to create perfection and start documenting reality.
Your baby can feed, sleep, cry, poop, repeat – that’s literally all they need to do. Don’t clean your house, don’t perform, don’t dress up, don’t have expectations on yourself or your baby. Our photos together will feel like your family life right now, and that’s exactly what makes them precious.
When to Book Your Bellarine Peninsula Newborn Session
I recommend booking newborn sessions within the first six weeks for those fresh, sleepy baby vibes, but honestly, photos are beautiful at all times in the first eight months or so. Each stage has its own magic – from brand new potato baby to those first genuine smiles.
I tend to book out about two months in advance, and newborn sessions don’t need to lock in a specific date until your baby arrives. We just reserve a space on my calendar for that month, because babies have their own timing (as you’re about to discover, if you haven’t already!).
The Connection That Makes It All Work
Back to my Barwon Heads family – there was something so beautiful about photographing people I genuinely care about, in their own space, during one of life’s most tender moments. The familiarity meant they could just be themselves, and I could focus on capturing the story unfolding naturally.
This is what documentary newborn photography is really about. Not the props, not the poses, not the perfect lighting setup. It’s about witnessing and preserving the profound ordinary moments that make up these early days with your new person.
Because trust me, those sleepless, overwhelming, love-drunk first weeks? They’re gone faster than you think. And you’ll want to remember exactly how it felt to live inside this beautiful chaos, even when – especially when – it didn’t look anything like the perfectly curated photos everyone else is posting.
Ready to document your own newborn story? Check out more of my work on the newborn photography page, or head to my contact page to book your session. Serving families across the Bellarine Peninsula, including Geelong, Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads, and surrounding coastal communities.
