Proud to announce that I’ll be the speaker for “The Business of Newborn Photography” meeting with the Professional Photographer’s of Ontario Hamilton-Niagara branch this year.
Lifestyle Photography | Niagara Newborn Photographer
20. December 2012 By
Lifestyle photography. What does it really mean? Photojournalism or candid photography is raw, uncut moments in time. It’s a person getting on a bus. It’s a split second where someone is doing something and not planning to pose for a camera. It is not perfect photographs featuring perfect posing and lighting. Lifestyle photography combines photojournalism and perfect posing and lighting, creating a more modern style. Photographers that specialize in this create images of people doing things they would normally do in a natural setting. My name is Karen Byker , from Reflections of Life Photography. This is my preferred style of photography, and let me tell you why.
Newborn lifestyle photography is about documenting the life of a brand new little person. It’s about capturing the personality of each baby, celebrating their uniqueness. Being immersed in their new life, and enjoying the love that is naturally surrounding them. It is about the feelings between two parents as they realize the future years of their life have been forever changed for the better.
In order to capture these feelings, an environment needs to be created that facilitates connection. Lifestyle photographers often need to be able to photograph their subjects as if there is no camera in the room. For parents to feel completely comfortable takes time, so these sessions can never be rushed. With newborns, I always follow their cues, their position likes and dislikes, and if they should move their arm, stretch out those tiny feet, give me a great big yawn, I photograph it. Those moments are just as, if not more important. Being able to capture the personality of a newborn baby in images is something new parents are sure to treasure completely.
Lifestyle newborn photography takes the planning and preparation of newborn studio portrait sessions and combines it with the raw, uncut moments of newborn photojournalistic photography. The result is a brand new form of art. One that leaves parents breathless. One that leaves a lasting memory, of that perfect little babe and the feelings of love that surround them.
Written By Karen Byker | Reflections of Life Photography
Meet Aiden | Niagara Newborn Photographer
22. October 2012 By
This is Aiden John. He entered the world on September 29th, 2012, weighing 6 lbs 9 oz and he was born at 3:36 pm. Aiden was born at the Welland Hospital, the birth attended by Dr Beyani. Aiden’s Daddy, Bryan, and his Mommy, Amanda, can’t say enough nice things about her – she really listened to what they wanted and helped guide them in the best way for both of them and their new baby. The birth was approximately 5-6 hours and with just 10 minutes of pushing little Aiden showed his face. Bryan and Amanda were over the moon that he was healthy and couldn’t believe what a calm little baby they had.
They brought Aiden’s big brother Nate in to meet him that night and he was a little worried about Mommy having an IV in, but all he really wanted was to hold and cuddle his new brother. Nate is so amazing with little Aiden. Amanda and Bryan were worried about jealousy and while he’s quite a bit more rambunctious, his love for his brother amazes them both and makes them proud that they prepared him well for Aiden’s arrival.
Little Aiden has been a fire cracker since the day Amanda first felt him kick. Seeing him now, she’s a bit surprised he’s such a calm and sleepy baby. She still thinks his fiery spirit will assert itself eventually though, unlike Aiden’s older brother “Nator Gator” who is outgoing but sensitive and has a bit of a dreamers soul. Aiden strikes Amanda as having more of a bold personality, who will not be afraid of a challenge and head onwards into life with a true zest for adventure. Amanda and Bryan have always hoped for their boys to be strong but gentle men, respectful and courteous, living their lives and making decisions with their heart.
Aiden’s Mommy, Amanda, is a professional photographer. She got strange looks from people when she told them she hired someone to do Aiden’s portraits. It seemed weird to them that she wouldn’t just save the money and do them herself, but the investment is so incredibly worth it. She wanted to see their family from the outside, kind of a third person view and they came to me for their first son and were very happy with both the images and the experience.
Bryan and Amanda don’t really put a lot of value into material items. They have a beautiful home, but they focus on filling it with love and memories instead of expensive things. For them, photography is incredibly important. Amanda has a great memory, but Bryan has a terrible one so photography is so important because it allows him to remember those moments that are fleeting. Amanda feels that it’s not just her job, but one of her greatest passions. They also love to travel – with their most recent trip being to Europe (Holland, France, Belgium) while 4 months pregnant.
These loving parents are both really affectionate. They love to start the day off with some cuddles, pulling both boys into their bed and being silly or snuggling is the best way to start off the day. They try their best as parents to focus on having patience and adapting their approach to each child’s specific personality. They love to colour, sing, horse around and have adventures. They both want of their boys to experience the most out of life – not through material goods but through moments and memories of times with family, dreaming and experiencing life.
When asked about her session with me, Amanda wrote “Karen has such an incredible way with newborns, her patience and gentle demeanour have led both my husband and I to call her the “baby whisperer”. I always appreciate her more simple approach to capturing things as they are and focusing on the relationships between all of us as they are in a relaxed and candid way.”
In the last nine months, Amanda and Bryan have learned to enjoy each moment and not take anything for granted. They had someone very close to them experience the passing of their baby at around 6 1/2 months pregnant and it kind of knocked the wind out of both of them. Babies are a blessing from God and they believe watching their friends go through such horrible pain and loss made them so incredibly thankful for their blessing, and made them take a moment when Aiden was born and really cherish the gift they were given.
Amanda wants to honour their friends and their son by taking everything in and making sure to never take a single moment for granted. Amanda also learned to be patient and that our ideas of the way life is going to go doesn’t always happen as planned. She thought Aiden was coming early! She had very painful (and real not braxton hicks) contractions for three weeks before he was born and in addition to that he had been low lying for quite some time. Being a wedding photographer with a full season meant that she was on her feet for an incredible amount of time, pushing herself pretty hard. She and her doctor thought that would lead her into labour early, but little Aiden held on tight and surprised us all. Amanda thinks parenting him will be much the same way, he’ll surprise her at every turn and she can’t wait to watch him grow and discover what he has in store for their family.
