This is the newest addition to our family – little Baby Daisy. Three weeks early and weighing less than 2kg (4lb 14oz), I cannot believe how tiny she is. She is a miniscule, fragile, delicate little thing. Her new parents Mandy and Stephen are very proud of her, and rightly so. Congratulations to them both, she’s gorgeous.
My boy Ted is now a hefty, chunky, mobile one year old, but he was twice the weight of Daisy when he was born. She fits into the palms of two hands and is the most delicate little thing I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I have found it hard to comprehend how much a baby changes in the first year. In adult life, Daisy and Ted will be considered to be the same age, but right now they could not be any more different. It is a cliché that you hear time and again that “it all goes so quickly”, but looking at Daisy has made me realise for the first time that it’s true. I simply cannot remember a tiny Ted, despite the photographic evidence.
I took this photo at a recent family barbecue. I wasn’t particularly prepared for shooting a new born baby, especially one that does little other than sleep and feed, but I got a few snaps when the opportunity arose. I am happy with the set of photos I got, especially the black and white ones. This one here is the best example; I think I have captured her delicateness and the protective love of her mother.
I also love this one in landscape orientation, mother and child nose-to-nose. I chose not to use it though as Daisy’s yawning mouth makes it look like she was crying. It amused me that today’s release of the first photo of PM David Cameron and his new born is almost identical in composition!
With a little more time or preparation, I would do this shot a bit different as you can’t see much of Daisy’s face, but I think the emotion is there anyway. I tried several different black and white conversions at different levels of contrast. I found this one to be the best. Not too contrasty, but keeping enough contrast on Mandy’s face to enhance the delicate look of Daisy’s.
This is the first time I have tried to photograph someone else’s child, and I am happy with the results. Congratulations again Mandy and Stephen!