A common question is how images are delivered - black and white or colour, both, only one?  The answer is that I will edit them in the way I feel best tells a story or captures the moment or the details, but if you let me know before your session that you want all your photos in black and white - I'm happy to do that. I'm also happy to edit all of them in colour if that is your preference.

These images are from a recent in-home newborn session. Their gallery was a blend of both colour and black and white. Personally, I love black and white images - I feel they really show me the emotion in an image - and sometimes, when light is really low - I love how they really celebrate the shadows and light.  

As a photographer I'm always looking for the light.  

I love how light moves into a room, how it reflects off surfaces and how changing my angle only a tad can completely change the look of a photograph.  

When working with older siblings and newborns, often I have only a moment (or half a second) to capture ONE image before that toddler is off again and out of the room to run about and play with the ball in the next room.  

Often I don't have the luxury of time to move myself into the perfect location to work with the light as I wish I could. 

BUT I'm in the business of connections...

So if there's a second when big sister is staring at her new little brother - if only for a split-second - I will click the shutter.  Some of these photos are exactly that - even though I had ideas in my head when I walked into the room about how to best use the single window and the shadows to create beautiful images...the opportunity to do so didn't really come about...

So I went with the flow - moved around the room and the moments as they happened and chose to edit many of these in black and white to really bring out the emotions and connections. Perhaps the light wasn't exactly what I had envisioned, but I believe the moments, the connections and the stuff that really matters can be reflected and brought out using black and white edits.

It can really accentuate the emotions in an image...

It's tough making the adjustment to a new family member - so often during newborn photo sessions, toddlers and older siblings may need a few minutes to warm up to the idea of photos. They may not even want to be in photos at all - I get that...and I'm happy to work with that.  How wonderful it will be to look back in a few years and see our children's personality right there - frozen in a photograph.  Some of my favourite images of my daughter are the ones during her "pout" phase (is it a phase...'cause it comes back...) because they bring RIGHT back to the moments and the time when everything was tough for her...and they make me smile.

It can really help bring out the details in a photograph...

Have you ever had a newborn baby grasp your finger and just hold on?  Are you smiling and is your heart warming just thinking about it?  How great it would be to have a photograph that makes you feel the same way?  

I choose black and white for certain edits to bring out the details - like in this image below.  I love how baby is holding onto mom's finger.  I love how big sister's eyelashes are the focus of the next image and how she is holding mom's clothes as she feeds - likely a detail that they experience every day together.

Why I chose black and white edits for this session?

These photos to me are about the connections between this beautiful family. These are unposed, shot as they happened and sometimes that means that I'm up against a wall, or between a bed and a shelf to get the shots.  (Yes, I did bump my head a few times...it happens...). I love that when I look at these photos I can feel exactly what the room felt like during the session.

This family is so full of love, strength and fun. They were relaxed, they went with the flow of their children as they moved in and out of the room and we were able to capture some images that really show that love and connection.

So...to answer the question - yes, I do edit in black and white and I do LOVE doing so. I hope these photos will bring this awesome family back to these very moments and feelings year after year as they look back on them.

See more images from this session here.

Breathe In Photography offers in home newborn sessions year round.  They are a great way to capture your newborn photos in the comfort of your own home and a relaxed and candid way.  Learn more about new baby photos.