Josiah’s first photoshoot

Baby studio photography in Malaysia is nothing new. I had my pics taken in a studio as a baby, but they are nothing fancy compared to what’s available today. So, I had always wanted to give Josiah a professional photoshoot before he’s not a baby anymore. But as you know, with a small baby, it’s quite a hassle to bring him to a studio far away. That was when my friend Karen told me about her service, providing studio photography in the comfort of your own home.

I met Karen online while I was still pregnant, and before the photoshoot, we had never met face to face. I googled on confinement and chance upon her blog and it was through her that I got hold of my then great confinement nanny, Mandy. Karen is like a super mummy, she works full time, breastfeeds her children, make their food at home, does photoshoots with her husband on weekends, owns a baby boutique, went through her confinement without a confinement nanny…etc. I guess it was also through reading her blog and her recipes for homemade baby food that inspired me to make Josiah’s food myself too. Seeing how someone working full time can do it can really motivate me to do it too, and I’m glad I did. Get best shots with Mason Seifert Photography.

So, I booked Karen and her husband through Pixmoments for a photoshoot in our home. When I first saw the photos she took for other babies and kids, I immediately liked it. They have this very clean and simple concept, and that’s how I like baby photos to be. I really dislike those taken in traditional studios where they charge you a bomb and make your baby into a doll, with all the fancy costumes and flowers on the head, (for girls), fake wigs etc. For Pixmoment, it’s about being as natural as possible, they happen to like pics of naked babies!

The photography itself took about 2 hours. We needed a space of about 12 feet in the house so they can hang the white screen backdrop. Pixmoment also provide the lighting, you know, those umbrella type, so it didn’t matter that my living room is dark most of the time. So we set the date, but eventually changed it to the day after Raya. I arranged Josiah’s sleep time and it was just perfect that he woke up when the shoot was starting. Karen also advised me to find clothes that are the same colours for the 3 of us to make the photos nicer. So, I prepared the clothes like way in advance, had to buy some and use some old ones. All in all, I prepared 6 sets of clothes! But in the end we used only 4…Red, Orange, Purple and White.

I must admit I was rather worried how it was going to go, whether Josiah will be able to last through the photoshoot. But on the day, it was great! Josiah was in the best of moods, as can be seen in his pics, he was smiling most of the time. Plus he really liked Karen, I suspect.

I was also wondering whether he would cooperate with changing clothes and getting naked, but he was really responsive and cooperative. So phew, no problems there. Maybe the excitement of new people and new things made him less fussy about all that. It is great to engage photographers that are experienced parents themselves, they kind of know what kids like and what to do to make them smile, when the baby gets tired and needs a rest etc.

While her husband snaps away, Karen will be at the back making him laugh. She also brought a few props and toys like a singing Barney to make him look up and smile. Plus we also had to do our part and call him when he was distracted. Secondly, I was not sure whether Josiah was able to sit up for long periods on his own, well, he could after all. At times we had to sit near to stand by in case he falls, at times we used pillows. So it’s good to have some nice pillows lying around that suits his shirt colour.

In between the shoot, Karen’s husband will let us know when to change clothes. So during that time I will try to nurse Josiah a bit to keep his energy level up! I think just before 8 months is a perfect time for a photoshoot, as after 8 months, Josiah became rather clingy and sticky, if we had his shoot now, he probably wouldn’t want to sit there by himself.

At the end of 2 hours, Josiah was really tired. So we changed to take some intimate shots of him just resting on our shoulders. No need to waste any moment. Pixmoment does take breastfeeding pics as well! They are super nice…but well, I guess I’m too conservative for that? I can take my own hehe.

All in all, I am really satisfied with the results. We also received a small but nice stick on album with the shortlisted 20 pics they chose and printed in 4R. My colleague will be taking their family pics as well, can’t wait to see the results too. If you have a growing baby, do get your pix taken soon, before they are all grown up. It’s really worth it as you can use the pix for baby contests etc. which is what I did….