A newborn changes almost as you watch.
The curled body.
Tiny hands.
Soft skin.
The extraordinary scale of a baby held against an adult chest.
These are the things I have photographed since 2005.
My newborn photography is simple and uncluttered, with the focus on the baby and the people around them.
How small they once were.
I have never needed much around a newborn.
Light.
Skin.
Hands.
A simple piece of fabric when needed.
I photograph babies on their own, but some of my favourite portraits are made while they are being held.
Against a mother's chest.
In a father's hands.
Over a shoulder.
With an older brother or sister leaning in.
The way a family naturally holds a new baby gives me much of what I need.
Newborn photography is also about the family they have arrived into.
Parents can be photographed together and individually with their baby. Brothers and sisters can be included, as can grandparents when they are part of the session.
Sometimes the smallest gesture makes the photograph.
A hand supporting a head. A baby curling into a chest. A sibling looking closely at a face they are only beginning to know.
These photographs show more than what a newborn looked like at the beginning.
They show where they belonged.
My newborn work has followed the same simple visual language for more than twenty years.
I use very few props and avoid elaborate sets or styling that can become more important than the baby.
Black and white is a natural part of my work, as is my signature black background. I also use colour where it suits the photograph.
The aim is not to make a newborn look like anything other than what they are.
New.
Small.
And already very much part of a family.
For practical information about preparing for your newborn photographs and a closer look at how I work:
How I photograph newborns being held, fed and settled with the people around them.
Simple clothing guidance for babies, parents and siblings.
A closer look at photographing newborns simply and unwrapped, including skin-to-skin, warmth and discretion.
Pregnancy, before everything changes.
As expression appears and personality begins to show.
Childhood, as it is now.
The years between childhood and adulthood.
Together, as they are now.
Portraits of mothers and daughters, at every age.
Portraits of mothers and sons, from childhood into adulthood.
Fathers with their children, at every age.
The years between, held together.
JOHANNESBURG PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER
One Moment. One Portrait. Forever
© 2005–2026 Bridget Corke Photography
Blairgowrie · Johannesburg · South Africa
International Master's in Portrait Photography
One of only two in Africa.