There is a question I get asked more than almost any other. Not about pricing, not about timings, not even about how I keep a baby so settled and sleepy through a session. The question is this: where do you get your ideas?

I love that question. Because the honest answer is: everywhere. And also: I never really stop.

I Am, By My Own Admission, an Obsessive

I have been photographing newborns for over a decade now. I hold a Master Craftsman qualification in newborn photography, and I have been named International Newborn and Maternity Photographer of the Year by the Guild of Photographers. But none of that would mean much if I showed up to every session and set up the same props in the same colours in the same arrangement I used the week before.

That is not how I work. It is not who I am.

I am a perfectionist and, honestly, a bit of an obsessive. My studio is full of carefully curated wraps, outfits, baskets, and vessels that I have sourced, collected, and in some cases made myself over years. I sketch. I paint. I spend a genuinely embarrassing amount of time thinking about colour. And I grow flowers in my garden specifically because sometimes the most beautiful thing I can add to a setup is something that came from the earth this morning.

This is not a hobby that bleeds into my work. This is just who I am, and it shows up in every single image I make.

Every Family Gets Something Made for Them

When you book with me, one of the first things I ask you to fill in is a detailed questionnaire. This is not admin. This is me starting to think about your session before we have even spoken properly.

I want to know about you. Your home, your style, the colours you are drawn to, the things that matter to your family. I want to understand the story I am going to tell, because that story is different for every single family that comes through my studio door.

I work with colour in two ways. Sometimes I build a palette specifically for a family, drawing from their home and the tones they love, so that the finished images feel like they belong in their space. Other times I follow the seasons and my own intuition, reaching for the tones that feel right in that moment. Deep, moody tones in winter. Something softer and more organic when the garden is in bloom.

Either way, nothing is accidental. Every choice, from the weight of the fabric to the colour of the flowers, is intentional.

I Paint a Picture. The Baby Is at the Centre of It.

That is genuinely how I think about it. A photograph is not just a record of a moment. It is a composition, and I build it the same way an artist builds a painting.

I think about symmetry. I think about texture, the way fine wool sits differently to raw cotton, the way a real flower petal catches light in a way a silk one never will. I think about shadows dancing across a baby’s face and what that does to the image. I think about the relationship between every element in the frame.

And then I think about the baby. Their weight, their shape, their stillness. How to position them safely, and beautifully, so that the image holds all of that and something more.

The posing side of what I do is something I have spent years training and perfecting. Safety is never negotiable and never rushed. But within those boundaries, there is an enormous amount of artistry in finding the pose that feels right for this particular baby, in this particular setup, on this particular day.

What Clients See When They Watch Me Work

This is the bit I find hardest to describe, so I will let someone else do it. Samantha Dorricott, who came to me recently for a newborn session, put it like this:

“The day of the shoot was so enjoyable, we got to sit back, relax and watch Lisa in her element. Her care with our daughter meant she was settled throughout the shoot and Lisa’s patience and attention to detail was amazing to see.”

I drift into a zone when I am working. I am aware of it happening. The room gets quieter in my head. I stop thinking in words and start thinking in images. I am adjusting, assessing, moving, trying something, changing it, trying it again. Parents often tell me afterwards that the experience was like ‘watching a master at work’

That is the kindest thing I can hear.

The Props Are Just the Beginning

People sometimes assume that the props are the magic. And I understand why, because they are beautiful and I am very proud of them. But the props are just the vocabulary. The magic is in how you use them.

I have spent a decade building a collection of things that I know work. Natural materials almost always, because they photograph with a depth and richness that synthetic things do not. Handmade outfits, fine wool, raw cotton, real flowers, wooden pieces that have texture and weight and story. I add to the collection constantly. I am forever searching for the next thing that will make an image sing.

But the props only matter because of everything that surrounds them. The lighting. The posing. The colour palette. The story I understood from your questionnaire. The intuition that comes from ten years of making these images every single day.

When those things come together in the right way, the result is not just a photograph. It is something you will want to hang on your wall for the rest of your life.

Working with Families Across Cheshire and Beyond

My studio is based in Sandbach, Cheshire, and I work with families from across the area, including Knutsford, Wilmslow, Nantwich, Crewe, Northwich, and Congleton, as well as South Manchester and Staffordshire. I photograph one family per day, which means your session is never squeezed or rushed. The studio is set up entirely for you.

If you are expecting and you would like to talk about what we could create together, I would love to hear from you. You can find out more about my newborn sessions here, or get in touch directly to have a conversation about what you have in mind.

Because the best sessions always start with a good story. And I cannot wait to hear yours.