Shannon, Karl, Harper & Lachlan

There's something so special about photographing a family in the very first days of a new life — and this session with Shannon, Karl, Harper and baby Lachlan was exactly that kind of special.

Shannon is the sister of my colleague Rhiannon, so this one felt a little extra personal from the start.

Big sister Harper, just five years old, absolutely stole the show. She's got so much personality and made sure we all knew it — full of energy, cheek and confidence, and clearly thrilled to be the big sister now. Watching her fuss over her new brother was the sweetest part of the whole session.

Lachlan took a little while to settle in — which, let's be honest, is pretty fair  for a newborn meeting a camera and a room full of people for the first time. But once he found his groove, he was completely chilled out, and we got to soak up all those gorgeous, sleepy newborn snuggles.

Shannon and Karl were troopers throughout, rolling with the little bumps that come with a newborn in the room, and the love in that session was impossible to miss.

Congratulations to this beautiful family of four. Thank you for trusting me to capture these fleeting first days — they go so fast, and I'm so glad you'll have these to look back on.