Welcome to Racheal Trail Photography | My Journey, My Studio & Newborn Photography in Auckland
If you’ve been looking through my website and wondering a little more about the person behind the photographs, where I work, or what it’s actually like to book a session with me, I thought it was time to properly introduce myself.
I’m Racheal, the photographer behind Racheal Trail Photography, and I’ve been photographing babies, expectant mums and families for more than eight years.
Today I have my photography studio here in Drury, South Auckland, but my story didn’t begin in a studio at all.
It began with me packing up everything I needed and travelling to families to photograph their brand-new babies in their own homes.
A lot has changed since then. My business has grown, my photography has evolved, I’ve created a studio that I absolutely love, and my work has gone on to receive international recognition through photography awards.
But one thing that hasn’t changed is how much I love capturing these incredibly short chapters in a family’s life.
So I thought I’d invite you in, show you around and tell you a little more about how Racheal Trail Photography became what it is today.
Come Inside Racheal Trail Photography
In this video, I’m taking you for a proper look around my Drury studio, showing you some of the spaces and things available to my clients, and sharing a little of my own photography journey along the way.
If you’re considering booking with me, I hope it helps you get a feel for not only where you’ll be coming, but also who you’ll be trusting to capture these memories for you.
And if you’re planning an in-home newborn session instead, you’ll also get to see where everything began and how that part of my business has continued to grow alongside the studio.
Where My Newborn Photography Journey Began
Long before I had the studio you see today, I was photographing newborn babies in their own homes.
I would pack up the equipment and pieces I needed, travel to my clients and create their newborn photographs right there in their home.
That was where a huge part of my experience with newborns was built.
Every home was different. Every baby was different. And every family needed something slightly different from me.
Over the years, I learned not only how to pose and photograph newborn babies, but how to adapt to different spaces, work around feeding and settling, and create beautiful photographs without needing a traditional photography studio around me.
And although my business eventually grew to include my own studio, I never stopped offering in-home newborn photography.
In fact, it remains a really important part of Racheal Trail Photography today.
In-Home Newborn Photography Across Auckland
When you book an in-home newborn session with me, I bring the newborn photography experience to you.
You don’t need to pack your brand-new baby into the car, remember everything you might need for several hours, or worry about getting everyone out of the house on time.
I come to your home with the equipment and pieces I need to create your session.
And importantly, choosing an in-home newborn session doesn’t mean you have to choose purely lifestyle photographs.
My in-home sessions can include the beautiful posed and prop newborn photographs you see throughout my portfolio. I bring posing equipment, wraps, blankets and a selection of props with me so I can create those professional newborn portraits in your own home.
Depending on the collection you choose, we can also include photographs with parents and siblings.
This gives us the opportunity to create a lovely mixture — carefully posed photographs of your baby as well as more natural family images that document what life actually felt like during those first few weeks.
Your bedroom, lounge or nursery can become part of your baby’s story.
And you don’t need an enormous home or a picture-perfect nursery.
After years of photographing newborns in clients’ homes, I’m very used to looking at the space available and working out what will photograph beautifully.
You provide the baby and the home. I bring the experience.
A Calm, Baby-Led Newborn Experience
Whether I’m photographing your baby in your home or in my studio, I don’t expect your newborn to fit around my schedule.
Newborn sessions are baby-led.
Babies need feeding. They need changing. Sometimes they need a cuddle with Mum or Dad. Sometimes they fall asleep immediately, and sometimes they decide they have absolutely no intention of sleeping at all!
That’s okay.
There is time to feed, settle and comfort your baby throughout the session.
Having your newborn session at home can make this particularly lovely because everything you normally use is already around you.
For parents recovering after birth, families with older children or simply anyone who loves the idea of staying in their own environment during those early weeks, an in-home newborn session can be a wonderful option.
From In-Home Newborn Photography to My Drury Studio
When I look around the studio now, it’s quite incredible to think about how much Racheal Trail Photography has grown since those early days.
Having my own studio has allowed me to expand what I can offer while still keeping the in-home newborn sessions that were such an important part of where I began.
Today, families can choose the experience that feels right for them.
You might want me to come to your home after your baby arrives.
You might prefer one of my wrapped newborn sessions in the studio.
You may be coming to me during pregnancy for a maternity photoshoot.
Or perhaps you love the softer, relaxed feel of the natural-light lifestyle photography I can now create here.
The studio hasn’t replaced what I used to do.
It has simply given me more ways to photograph the families who come to me.
Inside My South Auckland Photography Studio
My studio is based in Drury, South Auckland, and this is the space you see me walking you through in the video.
Over the years, I’ve created different areas within it so that I’m not limited to producing one particular style of photograph.
I have my traditional studio photography area, my maternity wardrobe and changing space, areas for newborn photography and softer natural-light spaces that allow me to create something completely different.
Having these options means we can choose what suits you rather than trying to make every client fit the same style.
My Maternity Client Wardrobe
One of the areas I particularly wanted to show in the video is my maternity client wardrobe.
Over the years, this collection has grown considerably!
I have a large range of maternity gowns, fabrics and other pieces available in different colours, textures and styles.
When you book a maternity session with me, you don’t need to go out and spend hundreds of dollars buying dresses that you may only ever wear once.
And you certainly don’t need to know which gown is going to photograph best before you arrive.
We can look through the wardrobe together.
I can help you choose pieces that work with your body, your colouring and the style of photographs you’re drawn to, and then I’ll guide you throughout the photoshoot.
Partners and children are welcome to be included too, so your maternity gallery can celebrate you while also documenting this moment for your family.
You Don’t Need to Know How to Pose
One of the things I really want women to know before booking a maternity session with me is:
You don’t need to know what you’re doing in front of the camera.
Most of my clients aren’t models.
They don’t walk into my studio already knowing where to put their hands, which direction to turn their body or which angle photographs them beautifully.
That’s my job.
I’ll guide you through your session — from choosing gowns through to positioning your body, hands and face.
The same applies when I’m photographing families with their newborn. I’ll guide you so that you don’t have to stand there wondering what you’re supposed to do.
You simply need to turn up.
My Natural-Light Lifestyle Space
Another part of the studio that has evolved is my natural-light lifestyle area.
I love my more polished, traditional studio photography, and that will always be an important part of my work. But I also love photographs that feel softer and more relaxed.
The beautiful natural light coming through the studio gives me the ability to create both.
Lifestyle photography is less about everyone looking perfectly at the camera and more about connection.
Holding your baby.
Cuddling together.
Looking at your partner.
Tiny hands wrapped around fingers.
The little interactions that happen between the posed photographs.
For clients who love that more natural feeling, these areas give us another completely different way to tell their story.
More Than Eight Years of Photographing Babies & Families
One of the things I talk about in the video is my own journey, because I think experience matters — particularly when you’re choosing someone to photograph your newborn.
I’ve now spent more than eight years photographing babies and families.
During that time, I’ve photographed thousands of babies and continued investing in my photography, learning, refining my posing and editing, and developing the style you see in my portfolio today.
My work has also received recognition through international photography awards, something I’m incredibly proud of.
But awards aren’t what I’m thinking about when I’m in the middle of a newborn session.
I’m thinking about the little person in front of me.
I’m thinking about keeping them comfortable and safe.
I’m watching their cues.
And I’m thinking about creating photographs that their parents will still want hanging on their walls when that tiny newborn is suddenly starting school.
Because that’s the strange thing about photographing babies for so many years.
You realise just how quickly it all goes.
The Studio Has Changed, But the Reason Behind It Hasn’t
Racheal Trail Photography looks very different today from when I first started.
I have more equipment.
A much larger wardrobe.
More props and wraps.
A dedicated studio.
Different photography areas.
New ways of creating images.
And years more experience behind the camera.
But underneath all of that, the reason I do this hasn’t really changed.
The maternity bump disappears.
The newborn curl slowly uncurls.
Those tiny fingers get bigger.
The baby who once fitted against your chest grows into a toddler, then a child.
You can’t stop any of it.
But photographs give you something incredibly precious, a way to remember exactly what it looked and felt like while you were there.
That’s what I want to create for the families who trust me.
Which Experience Is Right for You?
There isn’t one right way to have your photographs taken.
If you’re expecting your baby, you may want to celebrate your pregnancy with a fully guided maternity session and access to my client wardrobe.
If your baby has arrived and the thought of leaving home feels overwhelming, I can bring an in-home newborn session to you.
If you’d prefer to come into my Drury studio, there are studio newborn options available too.
And if you’re drawn to something softer and more natural, we can create beautiful lifestyle photographs.
Part of my job is helping you work out which experience is going to suit your family best.
Welcome to Racheal Trail Photography
Hopefully this video and little look behind the scenes has helped you get to know me and Racheal Trail Photography a little better.
Whether I’m walking through your front door carrying everything for your baby’s in-home newborn session or you’re walking through mine here at the studio, I want you to feel comfortable knowing you’re in experienced hands.
My studio is based in Drury, South Auckland, and I photograph families from throughout Auckland, including Papakura, Takanini, Manukau, Pukekohe and the wider Auckland area.
If you’re expecting a baby or have recently welcomed your little one, I’d love to capture this chapter for you.
I look forward to meeting you. 🤍
Racheal
Racheal Trail Photography
Award-winning Auckland Newborn & Maternity Photographer
