Maria Dunphy takes newborn photography to new sartorial heights: she and her assistant Mary Morrissey knit tiny hats, pods and cocoons for the infants to nestle in during their first photo shoot, ideally before they have reached the grand age of 14 days old.
Dunphy, an associate member of the Irish Professional Photographers’ Association, is the third generation of Kilkenny Dunphys specialising in portraiture: her grandmother Eileen and mother Noeline both worked in the studio set up by her father Oliver in 1966.
Sessions for infants can last between two and three hours and the comfort and warmth of mothers and their babies is essential, she says. Single portraits start at €125 and there are many other options, including albums. You’ll find the studio at 94 High Street, Kilkenny, tel: 056-7721012 (closed Mondays). The process is well-documented on her website, mariaofkilkenny.com.
