Newborn Sessions: what to know & expect
Congratulations on your new little bundle of joy! I know far too well how wonderful yet overwhelming this time can be.
Hopefully, you've booked your newborn session with me already but if not no biggie you can schedule now - just click here! Newborn portraits are so precious. You will forever have pictures of your baby in all his or her newness and adorableness.
If you have booked your session, I wanted to go ahead and share what you need to know and what you can expect during the session. Babies (especially newborns) are not always cooperative and have their own agenda so these are tips to prepare for the best possible session.
I will send you a questionnaire to complete for your session. It will have questions about your likes and dislikes for colors, poses, and props as well as contact info.
The day of your session you will want to give baby a bath or at least wash baby's hair. Freshly washed newborn hair tends to be fluffier and helps any cradle cap.
Allow baby to sleep whenever he/she wants. Do not try to keep baby awake; this tends to keep them up for the session and makes them hyper aware.
Dress baby in a button or zip down outfit that does not have to go over their head. Also try to avoid head bands and elastic in the outfits since it tends to leave marks on the skin.
Pack a pacifier and extra bottles if not breastfeeding. The pacifier will help soothe baby into poses, but if you prefer not use I understand. If you are a breastfeeding mom, be prepared to feed baby during the session at least once. If you are bottle feeding, pack extra bottles. Babies tend to get hungrier than normal with all the movement of the session.
You will want to dress in layers. I keep the studio area warm for baby so you can un-layer as needed. Also, baby will be without a diaper for a majority of the session and accidents have been known to happen (mostly on me but stuff happens).
You'll want to feed baby right before you leave your house for your session. Let baby fall asleep on the ride over.
When you arrive for your session, baby will stay in the carrier until we are ready to start. I'll get your sweet babe out of the carrier and undress him/her. The less "hand offs" between people the better chance of baby staying asleep.
My studio is in my home. There is a couch for parents to rest, relax, or nap on. There is also chairs close to the shooting area. We have Netflix, WIFI, and movies. This is a time for you to be able to enjoy watching your papoose having their pictures taken or to enjoy watching a movie while baby is well taken care of.
The session will take anywhere between 90 minutes to 3 hours. The time all depends on baby - how many time he/she eats, if they stay asleep, if they poop or pee often. Please know that I will take my time with baby. I want you to have the fantastic portraits of your newborn probably just as much as you want them.
If you are doing family poses (which I highly recommend and are included in all my pricing), we will do those at the end of the session.
If there is something special you'd like to include like dad's uniform or mom's veil or grandma's pearls, just communicate that with me prior to the session and we will work it in to best of our abilities.
After we complete the session, the session fee is due before you leave. In the week that follows, I'll send you some sneak peeks then proofs. You will then select which package you'd like based on the number of images you want.
I hope this eases any nervousness or anxiety you may have but if you have any other questions I'm always here to answer anything you may have.
I can't wait to meet your adorable bambino!