How it Works

Hints & Tips For Your Newborn Photo Session:

To get the sleepy, squishy, curled up newborn photos you see on my website and facebook your newborn shoot needs to be booked for when baby is between 6-14 days old. I can attempt to get sleepy photos up till 6 weeks but it is much harder and not that nice for baby. Baby gets more and more aware and awake as they get older.
Remember Children and babies can sense your tension. So on the day I need you to relax. Remember that I am a professional and will always put your baby first. Your little one is going to moan when I am posing him/her because this is all new to them. But they soon relax and settle into the poses I place them in.
Grandparents and siblings are welcome to take part in the family photos, but I ask that they aren't present during the babies solo shoot as they can get tense and create problems with me getting the photos I need to. (remember when your parents had children they never did this kind of newborn photos)
I understand it is very important to establish a routine for baby, feeding times and amounts etc. I just want you to keep in mind that this is not a normal day for them. They are being moved and touched and posed, this is hard work for them and they get hungry quicker. To ensure a smooth photoshoot it is important to make sure baby is not hungry.
While baby is the boss and lets face it this is all about him/her, you also need to make sure you are hydrated and fed. Please make sure you drink water and eat during the photoshoot. I always bring along my own food as I’m on a particular diet.
If you are breast feeding or bottle feeding it is better for you to keep a bit of a distance as your baby can smell your milk for up to 3 weeks after giving birth. If they can smell you then its harder to settle them until they have eaten. When it is time for their feed let me know and we can finish with the current set of props.

What to Expect:

I ensure I am available for the day to make sure that no matter how many feeds, or oopsies there are, we will get all the photos we need for your package
All my props have been through the motions, you don't need to apologise for little oopsies 😉
I prefer to do the family photos with baby nude (obviously hiding all their bits) It is a more natural feel and it helps not having clothing that ends up covering half of baby’s face. If however you’d prefer to have baby clothed for cultural or personal reasons just let me know.

Homework for Your Newborn Shoot:

Get them to lay on their tummies as much as possible once you are home to get them used to being on their tummies. Obviously under supervision.
Get them used to being naked by leaving their nappies on, with nothing else and wrap them in a warm blanket. This just means they will be more accepting of being naked on the day.
If you are breastfeeding, what you eat can affect baby’s tummy and digestion. It is important for 2 day leading up to your shoot day, to avoid spicy food. Spicy food can cause baby to cramp.
It is very important to keep the space we will shoot in as warm as possible for baby. Because they can’t regulate their body temperature yet. Please put a heater in the lightest room of the house to warm it up before I arrive. Also to warn you, it needs to be warmer than what will be comfortable for us, to be right for them. If you find yourself struggling with the heat its best to step outside for a few moments.
Before I arrive at your home for the shoot I need you to bath baby. This bath is not to make sure baby is clean. Baths help relax and sooth them which keeps them relaxed for the shoot. So please don’t bath them the night before.
Once you’ve bathed baby please put on only a nappy and wrap in blankets and then feed them. So that when I arrive baby is settled without clothing on, has a full tummy and is drifting off into dream land.
Prepare light coloured outfits for the family to wear . I don't do family photos with bright clothing. I will make use of a blank wall for the family photos.
The room will be hot even in winter, so wear cool clothing. ie no jerseys

What NOT to Expect 😉

Photographers are not plastic surgeons, although photoshop can work magic. It takes hours to manipulate photos in photoshop. A photographer needs to work editing costs into your packages. If we have to sit for hours editing, you end up having to pay. I remove some blemishes and baby acne. But do not do teeth whitening or body altering

What You Can Do to Make Your Newborn Photos Awesome:

Take pride in your appearance, choose a nice outfit for your shoot, comb and style your hair, apply some make up. It not only looks great in your pictures but helps you feel more beautiful after giving birth. Small things like this will really make your photos look so much better.

Posing:

It is very important to remember that not all babies are able to do all types of posing. It depends on their age and if they are happy with me placing them.
I will never push a baby beyond what I believe they can do. Please don’t get too attached to certain poses as we won’t know until the day if we’ll be able to get them. It is also important to note that posing babies is very delicate and that baby is always safe in Mommy or Daddy’s arms when being put into delicate poses. I make use of compositing two images together to make up the final image.

Last but not least...

Sit back and enjoy the experience of your photoshoot. You have chosen me as your photographer, because you enjoy the way I capture images. You enjoy my style. Lets create beautiful memories together.

For you to enjoy forever...