Beautiful Babies Deserve Beautiful Portraits.

Are you expecting? No matter how far along you are, it’s not too early to think about newborn portraits. Whether a first time mom or a seasoned veteran, everyone can agree that the newborn stage absolutely flies by. As a mother myself, I cannot express the importance for everyone to freeze this short moment in time into beautiful portraits and memories that you will treasure forever. There’s nothing more precious than having those first few days of life captured, because before you know it, you’ll have a toddler running around the house and you will easily forget how tiny, how squishy, how serene and still your little one was.

What to Expect

Newborn sessions MUST be done within 5-10 days of birth. We require this time frame for several reasons:

1. Baby will sleep better during the session the younger they are

2. Baby will still be pliable to mold into different poses

3. Baby will still fit into different newborn props

* If you are having a boy and plan for a circumcision, please discuss when you plan to have this procedure done with Amy. Because this is typically done at the hospital, to allow time for healing we usually try to schedule your sessions around the 7 day old range.

Your session can last anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on the baby’s temperament. We don’t want to rush your session and may need to take a break to feed the baby or calm the baby down and get them into a deep sleep. If the baby absolutely does NOT want to sleep, we will continue shooting with the awake baby as that’s how they are and we will still capture them in their true state! The studio is kept around 80 degrees to the baby warm and has several posing options to each session. Safety with your newborn is Amy’s up-most concern. In no way will she put your newborn at risk for injury and will use mom or dad as a spotter at all times for those extra wiggly babies. Just remember, they were all balled up in the womb and are used to being bent and squished into small areas! 

You will receive 30-40 edited images in your online gallery depending on temperament of the baby and if we do any additional family and/or sibling shots in your session.

Preparing for you Session

Prior to your session, there are several things you can do to help make sure your newborn cooperates as smoothly as possible.

1. If nursing, try to avoid eating anything spicy (i.e. pizza, hot sauce, etc.) or with caffeine that might upset baby’s tummy for 24 hours preceding your scheduled session.

2. Newborns sleep a lot, however if you can try to keep them awake and play with them as much as possible RIGHT before your session it will help to wear them out. It is important to try to keep him/her awake for 1 hour before the shoot. Without this, we spend too much time getting them to sleep and not as much time photographing them. If you need to give the baby a bath to help keep them awake or get them naked, those are some tricks to use. If you can cluster feed as much as possible during the 12 hours that precedes the session, this will allow for baby to sleep as deeply and as long as possible.

3. Either bring baby only in a loose diaper (to minimize wrinkles on their bum) or in loose fitting clothing to easily remove. A simple zip up or button up sleeper is best. Do NOT bring them in ANYTHING I have to remove over their head. The less agitation the better.

4. When you arrive, please leave baby in the car seat. I will remove them when ready. I keep baby comfortable by using a heater to keep the studio around 80 degrees. You may get hotter than baby in their naked stage, so dress in layers.

5. Bring a pacifier if baby takes one. Bring plenty of wipes and burp clothes. Accidents happen, everything washes.

6. Stay calm during your session. Baby can pick up if you’re stressed or frustrated and feed off of that. There has not been anything happen that will surprise me in a session and we will roll with anything that is thrown our way! Most of the time I will not need too much assistance from you. Baby can smell mom so I try to calm or get baby to sleep on my own first. So sit back, watch, rest. I will have you come and spot baby at times we have them inside of props.

7. Portraits are best done naked to keep baby sleeping. If there are any hats, blankets or other sentimental value items that you want in a shot please bring them!

8. An extra shirt for mom/dad. Just in case baby messes on your shirt, be prepared with another one especially if you are taking a family shot too. I recommend solid color shirts for mom and dad, nothing too distracting from the simplicity of baby.

9. A few snacks for yourself. I always aim for a 9-10am photo shoot as track records prove babies are less fussy earlier in the day. Depending on baby's temperament, we could run close to or over lunch time a bit. So come prepared!

10. If you want parent and/or sibling portraits with baby, we can definitely do those. However, it MUST be stressed that the studio area is not a suitable area for small children and these additional portraits will be at a minimum as this is not a full family session. Please try to make arrangements with one of the parents or another family member to watch any other children during the session as it works best to do the family and/or sibling portraits at the end of the session. That way, there isn’t extra loud noise from the siblings, parents don’t have to keep them entertained in a small space, and if baby is ready to be awake, they are more apt to cooperate while being held.

11. STAY CALM AND RELAXED! This is an amazing time in you and your baby’s life. Many more surprises and unexpected things will happen in the future. Let Amy handle this small time frame for you so you may enjoy your little one! View all session pricing and information here.