What to Expect During Your Newborn Photography Session Introduction
Michigan Newborn Photographer
Minnesota Newborn Photographer
Capturing photos while a baby is a newborn is incredibly important in my eyes. It allows parents to preserve the fleeting moments of a baby's earliest days. These first few weeks are characterized by the baby's delicate features, like tiny hands and feet, sleepy expressions, and the natural curl they maintain from being in the womb. Newborns grow and change so rapidly, and within just a few weeks, they start to lose that newborn look.
Photographing a newborn during this period captures a unique and irreplaceable stage in their life. It’s a time when they are most peaceful and easier to pose, allowing for those beautiful, serene images that parents will cherish for a lifetime. These photos become a lasting memory of a time that, while brief, is profoundly significant for parents, marking the beginning of their child's life and the start of their journey as a family.
To ensure a smooth and easy-going experience for baby, parents and even myself, I like to get to know my clients first. We send out a questionnaire that is carefully curated with questions in mind to help me get a feel for the session and who I'm working with! The goal is for everything to be stress-free so I pride myself on being affordable and flexible with my schedule.
I hope this blog will give you good idea of what to expect and will answer any questions or concerns you may have!
Before the Session
Consultation and Planning
- Understanding Your Vision: We will discuss which package is best suited for you and your families needs. After we decide on a package, we promptly send over an email confirmation and a questionnaire to fill out any color preferences, themes, necessary information, and prop preferences.
- Session Prep Checklist: We always suggest bringing a bottle, pacifier, burp cloth, diapers, wipes and anything else needed for baby during our session! We also recommend bringing any sentimental props for use during the session such as, name plates, headbands, etc. If you are going to bring any sentimental props, we ask that you inform us before the session so we can prepare our set-ups accordingly.
- Setting Expectations: The sessions can sometimes run longer than normal (or even shorter) but we usually account for that time when booking our own schedules. That being said, we still have families and other sessions to get to so we do have to have a time limit. If baby is fussy and not wanting to calm down, we may try different poses or explore other options to get some good photos for your family! We will NOT force baby into a position that is unsafe or that they aren't willing to do. Baby safety is #1!
During the Session
Creating a Comfortable Environment
- Room Temperature: My studio will be set at a whopping 70-85 degrees Fahrenheit for all newborn sessions. This ensures a sleepy and cozy baby during the session! When doing in-home sessions, we add it to our questionnaire to be mindful of the temperature of the house when we are arriving. I know it may be warmer than you're used to, but babies LOVE it.
- Feeding and Diaper Breaks: Anytime baby needs fed, changed or burped, we stop what we are doing and make sure baby is happy! We are the experts and have training in handling newborns, so we don't mind a little spit up and are understanding its par for the course but if you would rather handle you little one for all of their "oopsies" we totally understand.
Choosing Wraps, Props, and Layers
- Customizing the Session: Choosing a color scheme you want is one of the most important things a client can do for me in terms of planning. If you want purple, both dont communicate that in the questionnaire or messages, I may set up pink or blue and then waste time putting up something else! In-studio, I have all of my wraps and outfits hung up for parents to choose. I will usually suggest a few to go with the setups and go from there. If you do in-home, I will usually bring a handful of wraps that match the props and let parents choose from there.
After the Session
Photo Selection and Editing
- Previewing Your Images: Once the photos are downloaded, I will take about 3-4 days to go through all the photos and select the ones that are quality and editable. I will edit a select few from each setup and upload them. I will also upload the unedited photos in a separate folder for you to go through and favorite the pictures you want edited of your baby! Once favorited, I will edit them and re-upload them and make the downloadable! Each photo after the selected amount in your package, are an extra $8 a piece or we give a hefty discount if you buy all the digital images.
- Some people are worried about babies flakey skin or red pimples, but those are edited out as a part of our editing process!
- Delivery Timeline: Depending on how long it takes for the photos to be favorited after upload, depends on how long it takes us to edit. From the day of the shoot, it USUALLY takes us about a week and a half!
In-Studio vs. In-Home Sessions
In-Studio Sessions
- Set-Up: My studio houses all of my props, so naturally there is a better selection when it comes to doing in-studio newborn sessions. I am able to have my fancy lighting that isn't portable to in-home as well. My background selection is a light better, too!
- Comfort and Convenience: I keep the studio warm, and have fans circulating the air, along with my green noise machine, which is the perfect mixture to keep baby asleep! Being familiar with my studio, and having the ability to set-up long before the session, definitely keeps things running smoother!
In-Home Sessions
- Personal Touch: Being a new mother, leaving home can be hard, physically and mentally. I started offering newborn sessions in-home, with momma in mind. I noticed once I started doing more in-home, I received praises from my clients because it can be QUITE daunting bringing your fresh newborn out into the world! Sometimes staying snug at home can be the recipe for a sleepy baby as well.
- Bringing the Studio to You: In order to replicate the quality of the studio in-home, I had to do a lot of classes on natural lighting and camera flash. With all the training under my belt, I am confident that my in-home sessions are just as great of a quality as my in-studio sessions.
- With being in-home, we just need our clients to be mindful that we are packing up a studio and traveling with it. With that being said, we ask that you narrow prop preferences down to three and be sure to chose your color schemes or themes in a timely manner!
