Waiting on your baby to arrive is one of the most joyous and exciting times in anyone’s life. You have nurtured this little one with all you’ve got, celebrated this momentous journey with friends and family, decorated the perfect nursery, and dreamed of what your baby will look like. Once your baby arrives you will quickly realize that while we’d like it to, time does not slow down, and this is such a fleeting time. You’ll want to remember all the precious little details of your baby from how fuzzy their head is to how tiny and curly their little toes are. Good news…I’m here to help preserve your legacy!
My fine art newborn portrait sessions capture the delicate features of your baby and are styled to perfection customized to your style preferences resulting in beautiful artwork that you and your family will treasure for generations to come. Imagine having perfectly styled artwork displayed throughout your home that you can enjoy seeing every day as your baby rapidly grows. And further than that, imagine sitting down with your child throughout their life as well as with your grandbabies someday, to flip through beautiful heirloom albums from their beginning. Children feel so loved when they see portraits of themselves proudly displayed and really enjoy seeing what they looked like when they were little.
If you’re still reading this you’ve probably already decided… “Yes! I need to schedule my baby for a session!” So, I want to share with you how that works at our studio and what you can expect from your newborn session.
I always recommend reaching out to book your newborn session while you’re in your second trimester. Don’t worry, we won’t be scheduling an actual session date until after your little bundle of joy arrives. However, booking while you’re still pregnant reserves your due date on my calendar and guarantees you a session within those first important couple of weeks after baby arrives. Newborns are best photographed during the first 14 days to capture their newness while they’re still very sleepy and flexible. Unfortunately, I’m not always able to accommodate newborn clients who contact me after baby is born, so reserving your session ahead of time is the way to go.
I start working with each client in the same way… We’ll chat quick via phone to see if we’re a good fit, then meet in person for a design consultation prior to booking. This appointment doesn’t take long but is very important. It gives you a chance to meet me and make sure you’re feel comfortable putting your brand new baby in my care. I will also explain my entire process for you, answer any questions you have, go over my full product menu and artwork samples, and of course (the fun part) discuss how to style your session.
Whether you have specific ideas of how you’d like your session to look, or no clue at all, I’m here to help bring your vision of a perfect portrait session to life. We’ll discuss color choices, nursery décor, home décor, and anything specific you’d like to incorporate such as family heirlooms. I’ll then take all this information and curate your session from our extensive prop and wardrobe collection, and often go shopping for or craft items to bring your vision to life. The customization doesn’t stop there either… During your ordering appointment following your session we’ll create the perfect artwork to display seamlessly throughout your home. You’re going to have your hands full with your little one… I want to create the most beautiful and stress-free experience for you as possible!
The day of your session is an opportunity for you to sit back and take a breather. Afterall… you’ve had almost no sleep for quite some time at this point. Not to worry mama, your baby’s safety and comfort is my highest priority during a newborn session. I’ve been specializing in photographing newborns for almost 9 years now since my oldest daughter was born. I’m always continuing to educate myself on safe handling procedures from experts in my field. I also have a methods in place to help ensure your baby stays comfortable throughout the approximately 3 hour session. During a newborn session I keep my studio at roughly 80 degrees. At this age your baby is unable to regulate its own body temperature. Since we’re undressing baby etc, we help regulate that temperature for them. I’m also very vigilant about not overheating them as well. I use a specific workflow for each of my sessions that disturbs baby as little as possible from one pose to the next. And last but not least, I have an enormous amount of patience with your little one. Each session is planned ahead of time, but flexible, so I can accommodate what baby is comfortable with. Not every baby is comfortable in every pose and I’ll never force a baby to do something it doesn’t like.
So, as you can tell, a great amount of care goes into each and every one of my sessions. I love snuggling each and every baby I see as if it were one of my own and can’t wait to plan your baby’s session with you!
P.S. Most of my clients start working with me during their pregnancy for a maternity session. This is another type of session I am deeply passionate about. Want to learn more about what maternity sessions are like?