What to Expect During a Newborn Photo Shoot with KatieLew Photography
Hello, and thanks so much for coming to my blog. This post will hopefully erase some of the mystery surrounding newborn sessions, and help you to understand what you can expect. I love getting to snuggle each and every baby that comes to me, and I know your baby will be no exception.
Before the shoot:
I usually like to book newborn sessions after the 20 week mark in a pregnancy. It give us a good idea of your due date, and also allows time for us to come up with the perfect poses/props for your session. If you're reading this and your baby is due next week, don't worry! Contact me anyway. I'm almost always able to make room in my schedule for another snuggly baby. Once you decide to book your session with me, I require a nonrefundable deposit of $100 that goes toward the cost of your session and secure your date. I book based on your due date, and then once baby is here we schedule the date/time. At this time, I photograph newborns on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10am in my studio located in downtown Stillwater, Ok. I prefer to work with babies when they are 5-10 days old (up to 18 days if needed). Once your beautiful baby is here and we have your session scheduled, I will send you my Newborn Prep Guide. It goes over the steps you will need to take to make sure that baby is super sleepy for our session.
behind the scenes photo by Laura Northcutt with Laura Northcutt Photography
Photo credit to Casey Williams
During the shoot:
To ensure that your baby is super comfortable, I keep my space set to around 78/80 degrees. I also have a space heater and sound machine for extra comfort. When you arrive at my studio, I have you undress baby and feed them so they're nice and milk drunk. If we haven't already picked out colored drops (for the background), we'll do that when baby is feeding. Then once baby is nice and sleepy, the session will begin. Once I have baby snuggled up in my arms, parents are free to sit by and watch or take a nap on the couch (it's super comfortable, promise). I want you to make yourselves at home while you're here. Sometimes babies take a little while to get to sleep, but most of the time (if you follow the prep packet) they fall asleep pretty quickly. I start out my sessions with the froggy pose. It is my favorite!
I try to get many different angles of this position. Every baby is different, and some babies really love this pose, and some babies don't. Most are very comfortable doing froggy. The position is similar to how they would be held when begin burped. After froggy, I do several poses on the bean bag with baby on their tummy. This takes up the first 1/2 of the session usually. Once we get through all these poses, baby is usually ready to eat again. After baby is asleep again, I use this next time to do more natural poses with baby on a black backdrop. These are some of my favorite pictures. They are simple and classic of just baby. I wish I had images like this of my children so I could look back and see how perfect their small features were. I don't always include this portion in the sessions, but can at parents request.
After the more natural portion of the session, I move on to the baby nestled in fur. Most of the time I do a simple wrap. The transition between the black background and the fur is easy because baby is already on their back. I love to use this portion to show off how curly new babies are.
After fur, I usually like to do sibling shots. They are done on the bean bag or on the fur on the ground depending on the age of the older siblings.
The final two things I do during a newborn session are prop poses and then family pictures (if you are wanting them). Props shots are becoming some of my favorite ways to show off your adorable new baby. I really love a vintage style. I use old crates, dented buckets, and my favorite is old quilts. I love to make your baby look like the sweet little doll that they are.
hat box found at Nook and Cranny Mercantile in Stillwater, OK
And that's a wrap for what takes place during the shoot. After I take my last photo, we get baby dressed and you get to go home. Most of my sessions work this way. I make variations to this flow based on baby and what else is happening at the shoot. I try to stick to this flow the best I can because it works really well for getting the most out of the time baby is soundly sleeping. Most of my sessions will last around 3 hours, but they range between 2-4 depending on baby.
After the shoot:
My turn around times varies, but usually it ranges between 2-3 weeks. I take the utmost care with your baby's photos. I back them up immediately after our session and go through and pick my favorites. I usually have a sneak peek posted to my Facebook page later that day or for sure by the next day. After I finish your gallery, I will send you a link to an online viewing gallery. From there the digital images are yours to do what you like. I would love it if you printed them straight from your gallery. The prints are high quality, and my screens are calibrated to the lab to make sure the color matches. However, you aren't required to purchase prints through me. I highly recommend mpix.com if you choose to print your images elsewhere. I also offer canvas options. I love seeing pictures of you baby hanging on your wall!
Thanks so much for considering me for your baby's photos. I hope this has helped to answer any questions you might have regarding a newborn session with KatieLew Photography. If you have anymore questions or would like to talk to me about scheduling a session, send me a message through my contact form. I'm usually pretty fast about answering emails. So you should expect a message from me within the same day.
~Katie