What is newborn photography and why is it special? Whats the process? First of all, if you are reading this you are probably expecting! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

A bit of a backstory…..

I have been there, full of baby. Sickness, swollen feet and you are extremely tired. Busy trying to get everything perfect for the arrival of my little bean. I myself had a mental list of things that needed doing on replay in my brain. What cot do I need which will fit in our room? What is the difference between a pram and a buggy and do I need both? Not to mention the 1,239,493,482 different options for car seat. I’ll be honest and say I was not thinking about hiring a baby photographer BUT oh my goodness am I glad I did.

The collection of pictures I bought of my perfect human miracles when they were only a few days old, are precious and priceless to me. 

Now of course, there are hundreds of photos and videos of my cutie patooties on my phone. This are also precious to me because they are my home memories of moments in time that were perfect imperfects.

My professional photos however, are next level. They are the art on my walls, on my socials, gifts for my relatives and most importantly, my memories of my miracles. The first two weeks of your baby being earthside are very precious. It is learning to be a parent for the first time, or learning to adapt to a new edition and a new family dynamic where there is another great love in your life.

Thats the emotional and I could go on for pages about the feelings but, I’ll move on and talk about the shoots themselves.

What to expect at first contact

When you first connect with me about your newborn photography session I want to give you information. This is for you to get to know a bit about me, my approach, my style and why you should choose me to capture these most precious images. in addition, why you should part with some of those hard earned pennies. I will answer any questions you have honestly and openly because as a customer, I would want transparency, to know who I am giving my money to and what I am buying.

Booking and deposit

If you are comfortable and happy to proceed, I will ask you to pay your session fee as you deposit and secure your space. This is non refundable because I only take a few newborn sessions a month to make sure I can spend time on your session and the post editing. For a newborn photography session I charge £100. This is for up to 4 hours studio time and use of all and any of the studio props and wraps. I have a large collection which you can check out on my Studio page.

I have booked, what’s next?

Well for the most part it’ll be waiting for your baby to make an appearance. However, I am trying to do something a bit different to what I have experienced as a customer and what I hear from other people about their experiences.

I will send you a questionnaire. Sound dull? It’s not at all! It asks you questions about colour schemes and types of photos your like. Also, whether you would like to be in some photos, or siblings. Do like little bonnets and headbands or prefer not and many other things. I want to know as much about what your dream newborn photos look like enabling for me to fulfil your wishes.

There is also a Welcome Pack. This gives you more details on the newborn photography session, images of different print sizes and what they look like in real life. It also contains, as you would expect, the price list for the photographs. This is also always available here. Transparency first!

Baby is here OMG WAHHHHHH

You did it! Congratulations! Your little one is earthside and you are pretty tired. But before you grab that short nap, send me a message to let me know thy are here and I will message you back available dates. Now this bit is important. The newborn photography session should be completed before baby hits 15 days old. If baby is poorly or mama is poorly (I was with my first) we can absolutely push this out but all being well, 15 days. Why you ask? Because babies change a lot over those first few weeks and they are at their most sleepy, snuggly and curled up in those first two weeks. These babies like to be secure and curled up, but after 15 days they will start to want to stretch out and some poses will not be possible for baby to be comfortable.

The studio

My studio is at my home. I want to welcome you into my home, my family space and I want you to feel welcome, because you are. Having my studio at my home allows for a few things for you. Firstly, you can rock up in your PJ’s, unwashed hair and breast pump if you want to. If you want to get dressed and do your regular presentation then go for it.

When you are choosing what to wear you need to know this. It is HOT in the studio. Baby is not going to have a lot of clothes on therefor to keep them comfy and sleepy the temp is between 26 and 28 degrees. I always have tea and coffee and bottled water for you to have refreshments. It’s a long session, I recommend you bring snacks. There is plenty of time for you to feed baby however you choose and when they are off to sleep, I will get to work.

The session itself

It’s in three parts and dependant on how baby reacts to my touch depends on where we start.

Firstly, there is the posing beanbag. This is where most of the action and posing happens. Baby needs to be really sleepy for this this will allow me to transition them through the poses with as little disruption and stimulation as possible.

Secondly, the props. I have buckets and bowls, baskets, heart poser and a mini bed. These are also best achieved with a sleepy baby but if baby is unsettled, I can swaddle them into a comfy ball of squishiness and they will (touch wood!) nod off. I will need one of the accompanying adults to be a spotter and sit by the props allowing me to step away and get the shots, just in case baby does a mammoth wriggle. Safety first always.

Thirdly, its parent and sibling shots. Siblings are not going to sit tight for 4 hours, unless they are well into their teens. I strongly recommend you bring a third adult with you if possible, I will get the sibling shots done first and then the sibling can leave with the third adult. In addition, the studio isn’t equipped to keep them entertained. To keep a calm environment, once their photos are done, they have to leave. Next, parent shots will be completed, or I will complete them at the end depending on baby’s reaction to having mama and the milk nearby. If you wish, Mums can use my client maternity gown closet if you want to fancy up for the occasion. Also, if you are comfortable, I can get some beautiful skin on skin contact shots for you.

Post production

After your session I will be busy converting your photos into beautiful art. I edit baby giving them that beautiful soft skin and glow, keeping adorable wrinkles, long eyelashes and other gorgeous characteristics they have. Usually I take around 200 shots but in there will be repeats, slight different angles and test shots. I will be slim this down to deliver you a gallery of 35-45 varied and high quality images. As a bonus, I also edit of all of the images in B&W making your total gallery 70-90 images.

The viewing gallery and packages

I delivery the viewing gallery within 2 weeks of your session. From here you select your image package. The images come watermarked and you can not download them. You may share this gallery with other family members if you wish. Top tip: New grandparents are usually as excited as you and may offer to chip in. All you need to do from here is message me your selection and I will invoice you. Any images you buy you get in colour and B&W. Once paid, your gallery will be taken offline and I complete your final gallery. This means removing any photos not purchased, removing the watermarks and add the all important download button.

Products

In addition, I will put in a print order with the print lab for any products you have chosen. Your gallery will be back online within 2 days. Product orders are usually delivered to me within 7-10 days (with the exception of the photobook which has to go through a design process and takes a little longer). Once your order is here, I will message you! I get excited over print products because, well, they look magnificent. I will package them up and tell you when I can either drop them to you or you can pop round and collect them.

And that’s that! I hope this helps you decide to have a newborn photography session. I can not express to you how personal and special they are.

If you have any questions or want to chat about booking, send me a note on the contact page.

Rebecca xo