What To Expect From A Natural Newborn Session
“The best part about the session was that we didn’t have to do anything other than love our son.” -Kristin&Matt
Natural photos of your bundle of joy, screams, and baby yawns – before time catches up to the next milestone. The images will show your kids what their first home was like, how you cherished them right from the start as well as how utterly exhausting it can be to have a new “roommate” move in.
Documentary newborn photography isn't a style – it's an approach that allows you to simply be in the moment, enjoy your family, and be yourself.
How to book your natural newborn session
Shoot me a message through my contact form– so we can get in touch.I will send you some questions about your family. They will help me figure out what you’d like your kids to remember about you, as well as help prepare for kiddo personality quirks that you’d like pictures of.I’ll send you my client guide. It has information about my different session options, as well as other tidbits of information I get asked about a lot.We’ll talk. I’m super awkward talking on the phone, but would love to meet for coffee or video chat – I want to make sure we have the same expectations about your session. The most important thing, though, is that you can decide if you’re comfortable with me in your space.
You’ll sign a contract and pay a retainer to hold your spot. We won’t do either of these things until you are in your third trimester, but it is a good idea to contact me before then to hold a spot incase your due month is busy for me. I will send you both the contract and the invoice electronically, so everything goes smoothly. Once the paperwork is done, we can concentrate on making your session the best it can be.Email, text or call me when your baby has been born – so we can plan your session date.You’ll pay the remaining balance by the day before your session. Then I can start editing your pictures right away after the session – high five!
Newborn session day!
Preparation? The only thing I want you to do is open up curtains and blinds. If you want to clean it is up to you, but I’m there to capture how your life is at this very moment which means I’m not scared of clutter!Moms and hair. I recommend doing your hair in a way that keeps it from falling onto your face when you’re looking down at your little ones. But if putting your hair up is against your regular hair routine, don’t worry about it!How you dress matters. Wear something that makes you feel comfortable. Match-y clothes are best reserved for formal portraits. My only advice would be to avoid solid white and black, since they might look off because of the amount of contrast I use in my post-processing.I will show up in comfy clothes – and take my shoes off. I have to be comfortable to be able to crawl on floors, or climb on top of furniture while taking pictures. Back in Finland it’s a tradition to take our shoes off, and I follow this “house rule” here, too.
You may be tired. And baby might be tired, hungry and grumpy. Don’t worry about baby sleeping and not being awake for pictures – the sleepy squishy phase is just the best! If baby is already around a month old when you want your pictures done, he/she may be more alert and stretched out.Be you. Almost all of my moms feel self conscious especially after having a baby, but what I like to bring up is that these pictures are keepsakes for the kids. Thinking back I never cared about how my mom physically looked in our childhood pictures (or in real life); it’s the expressions, the action and the connections that are most important.Let older siblings be themselves. Showing that you value pictures of your kiddos being themselves will tell them how much they are cherished just as they are. Here’s a previous post about how to talk to your kids about an upcoming family photo session. Bribery usually just makes the kiddos anxious about waiting for their reward.I’m no regular baby sitter. If you leave the kids alone with me in a room, I will take photos of whatever happens – whether they’re drawing on your couch or smearing whipped cream on the dog. I will do my best to intervene only if I think something dangerous is about to happen.I will talk to you, just as a friend would while they’re hanging out. This usually helps people forget what I’m up to, as well as gives me clues about what I should look for to incorporate into your pictures. I want to get to know you!
Don’t mind me! I’ll be climbing on chairs, crawling on the floor and getting close up and personal with my camera.There may be gaps of time when I don’t take pictures. This means I’ve already taken some great shots of the scene, and am now waiting for a moment to happen – maybe a delicious yawn? I might also be listening or watching for clues about what would be important to document.
After the newborn session
I’ll work on your digital files asap. I always end a sneak peek as soon as possible, usually within a day or two. Unless something very dramatic happens, I can edit your full session in about 2 weeks. I will let you know if I have any plans that may change the delivery time.
You’ll get a link to view your online proof gallery. You can create favorite lists, mark images for your photo book, order prints, download files, as well as share the gallery with extended family to enjoy.I can’t wait to hear your reaction about your photos. I’m checking my email every seventeen seconds after I’ve sent pictures to a client. I pour so much heart into the pictures, and hope they make the family as happy as they make me.
Let me know if there are images you do not wish to be shared online. I might write a blog post, or post some images on social media. It is very important to me that my clients can trust me, and are comfortable with anything that I would share online. Situations where families might ask me to not share could be breastfeeding images, for example – some are ok with those, too. The proof gallery has an easy system for marking the images you want to keep private.We can meet up to go through your album design, or pick out pictures to print for your walls. I use an amazing print lab for pictures and am obsessed with their museum grade paper quality. I also love photo books, because they can be out on the coffee table and flipped through over and over again – which is why they are a part of every package.If you opted for a la carte pricing, you'll get digital copies of all the pictures that you purchase as products – yay!Go ahead, flip through a photo book with me:
For the future
Recommendations and reviews are important. A written testimonial or a review on Yelp/Facebook or Google helps other families find the right photographer for them.Here’s more information about how to write a review for your photographer.