Firstly thanks so much for trusting me to capture your family during such a life changing moment.
Now lets start with the studio.
My studio was my garage but is now a warm, textural, relaxing custom built studio designed with my clients in mind, the perfect place to have newborn photos done.
It has a designated client area, comfy lounge, phone charger, TV with Netflix, Disney Plus and Stan available for you to use as long as Telstra is playing the game 😂. I have bottled water available also as it can get a bit warm.
Please feel free to bring snacks along for your toddler and even yourself.
Studio temps are usually set to around 26 deg so its nice and warm for your bub so dress in layers so you can take whatever off if you get to warm.
Now lets get into clothing. Mumma I know you've just given birth and probably aren't feeling your best and your regular clothes might not be fitting well but stress not I have got you covered. I have stunning dresses available for you that compliment the studio vibe well, suit almost every body type and most are breastfeeding friendly.
You could pretty much just do your hair and makeup and come in your pjs if you wanted and I can dress you.
The rest of the fam is pretty easy. Dad earthy coloured tee shirt or a button down linen shirt always look best and I nice pair of pants/shorts or denim.
Kids I like to see in similar tones to Dad so think Bone, Tan, Cream, Taupe, White. If you are dressing your daughter in a dress don't forget about a nappy cover.
Onto the things not to wear - DO NOT WEAR BLACK!
I know I know black is slimming and your hubby might only like black but it honestly is the worst thing you could wear for family photos in my studio. It sucks the life out of the photo.
Do not wear matching outfits. We are in the 2000s now not the 90s no body wants all white and denim hanging on the walls anymore. Instead of matching we co-ordinate. Click here for some ideas of colour palettes so you can get an idea of what I mean.
Toddlers!!!!! OMG Toddlers they can either make or break you and over the 10 years photographing families I have come to the realisation that if a toddler doesn't want to then the toddler isn't going to no matter how much we beg. I have however learnt a few tricks along the way to gentle entice them to participate.
I am not against bribery so if you are let me know. I've even paid a toddler (another photographers kid of all things) $1.25 to have a photo with her sister. Now I am not going to go straight to paying ya kid, I will try and talk to your toddler in order to make them feel comfortable with me. Having said that if you guys aka mum and dad have tried everything to get your toddler to do what you want I will then try having mum and dad go sit down on the lounge and leave the toddler with me and we will just chat and I will gently say do you wanna give baby a cuddle or I will say hey come and find bubbas toes or whatever it may be. Sometimes we need to take a break and that's fine. My sessions are either baby led or toddler led so do not stress if your toddler isn't participating. I won't promise you picture perfect portrait but I will promise some interaction with your newborn and you'll love it, that I can promise.
More on toddlers. As you know toddlers have a short attention span and can get the shits pretty quick if they are confined to a space were they can't touch or run around. So in order to combat this we do family and siblings photos first then after that portion of the session Dad can take your toddler either home if you live close or to the park. I live in Grangewood so there is a little shopping centre down the road where you could get a milkshake and a snack or you could drive down to Delroy park and go for a walk around the pond. This way mum can just sit back and relax for an hour without worrying. If Dad is super keen and wants to stay and watch the newborn portraits just get Grandma or someone to get the toddler if you want. And of course if you want to keep toddler with you that's totally fine just maybe bring an iPad or something they love to keep them occupied.
How the session runs!
So when you first arrive I will get you to pop all your things over by the client lounge and to take off all your shoes. We will then choose mummas outfit.
Our first set is everyone on the lounge snuggling together. I like to start with this because its easy and natural. I will shoot the whole family there and then the toddler once they have warmed up to me. We then can do mum and bub, dad and bub etc
The most important thing when participating in the newborn session is don't be afraid of your baby. So many times I see dad holding bub when they first arrive and they look calm and natural and then as soon as I get them in front of my camera they look like they've never held a baby before. My tip for all is relax. There's nothing that you can do that is wrong, all you have to do when I get you to hold your baby is make sure you face the light, that's the only unnatural thing, the rest is just loving on your new baby and that's easy right!
After we have done family and siblings as I have said previously dad is free to go with the toddler and I will then move onto the newborn portraits. I will have a couple of different options set up probably a very neutral one like all white/cream, a browny coloured one and then probably a deep coloured one like burnt orange, rust or olive green. Now you don't have to have all of them or even any of them if you don't want. If you see something set up and you don't like it say it! I will not be offended.
I will do maybe 1 or 2 of the sets and then one of bub awake if I can because omg awake shots are just perfect, sometimes their personalities really shine.
At any time during the newborn session if bub is unsettled we will just feed if we need or have a cuddle, the session is baby led so we just go with the flow. Having said that, this is why I don't really put a time limit on my newborn sessions because babies are unpredictable. Your baby might sleep all day the day before your session but not want a bar of sleep during the session (usually the way 😂) but we just work with what we have. If your baby is so unsettled we can't get anything we will just reschedule your session for the next available time.
And then we are done!
What now?
After your session I will post a sneak peak on Instagram stories while I am editing your session and then after your gallery is delivered I will post a few from the session to my feed which I will tag you in. Ideally you will have your gallery to you within 7 working days. Sometimes when life is perfect and all the stars align I can have your gallery to you within 4-5 days if there's not skin touch ups needed but its generally around a week before you have your gallery link.
Once you have your galley link you will be able to download all the photos from the session. At the bottom of the gallery there is a little thumbs up icon with recommend below it. I would absolutely love if you could leave a review about your experience or what you thought of your photos, good or bad. If there's something negative you have to say about the session or final images I would like for you to tell me so I can fix it not only for future clients but for you as well.
And that's it. Your newborn experience is complete! Hopefully you enjoyed it and tell all your friends to book me 😝 and I get to see you again in the future for some sunset family sessions or even a baby session once bub is sitting up.
I think I have covered everything but if you have a question no matter how weird or silly you think it is just let me know.
x
Sam
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About the session
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Newborn sessions are best done under 2 weeks if possible but I know life can get in the way and its not always possible so we work with what we have. Sessions usually go for up to 2 hours and include sibling and parent shots. I have pretty much everything we need for your session so you dont need a thing, just come and enjoy the experience.
The Cost
The cost for a newborn session is $550. This include the session, the use of all my hand picked props and fabrics to create stunning photos of your gorgeous newborn and all the photos available to download.
Afterpay is available on request and payment isn't required until your session date.
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How to book
All you need to do is fill out the contact form and I will send you a contract + questionnaire and we will make a tentative booking for your due date. If you have already had bub I will let you know if I have appointments available. Easy right!
Feeling like I might be the photographer for you and you are ready to book or just want more information?
Just click the Contact Sam button and lets get the ball rolling!!!