SAFE NEWBORN PRACTICE

Your little one will always be treated with the highest level of care. My studio is comfortable and warm and there will be lots of time for feeding and cuddles. I do not use props or poses that would put your baby at risk and I will always pose your baby with the utmost care. I choose simple poses that your baby would naturally hold and be comfortable in. Your precious little bundle's safety and well-being is my absolute number one priority throughout.

I belong to a worldwide organisation - ‘The baby and newborn Photography Network’  that exists to support newborn photographers and to have access to safety training and resources so that I can provide you with a safe and better service. My listing is here. I also am a Qualified professional member of - The guild of Photographers.

As a sign of my commitment to this genre of photography, I hope it reassures you that I have also undergone two separate 1-2-1 full training days with two of the U.K's top leading, award winning newborn photographers, in 2016 and again in 2017. I have also completed countless online training courses in safety and posing with some of the worlds best newborn photographers, this I continue to update yearly.

WHAT TO EXPECT AT YOUR NEWBORN SESSION

The sessions begin at 10:30am. 

Sessions are baby-led and I allow plenty of time for feeding and comforting.

Newborn safety is my top priority. I will not put your baby in any unsafe props or poses.

The session will be held in my well equipped studio. Please sit back and relax and make yourself at home! I have an extensive range of blanket colours, hats and wraps etc available at the session for you to choose from.

It will be very warm so that baby is comfortable without clothes on. Dress yourself in layers that can be removed if it gets too hot for you.

I may ask you to ignore a strict feeding schedule rule for the couple of hours at the session. The only way we will achieve these images is if your baby is happy, full and sleeping deeply.

Most of the poses are of your baby lying on their back or side with either a wrap or your arms around them for maximum happiness and comfort.

 For ‘Collection 1’ prior to your session, you are requested to send me your favourite 5-6 images from my website. I will have tailored your session around your favourite images, adding a few angle changes, wraps, hats etc to add variety.

For ‘Collection 2’ prior to your session, you are requested to send me your favourite 8-10 images from my website.

PREPPING YOUR BABY BEFORE THE SESSION

Here are a few little things that will help prepare for the session & help things run smoothly: 

1. If your baby has slept solidly for 3 hours prior to your session then we may spend too long trying to get baby to sleep and not get many posed, sleepy shots. If you can, on the morning of your session, try and keep little one awake for a bit with a little interaction and try also to time a feed just before you leave or on arrival at my home. Obviously this may all go out of the window as these things are always easier said than done! But this little bit of prep really can make a difference to your session if they arrive nice and sleepy. 

2. Dress baby in a simple loose sleeper that doesn’t have to be lifted off over the head just incase baby is sleeping soundly on arrival. No tight socks to avoid lines on their skin.

3. If you are using or considering using a dummy please bring it along. It can be a huge lifesaver when baby continuously wants to feed/suckle for comfort. Sometimes it really is the difference of getting that shot or not. 

4. Any eye gunk or boogers are to be removed where possible please.

5. If you are breast feeding, it may help to not eat spicy or acidic foods or drink caffeine in the 48 hours prior to your session as this could possibly make baby unsettled. 

ON ARRIVAL

A full baby means a sleepy baby so a top up of milk before we begin is usually a good idea.

If baby is awake when you arrive, it is best to undress them first, loosen the nappy and then wrap them in a blanket before that extra top up. Otherwise your baby may get upset at being undressed when they are nice and cozy. 

OUTFITS AND PROPS

You do not need to bring any outfits with you unless there is something special you would like me to try and include in the session, however every day clothes do tend to swamp babies, look bulky and awkward. I do have a few special little newborn prop outfits available.

There are a couple of poses where baby will be fully undressed. I will pay careful attention to ensure babies privates are not exposed in any photos. If you would rather your baby wasn't naked, we can wrap baby in different wraps or in some of the specially made newborn outfits I have sourced. Please let me know if you would rather baby was covered at all times before the session begins.  

If you have a special knitted blanket or a first teddy (that's not too big) with sentimental meaning, please bring it along if you’d like it in some photographs, just let me know at the beginning of your session.

FAMILY PHOTOS

Parent portraits are photographed against a dark grey background. 

Please keep your clothing simple. Personally I think plain, mid toned or darker shaded tops work best, skip bright and busy patterns & large logos where possible. Please also avoid white tops if you can or if you want to wear white, it would look better if everyone wears white/light clothing. Try to keep your clothing of similar tones to each other.

I’m a big fans of skin-on-skin portraits with you holding your baby against you. They’re so simple and timeless.
So if you want some portraits like this with your newborn, consider a strapless top or vest, alternatively I could wrap you in a scarf, wrap or other stretchy material I have available. These can make for some very tender images.

For more artistic shots, dads may choose to remove their shirts if they are comfortable in doing so. 

Your hands will play a major role in these sessions even if you do not want to be in the photos. I will ask you to remove any watches or bracelets that do not have any special sentimental meaning for the photo. 

 SIBLINGS

A simple plain top in light/pastel or muted colours without patterns or logos work well for little boys or T-shirt off can also look lovely. A simple pair of jeans look great.

Girls again, pale, muted colours work best. Pretty dresses without busy, colourful patterns look adorable. The more texture the better, lace, frills and knit work particularly well. 

We won't see the feet so no need to look for clean shoes. 

Again please check for grubby faces, boogers and eye gunk!

FEEDING BABY

Please know that I do not mind waiting for you to nurse or for nappy changes, or just taking a break to soothe your baby at any point. You and your baby's wellbeing is more important to me than getting a shot.
If you are bottle feeding your baby, please bring along more than you think you’ll need! 

POOP! 

When doing the poses where the baby is undressed, it is normal (and okay!) for baby to poo or wee on my backdrop... or anywhere else. I can assure you this happens all the time and I am not bothered by it in the slightest! Please bring with you baby wipes, extra nappies and a towel. After each newborn session I launder all of my backdrops and wraps.

An extra set of clothes for the parents is a good idea, just in case. Someone always gets wee'd or pooped on, it’s usually me, but sometimes you!

A RECAP OF WHAT TO BRING

Babys change bag with extra nappies, wipes and a spare baby grow.

Extra formula if bottle feeding.

Babies first blanket & or teddy. 

Spare clothes for you just in case your baby poops on you (Yes, that's happened too, many times!).

If you use or are considering a dummy, please bring it along, it can be a HUGE life saver during the session. Some babies just need to suck something for comfort.

A towel and/or blanket, possibly two of each to wrap baby for in between photo setups (these may get dirty). 

A simple white vest (smaller the better) for if baby is awake and does not like being without clothes on and one spare in the bag just in case of poop explosion (It's happened!) 

Snacks. 

 AFTER YOUR SESSION:

The balance of the minimum collection (collection 1) must be paid on the day of your session. Approximately 1-3 weeks later, you will be invited to view your gallery via an online gallery.

The images will have had a light edit only. Once chosen, I will then fully retouch and finish all your favourite photos and send via a digital download link.

Approximately  1-2 weeks after you have selected your favourites, your images will be ready. Products may take a further 1-3 weeks. (These times may vary at different times of the year). 

A few commonly asked questions.

DO YOU HAVE INSURANCE?

Yes, absolutely! It's vital to not only protect myself but also you, the client too. It should be a necessity for all newborn photographers, unfortunately it is not. Please do check when shopping around for your newborn photographer.

WHAT IS THE PERFCT AGE FOR A NEWBORN SHOOT?

It is best to photograph newborns under 2 weeks of age as they are still sleepy and hold those adorable curly, womb-like poses. All babies are different but I find between 5 and 9 days most sleepy, but under 14 days is okay. I do however, photograph newborns up to 4 weeks. Please bear in mind that after 2 weeks babies become less flexible, less sleepy and for longer periods, and a little more needy of mummy time, making it difficult to get them into the deep sleep, which is needed to create the images you see on my website.

WHEN SHOULD I BOOK MY NEWBORN SESSION AND HOW DOES THAT WORK WITH BABIES NOT ARRIVING ON TIME?

It is advisable to book as soon as you can during your pregnancy. I pencil you in on your due date, this is not your actual date but just a rough guide. I only book 3 sessions per week to allow for early and late arrivals and editing time. Once baby arrives, get in touch as soon as you are home and settled,  we will then arrange your actual session date. 

DO I HAVE TO PAY A DEPOSIT? / WHAT HAPPENS IF I AM ILL ON THE DAY?

Yes, there is a £99 booking deposit required at the time of booking to reserve your spot in my diary. This is then deducted from your final collection choice. The £99 deposit is non-refundable (this especially covers my time prior to the session, as I don’t have a studio, a lot of time is spent setting up for your session the day before) If you, or your baby is ill on the day of your session, please let me know at least 2 hours before your session begins. We can then move the session to the next available day.

HOW LONG ARE THE NEWBORN SESSIONS?

I do like the sessions to be relaxed and baby-led and you really never know how baby will be on the day, sometimes they need lots of feeding and more time to fall asleep. Please allow for the maximum time in your collection. I can only work during school hours. All standard newborn sessions begin at 10:30.

CAN I CHOOSE THE STYLING OF THE SESSION?

Yes! Your session will be bespoke to your preferences. Once the deposit has been paid, I ask that you send me some images from my website that you would like for your session and then I tailor your session around your favourite images. (I strive to provide you with images as close to your favourites as possible, but ultimately I work with how your baby is on the day and respect the signals they send).

On your session day, there will be lots of different colour choices of blanket backgrounds, wraps and bonnets etc to choose from.

Please be aware that old images of mine in my blog posts and on older social media that include certain props, are no longer available. The images in the gallery on this site is in line with what I now offer. 

All parent shots are now done on a dark grey background.

ARE THERE ANY HIDDEN COSTS?

No. Everything is included in the collections. All prices are as seen. The £99 deposit is deducted from your collection choice.

WHAT IF MY BABY DOESN'T SLEEP?

Most newborn babies under 2 weeks should fall asleep sometime within the 2-4 hours. I have the room very warm to help them feel sleepy, that combined with lots of top ups of milk should send them off to sleep for at least some of the session. There are still lots of images we can get if baby doesn't fall straight to sleep. The posed images however, will need your baby to be asleep for, so the session prep below is very important to help towards a sleepy session.

CAN I BRING ALONG MY OTHER CHILDREN?

A newborn session can be up to 4 hours long if baby is unsettled on the day. This is a long time for younger siblings. It may be an idea id you are fairly local to have a family member pick up a younger sibling after the family photos have been taken. Alternatively, my studio is a 5 minute walk from the town centre.

CAN I BRING ALONG GRANDPARENTS / AN EXTRA FRIEND?

My studio is fairly small, so keep extra guests to a minimum please. if you would like grandparents to be photographed with baby, please try and organise for them to just pop in for the portrait. There are stairs leading up to my studio.

WHY ARE YOU MORE EXPENSIVE THAN OTHER PHOTOGRAPHERS IN THE AREA?

You are paying for professionalism, quality and experience. I’m a firm believer in ‘ you get what you pay for’ and definitely ‘quality over quantity’. I have invested massively into mastering my craft in newborn photography over the past 7 years. I have been trained by some of the best newborn photographers in the country and I continue to invest in this little business of mine to offer you the best I possibly can. I like to make sure I serve you with not only stunning imagery that you will love, but also great customer service and a lovely experience during the session itself. Newborn photography is a luxury and there’s newborn photographers out there to suit all kind of budgets and styles. I hope you love what I do as much as I do!

Professional Newborn\ Baby photographer based in Wellington, Somerset / Devon border, serving Taunton, Bridgwater, Tiverton, Chard & the surrounding areas.