A well informed new mother or farther would want to know what is newborn photography, and why is it important to me? Each couple has different priorities for their baby’s photos to share among family and friends. Let’s dive into what some of the most common questions are so you can determine if Jennifer McNeil Photography is right for your priorities.
Newborn photography is…
the act of capturing artistic photos of your newborn boy or newborn girl to treasure forever. These are the photos you will look back on when he or she is going on their first date. When they are going off to college, or when they are getting married and need photos for their slideshow. Not to mention, being able to pass these photos down to their children, your grand-children. Newborn photography is about memories, about ancestry, about a brief moment in time when they were as little as they could be. All of these reasons are the why you should have newborn photos.
Why have professional baby photography?
All joking aside about preventing pinterest fails from a friend or relative, the best reason to get professional baby photography is experience. Most newborn photographers have been doing this for more than 10 years. They have done thousands of photo sessions with babies in their studios. And perfected their techniques for soothing babies in order to get the perfect baby photo. Trust the professionals to get the job done right. Be sure to bring to the table your creative baby picture ideas so the session is personalized to your family. Jennifer likes to get to know her clients before the photo shoot. The pre-session consult is done in studio to plan the colors, props and cute baby outfits to use in your newborn photography session.
Where does a newborn photoshoot take place?
A newborn photoshoot can either take place in the baby photographer’s photo studio, or at your home. Newborn photo session in the studio create the color fur and prop images you may see in some photographer’s portfolios. Most studios provide professional lighting for the best exposures, climate controls to keep the little one warm when undressed and changed into new wraps or poses. They may also have a sitting area for the new parents to enjoy the photo session and have some minor refreshments. Jennifer’s photo studio has all that and is capable of having 3-4 different photo setups ready upon your arrival. The 440 sqft space has a sofa, changing table, coffee bar, and east access to the restroom.
The session at home is often referred to as a lifestyle session, or day-in-the-life. These sessions offer a different non-portrait type of photography. If this style is right for you, photographers may charge a travel fee for in-home fee to bring props and wraps to your home for the photos. Either way you would like your photos, they will be amazing and capture the love for your little one.
When is it ideal to do newborn photos?
The general consensus is that newborn photos are best done in the first two weeks after being born. During this time your baby will be mostly sleepy, which makes posing in props and on bean-bags covered in blankets all the easier to accomplish. Jennifer has done newborns as old as 4 weeks. If your baby arrived ahead of your due-date, then an older session will show just as much development. The most important note when it comes to when to take newborn photos is that you are planning ahead and booking your photographer early.
When to book a newborn photo session?
You should book your newborn photoshoot when you have decided you want one. That may be before your baby is born, or a few days after. The key point is that the sooner you contact the photographer you want to use, the more scheduling options you will have. Jennifer recommends to book before birth, because the days after your baby arrives will be a whirlwind. Plan ahead, book ahead. The second question is “But I don’t know when the baby will be here, how do we set a date?” The answer is Jennifer will only take a certain number of sessions for baby photography each week. Then when you have your happy and healthy baby, just contact her and coordinate your schedules. There will be several options available since she has penciled you in.
Who should you hire?
You should hire Jennifer McNeil Photography of course! If you have read this far down, you really know a thing or two about newborn photography. The choice is simple, Jennifer has everything you are going to need to make this experience simple and effortless. You can trust her 13 years of experience. Her 3,000+ baby photo sessions. Her focus on safety and comfort of your newborn baby. And you can trust her prior clients say when they give her all 5 star reviews on Google, Yelp, and Facebook.
How does newborn photography pricing work?
Newborn photography pricing has two components to it. First is the session fee, better known as the studio session cost. This covers the time for the photographer to coordinate your pre-session consult, the time during your session, the time after the session to edit photos, and the time to create your artwork. It also includes the use of all props, backdrops, floor drops, wraps, maternity dresses, etc. that you would customarily imagine come with a studio photo session. It also includes the cost of editing the images if there are more complex items that the client request edited out of a photo such as tattoos or birth marks. In total at least 6 hours go into each newborn session or maternity session. Some as much as 10 hours for preparation of the studio, specialty prop buying and travel time to on-location sessions.
The second component of the pricing are going to be the pieces of artwork you want displayed in your home. These large wall mounted pieces of art are prominently displayed in peoples homes above their fireplace, living room sofas, and master beds. Families also choose to have collages created and hung along a staircase or lightweight artwork created to hang in nurseries. With your artwork purchase there are digital files available as well to share online with family and friends. Or print out some baby photos to store in an album or flipbook.
