All about Newborn baby sessions with Victoria Louise photo studio | Lincolnshire photography studio
Weather it’s your 1st baby or your 4th, I understand the importance of having you and your baby photographed in the early days, even though you’ll be sleepy and feeling tender, it’s a very short window of time, because babies grow QUICKLY!
Having newborn baby photos gives you the visual experience of your baby at their tiniest. Babies grow the most in their 1st year of their life.
Why have a newborn photoshoot?
Simply put you’ll want to remember this precious time with your newborn baby, because trust me what I say this – your baby will grow so quickly! By the ‘reveal and ordering’ session comes round parents are already saying how their baby has changed in that week alone!
As a mum myself I know that each moment is special and capturing your newborn baby will allow you to remember those memories, and how tiny they were - since there is no rewind button for time! Too many parents have said to me that they regretted not getting those newborn photos, because the time just flew by. I know this all too well too, as I didn’t get newborn photos done with my own daughter when she was born back in 2011.
Capturing your baby professionally will allow you to have beautiful artwork of your baby stress free, capture your family legacy, bond with your child/ren when you see and talk about your photos together. Studies have shown that children who see photos of themselves gives them a sense of belonging and increases their self-esteem. Besides, why wouldn’t you want adorable photos of your baby to show off – because they are just soooo cute!
What’s the difference between a ‘Posed Newborn BabyArt’ photoshoot and a ‘Natural newborn shoot?’
That’s a great question! Posed newborn photos are done within the first month of your babies birth, ideally in the first 2 weeks. Why so early? Because they are at their sleepiest and natural birth rate to do the specially posed photos. This is where I carefully and calmly place your baby in a range of complex, yet natural poses, thus creating beautifully aesthetic images with clean backdrops, neat little fingers and delicate posing of your baby. I always use natural poses; I don’t do the ‘Froggy’ pose, or the ‘potato sack’ pose; because I don’t feel that these photos are natural.
During the posed babyArt photoshoots your baby will be nude to show your baby at its natural state and tiniest, whilst carefully posed to preserve their modesty. I offer a range of cute adorable outfits, which are light and delicate, these items don’t disturb the posing because their not bulky like traditional clothing.
You can check out my newborn baby wardrobe here. These sessions can typically take around 4 hours, due to the settling, posing, changing and feeding which is all considered.
Natural baby images don’t have to be done within the 1st month and I do not aim to place them into posed positions, and take natural photos of your baby, but still using great angles, lighting and taking care of clean backgrounds for beautiful images. Within these sessions you can put your baby in your own outfits, or have your baby in a white baby vest for timeless images. These sessions are usually slightly shorter than the posed images and can last 2-3 hours.
So, what’s my Newborn photography style?
My style is very natural, yet with a modern approach.
I use natural light where possible to capture the true moment in time, if there isn’t enough natural light, I’ll use some LED lights.
My editing is very light, producing natural skin tones; it’s very easy to get wrapped up in ‘filters’ and being ‘Instagram and pinterest perfect’ however this isn’t a true representation of who you are and those closest to you know what you look like and love you the way you are! That being said, I know that you want to look your best, so I enhance you subtly and remove any bruises, spots and scratches, as well as using great posing and lighting to help you look amazing in your pictures!
I’m not prop heavy either, I like to have a more simplistic approach to my newborn photography, capturing your baby so all the focus is on them. Although, I’m a big lover of pretty things and creating artwork, these days I like to focus on you and your family to really capture your story.
I don’t do any photoshoot art editing either, I only photograph what I have and give you photos of what you experienced in your session, so they are true to life and in the moment. That being said I can create digital artwork should you want me to, this will be an add on cost, starting from £25.
I feel like it’s important to choose the right photographer for your family, so if you are looking for heavy editing, I’m probably not the one for you. Because I’m all about keeping it real and natural!
Are you trained in baby safety and posing?
I certainly am! I have been working with children since I was a child myself, being 15 and studding health and childcare. I later went to college and received a diploma in childcare and education, then worked as a nursery nurse for a couple of years, before I became a photographer. I was a devoted aunty, before I became a mum aged 25, meaning I’ve had lots of experience with children.
I started newborn photography in 2012 with my experience working with children and babies. In 2014 I sought newborn training with the industry’s leading experts, because I realized the importance of it, though I was confident and competent with babies.
Training allowed me to understanding babies more deeply and ensure safety whilst putting them into the posed positions, all whilst getting the right angles - it dramatically changed my photography, so much that I won some awards.
However, photography is always changing so later in 2023, I am doing some more training as it has been almost a decade since my last and as a passionate and dedicated photographer I wish to only provide my clients the very best, thus continuous learning and training is important; you never stop learning!
So how important is it to hire a trained Newborn photographer?
Posed newborn photography is a special niche, and I feel that you shouldn’t just choose any photographer - You should carefully consider your photographer; because an untrained photographer might hurt your baby by not understanding the subtly way newborns talk to us. They may not create composite edited images with the complex poses on props (Like froggy or elevation poses) and may not ‘spot’ your baby to ensure that they don’t fall off a prop, for an example. You can also see an untrained photographer as they do not get the angles right when photographing newborns, they shoot ‘up the nose’ which is not flattering and the babies have red hands and feet.
How do you prepare for a Newborn photoshoot?
If you have had your son circumcised, please allow 5 days healing time.
If you have had a C section, please make sure that there is someone on hand to help during the photoshoot as I don’t want you to struggle. If your also alone, that’s fine, we will make it work.
A newborn session cannot be rushed, there is much patience and care needed for such a sensitive photoshoot, so please be prepared to be with me for up to four hours. Some newborns can be a little fussy, especially if they are having a growth spurt. It takes a while to get some newborns into a deep sleep to get those posed images, so the session is much longer than an average photoshoot. Also don’t panic if your newborn also soils on me, I’m used to it and prepared for this.
Please try and keep your newborn awake for at least a couple of hours prior to our photoshoot so they are extra sleepy, hopefully they will be tired and sleep for the posed images.
Newborns are best photographed on a full tummy, so do give them a feed just before our photoshoot, this way your Newborn will be ready for their photos.
Please put your Newborns nappy on loosely and have them wrapped in a blanket, or a popper style baby grow for a smooth and easy transition to workflow.
Please let me know if you have any special heirlooms or special items you would like to be photographed with your Newborn baby so I can incorporate them.
If your having photos at my studio:
When you arrive at my studio we will settle in with a drink, see what items you have brought with you and we will begin with the family and sibling images first, before everyone gets too hot and sweaty and children get bored. I then suggest that someone can collect any little ones so that we can concentrate on the posed newborn photos.
If you are uncomfortable at any time, please let me know.
If your having a session at your home:
The areas I will be photographing will be your baby’s nursery, on the sofa in your lounge and on your bed. Please tidy these area’s if you can, the rest of the house it doesn’t matter. (I know it’s going to be a bit ‘untidy’ that’s fine I’m not the house police, you've just had a baby so it’s going to be a bit chaotic for a while!)
Ideally I’ll be looking for a white or cream wall to use as a backdrop, and if you have any light coloured bedding without patterns please put that on your bed. The biggest windows for natural light is best for light and airy photos, so when I arrive I’ll ask to look around your home to check where is best to have your photos, thus we will get beautiful images.
Please also put the heating on, so it’s nice and warm in your house to keep your baby settled, a temperature around 80-85 degrees is perfect. Please try and keep them awake prior to the photoshoot and give them a feed ideally before I come.
If your having family photos done:
I advise you to wear a 3 color palette such as all in Black, White and Grey.
Try not to wear clashing colors, patterns, or large logos on this can be distracting and if you wear matching outfits you can get lost in who is who.
Try not to wear anything in high fashion that will outdate.
All wear the same style of clothing, so if your choosing smart clothes, all wear smart clothes and don’t mix and match clothing styles like casual and sportswere ect.
Wear clothes that fit you well and you feel comfortable in, there is nothing worse than not feeling comfy and happy. (This will also reflect in your photos)
If your breastfeeding:
Please be cautious to what you eat prior to your photoshoot as the food you eat may cause sensitivities for your Newborn. Please don’t consume caffeine, spicy food, citrus foods, and gassy foods such as Broccoli, cabbage, asparagus, as well as nuts.
What to expect after you have had your Newborn baby photoshoot:
After your photoshoot has finished, I will ask you if you would like to see the products that I have to offer, if you have not had a consultation. You can then feel the quality and be able to have a think of what you may like to order from the poses and sets we have done. We will set a date for the reveal and ordering session with you.
Culling and editing process: I will go through all the photos from the photoshoot and pick the best images to edit and bring them to their potential. Depending on how the session went the number of images can vary from 12-25 images that I will present you in your gallery.
Sneak peek: After processing the images, I will post a sneak peek on my Facebook fan page (if you wish to have your images shared online) This image will have my photographers signature on, you can tag yourself in your image and share it from my page to family and friends. I ask of you not to crop out my signature or edit my photographs in any way, including Instagram filters.
Reveal and ordering session: This is generally held at my studio and usually takes around 30 minutes. Please arrange childcare for this session so we can have full focus on your photos. Online galleries are available if you are really pushed for time, however I like to personal approach. Payment can be done in cash on the day, or online via bacs or PayPal.
Your print order: Prints take 24 hours to 5 days to arrive and products take 3-4 weeks before they will be ready for collection or postal delivery. Once you have collected your prints, I will upload some web images on my portfolio, if your happy for me to. I ask of you not to crop out my signature or edit my photographs in any way. I will check with you that your prints/products are OK a day after you have collected them and ask for a honest feedback review and that is our journey complete.
Consultations:
I offer free consultations, this is ideally done at my studio so that you can come and have a look around, meet me in person, see the products I offer, view an entire gallery to view exactly what to expect from me and what you’re getting, ask any questions you have and make sure I’m the right family portrait photographer for you. Because as a mum I know all too well the importance of making right decisions when investing into something so special, when there is no rewind button for time!
Do you have more questions? That’s fine you can check out my FAQ blog on Newborns here.
Are you still pregnant? How about having a bump to baby photoshoot experience? Learn about my sessions here.
Want to book in? You can do here.
I hope this gives you all the information you need to book me, looking forward to hearing from you, love and light Victoria Louise.
