Maternity Sessions
Maternity sessions are best scheduled for when Mama is between 30-34 weeks. Though, we can make it work if we need to schedule a tad earlier or a tad later.
To prepare, we’ll schedule a pre-session consultation where we’ll discuss what you’re hoping to capture and how you want to remember your pregnancy. We love these sessions because they can really be fun. Our favorite shots range from simple silhouettes highlighting the baby bump to fun shots with Mama diving into her pregnancy-induced cravings or Mama and Daddy hanging out in the new nursery, eagerly waiting for baby’s arrival. We’ll also discuss location and wardrobe choices that will best reflect your vision.
Maternity sessions generally last 45 minutes to an hour and yield 20-25 images. At the shoot, we aim to just kick back and have fun. And, don’t worry, we’ll take breaks when baby is bouncing on your bladder.
Because those last few weeks are so busy before baby arrives, we’ve found that our Maternity clients prefer to our online gallery to view their images. The gallery is ready approximately 2 weeks after your session and is active for seven days for you to share with friends, family and place your order. An in-person ordering session can also be arranged, if you should prefer this. We’ve found that most of our Maternity clients order the Keepsake album to preserve the images that mark this very special time in their lives, which is exactly why we include in our Belly-to-Baby Packaged Session.
Newborn Sessions
Newborn sessions are best scheduled when the baby is between 3-10 days old. We’ve found that this is when the baby is still sleepy but usually before the newborn acne stage sets in.
Because we can’t always plan when baby makes his/her arrival into this world, we ask that you call us as soon as the baby is born so we can fit your session into our schedule at a time that works for you. If we didn’t already meet you at the Maternity session, we will schedule a pre-session consultation prior to your due date to go over what to expect, how to prepare for our arrival, what you’re hoping to capture, and your design preferences, colors of your home, nursery, etc. so we can best coordinate our newborn props with your décor.
Newborn sessions are a bit longer than our traditional portrait sessions. We design these to give plenty of time for the new baby to drift into dream land while also provide breaks for feedings and diaper changes.
In trying to induce baby into a nice, restful sleep, we ask that you do the following about one hour before the session:
1. Turn up the heat! I recommend turning it way up to 85 degrees. We want it warm and toasty - as most of the pictures will be with baby in the nude, wrapped in cloths. We want to make him/her feel as if he/she is still in your womb.
2. Undress baby (you can leave a loose diaper on) and wrap him/her in a blanket.
3. And then feed. Feed baby until he/she is good and full. We'll probably need a feeding or two during the session, too, so try not to worry about a specific schedule
Approximately two weeks after the session, we’ll schedule an in-person ordering session where you can see the 20-30 proofs from the session. We’ll also bring along our sample products and mock-ups of birth announcements and story boards. At the ordering session, you’ll get a chance to touch each proof, look them over in detail and discuss any custom products you want to order. Together, we’ll go through each image to ensure your selections are exactly what you want. Clients typically invest $400-$800 on various prints, products or collections. Check out our product gallery and wall gallery inspiration for ideas.
At the ordering session, you’ll also receive the password to your online gallery. We host this gallery for 7 days following the ordering session so you can share the gallery with friends and family, and to give you more time to finalize your order, if needed.
Portraits and products are generally shipped to you 3-6 weeks after payment is received. However, we do rush order any birth announcements since we know you are anxious to show off your new bundle of joy!
