Like life is not crazy enough when you find out you are pregnant! The closer it gets the more choices you have to make. Is it a boy or a girl? What do we do with the nursery? How do we help siblings adjust? Are the bags packed? How do I get the car seat in? And what about portraits? Well there are so many options, but of course we think having your portraits scheduled should be at the top of the list!! :) There are several main categories: Maternity, Birth, Newborn and then throughout the child's 1st year (often called Milestones, but we call them Boston Baby Bundles). We do portraits for all of these categories in our studio and outdoors or even in a private location. I thought I would write a blog on things to know or things to think about for each of these sessions!
Maternity
You have people that want to celebrate this time with sessions and some that don't! As a Mom of two, I wanted to capture this time and had a great friend and photographer capture my maternity session and loved it. We have many Mom's that want a session, but aren't comfortable in the flowing fabric with their belly showing, but want a more clothed approach and others that love the gracefulness of this type of session and are happy rocking flowing fabrics out in public on the beach. I love them all and have even starting making my own maternity dresses to use for the sessions. A few things to think about is where you want your session, indoors, outdoors or both. As with all of our sessions, I require consultations in our studio prior to plan the session. This is critical in deciding location, attire, props, comfort levels, styles, etc... If siblings are going to be involved in the session, it is important to understand the ages of the children involved and be able to judge their attention spans and comfort levels too. I like to have a back up plan for the younger siblings, for example if they may "peace out" on me first, I like to start with the arrangements with those children included 1st.
Good pointers when you are getting ready for your maternity session:
-if you are doing portraits with fabrics vs. clothes, drive there with the straps off of your bra or wear a strapless so you do not have those indentations on your skin, this also goes for your pants that have the belly bands or the "belly buckets" (ones that go over your belly). It is best to try to eliminate these marks.
-drink plenty of water before you go and take it with you. You do not want to cramp up as you may be moving around a bunch
-if your partner in crime can't come, you may want to bring an extra hand that can assist with carrying your items, holding fabric, etc.... if the photographer can't
-pay attention to when you should schedule these. I personally like to do them when Mom is big enough to look big, but still comfortable enough to get up and down. I like to also avoid the last few weeks as typically Mom is more self-conscious because of the "last minute" water weight. So between 34-37 weeks is pretty good.
Birth
At Boston Photography we call these are Boston Birthing Stories. There is nothing like photographing a birth! I know what you are thinking....do you get "THAT SHOT". LOL the answer is typically no. Ideally I like to get to the hospital before Mom is in too much pain (get some happy portraits), grab lots of great detail shots, catch the action discretely (for example as the baby is coming, I am typically up by Mom's head or on the side), so I am ready to capture great shots as the baby is laid on Mom's belly, and then I stick around a little longer to capture the firsts: everyone's expressions, baby vitals, footprints, first time the parents hold the baby, the baby's details...toes, fingers, eyelashes, hair, etc..., and sometimes even when the guest come in (siblings first time seeing baby, grandparents, etc...) I know that I can capture things that the parents won't often remember!
Good pointers for these sessions:
-photographer must be approved by the delivering doctor and the hospital (if delivering in a hospital)
-most of the time the hospital will require that you count that photographer as one of your "people" allowed during delivery (what is the number you are allowed to have in the room)
-hospitals/doctors/midwives have rules about what can be shot and what can not be shot, so you must know them, for example is it general rule of thumb in most hospital settings is that procedures can't be photographed (i.e. epidural) and the actual exit of the baby can not be photographed until the baby is fully out and the doctor gives the ok.
Newborn
I am a firm believer that you can not go wrong with a naked baby! The newer the baby the better these sessions typically go. Everyone wants to get the sleeping newborn pose and the best way to get these are to get them when they are young, feed them well, keep them warm, and have some good white noise available if need be. These sessions require patience and skill to get those little bundles all wrapped up into those great positions. Skill and education are extremely important especially for the safety of the new infant. Safety is number one priority for our newborn sessions. Of course there are tons of cute outfits, backdrops, props, things to tuck them in, over, etc... imaginations can run wild, but I always get some simple "Boston Basics" as well. I love to tie in the parent's interest into these sessions too, often this may be a profession, hobby, or family interest.
Good pointers for these sessions:
-if you are close to the studio, come a few minutes prior to feed while you are there or feed your bambino right before you leave
-dress the baby in loose button down sleeper to come to the session, this avoid elastic marks and the frustration for the baby of something going over the head when you undress them
-everyone should bring a change of clothes...I always say it is not a newborn session until I am peed, pooed, or spit up on....sometimes all three
-if someone has handmade the baby something...bring it
-plan on being in a few of the pictures regardless how you feel, think you look, etc... it will be important for you child to see that one day
1st Year Portraits
AKA for us...Boston Baby Bundles....for most others...Milestone Program. This is where we capture your child as they grow throughout the 1st year of their life. We have Bundles that offer 3 or 4 sessions a year to capture all of the great milestones. I am more concerned with capturing the stages that your child is in vs. the actual month, so we are flexible on when those sessions happen. Typically if you want one of our Bundles that capture 4 times throughout the year, we recommend Newborn, when the baby is smiling and expressive and holds head up, when the baby is sitting or tripoding, when the baby is crawling and maybe pulling up, and around the 1st birthday or walking. As you see I did not want to label these milestones with ages as every baby goes through these stages at different times.
Good pointers for these sessions:
-keep an eye out for when these "stages" are met and schedule those sessions soon.
-parents and siblings should join in for some (if not all) of these sessions. At our studio, there is no additional cost to add in immediate family, we actually encourage it.
-if you are doing a one year session, you may want to consider scheduling this prior to the birthday and using those portraits for the Birthday Invitations or Thank You Cards.
With any of these sessions, comfort and consultations are critical to their success. You should be 100% comfortable with your photographer, after all you are trusting them to capture your most precious thing! Consultations are the only way sessions are fully successful. I love thinking of something in the moment...but not everything in the moment. At our consultations, we are making sure we are a good fit, discussing attire, theme, location, props, backdrops, pricing, options, etc.... and could not have the success that we do in our sessions without it. If your interested in our sessions give us a call 904-412-8178, email at kellie@bostonphotographyfl.com. We are fully registered with State and Federal Government, Insured and have a wonderful full-service studio on Amelia Island in Florida.
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