FAQ:

1. WHEN IS THE BEST TIME FOR A MATERNITY OR NEWBORN SESSION?

Maternity:

Try and schedule your maternity photo session in your seventh or eighth month of pregnancy. Your belly will have a nice round shape during this time frame, perfect for taking photographs. If you’re counting by weeks, schedule your session when you’re around 30 weeks pregnant. If you take maternity photos after your eighth month of pregnancy, your maternity might be uncomfortable. You want to avoid taking photos when your belly feels too heavy, usually after 35 weeks.

Newborn:

In order to capture your newborn in adorable curly poses, you should take newborn photos five to twelve days after giving birth. If you want your baby’s sleepy and curly newborn demeanor to be photographed, try not to wait any longer than two weeks for the newborn session. (Avoid taking photos earlier than five days after your baby’s birth, since your baby will still be adjusting to feeding times. Your newborn session will go smoother if your baby boy or girl is less fidgety and on a consistent feeding schedule. The sleepier your newborn is, the easier it will be to adjust their poses and photograph them without clothes on to capture some of those classic newborn photo ideas you’ve been looking at for inspiration.)

After two weeks, your newborn will likely be awake during the session so you should go for photos that include the baby with clothes on and wide awake with eyes open at the camera. Babies begin to stretch and extend their arms and legs after two weeks, making them more wiggly and active. Don’t be discouraged though by timing as you should still schedule a newborn session even if two weeks have passed by. For these photos, you can even hold your baby boy or girl in your arms for a warm and intimate newborn photograph.

2. How long is the session?

Your Maternity or Newborn session is up to 30-45 minutes long.

3. When will my photos be ready?

Your online gallery of images selected are posted 4 weeks after the session. You will be able to select your favorite images from the gallery to download and have printed. Your gallery is active for 30 days.

4. What time will the shoot be? Where will we shoot?

We’ll want to assess this specifically for your shooting location. 🙂

MATERNITY SESSIONS: Typically OUTDOORS (See our favorite locations in Nor Cal and So Cal)

NEWBORN SESSIONS: Typically INDOORS

The best indoor locations have large windows (or glass doors) with

BRIGHT + INDIRECT sunlightWe want to use the ambient light but do not want direct sunlight shining in the room at the time of the session. Take a look at the nursery and when it’s brightest time of day without direct sun in the room and let us know.

The most flattering lighting is soft and indirect from big windows in these rooms!

5. What tips do you have to help our little one feel happy and camera ready?

• Feeding always helps! Even if you feed your baby before we arrive, they can grow fussy later into the session. Have a bottle on hand to help soothe the baby in the middle of the shoot if needed.
• Keep the room warm. Babies don’t like shivering!
• Bring out a blow-dryer. Seriously! It works miracles to create “white noise” in the background if your little one is cranky. Just plug it in and leave it nearby.

 

6. How should we dress ourselves and the baby/children?

The only “rule” we have is VARIETY! Gone are the “GAP” days with everyone coordinated in white tees and jeans 🙂 Instead, we love seeing color and personality. The key is: coordinating colors.

Find a way to coordinate without looking too “matchy”. While you don’t want to look like twins/triplets, you do want the look to feel balanced. One thing to remember is you don’t have to wear the same exact color. The same color family would work well too (example: bold purple and light purple). Style-wise, make sure you both match the overall “feel” of your look. 

A colorful accent – POP!

Accents photograph amazingly. Here are some ideas:

1. A bright piece of standout jewelry paired with a neutral outfit
2. A bright blanket or throw paired with neutral clothing
3. If your baby is wearing neutrals, go ahead and slip into a bit of color (or vise versa). The contrast will look awesome on camera!

6. What props should we use?

MATERNITY PROPS:

– Pets
– Newborn clothing (shoes/onesies)
– Floral crown
– Handwritten signs (Coming soon, Baby’s name)

NEWBORN PROPS:

– Pets
– Letter blocks
– Floral frame around baby (see examples here) All you need is a simple bouquet of flowers from the store, and we’ll arrange it!

– Basket/Bassinet
– Stuffed animals
– Family heirlooms
– Nostalgic items from your hometown/favorite teams
– Swaddle blankets
– Favorite hobby items (musical instruments, movie memorabilia)

Many couples have a professional hair and makeup appointment before the shoot!