booking a newborn photoshoot?
Hi, Im Natasha and hopefully your newborn photographer! If you have found yourself here, i’m guessing you are either pregnant or wanting to book a newborn session for someone special. I will run through everything you need to know on how to book a newborn photoshoot to hopefully make things easier for you. Go grab a coffee and i will get started.
The first thing i am usually asked is ‘ how do i book a newborn photoshoot when i don’t know exactly when the baby will arrive’?
This is a great question but let me answer. Your due date is used as a guide only in the booking stage. I take a limited number of newborn bookings each calender month to allow me to be flexible with the arrivals of the babies. Most babies will not arrive on their due date (unless you are having a planned c section) and that is perfectly ok. By capping the amount of newborn sessions i do each month, it really wont matter if your baby is early or late. All i ask is once your baby is born, to let know within a 48hour period and this will give me plenty of time to get you in the studio within the following 2-3 weeks for the photoshoot. If you are booked in for a planned c section, we can book your session date in advance as we already know the arrival date.
The next most common question i get asked is
‘ Why do newborn sessions have to happen in the first couple of weeks’?
As much as i know that doing a photoshoot with a newborn is a little daunting, trust me it’s all with good reason. Getting the newborns in the studio within the first 2 weeks means we will more than likely have a sleeping baby for the session. In those early days, they are generally eating and sleeping (and pooping). The ideal situation for a successful newborn session is a calm, relaxed sleeping baby to enable me to pose and position them to achieve the beautiful images you will have seen on my instagram.
The older the baby gets, the more alert and awake they become and they could also start showing sign of reflux or colic. This leads to longer awake periods and sometimes, unfortunately, unsettled babies. I want your session to be memorable for all the right reasons so coming in those first 2 weeks when they are happy to eat and sleep really makes the world of difference. With all that said, if you have had a tough delivery and your recovery is a little slower than you would have liked, i will completely work around you and your babies needs. I would never force a new mum to come to a session if she was in pain, completely exhausted and sleep deprived. Once you have booked in, we will keep in touch via email and you will always be able to reach me to have one to one chats about the next move.
I didn’t pre book a newborn session, am i too late?
In most cases, i do require you to have pre-booked in advance to guarantee you a session. I also understand that some people are a little weary about booking these things ahead of the baby being born and that is ok. As mentioned above, i take a limited amount of newborn babies each calendar month for flexibility with scheduling but the good news with this is, with each early or late arrival, this can open up a gap in the diary so i can take last minute enquires from time to time. My advice is to always message me anyway, even if your baby has already been born as i may just have a little gap in the diary to squeeze you in.
So how do i book in with you?
Simply fill out this form below and i will email you straight away. I take all your details such as your due date, how many weeks pregnant you are, if you are booked in for a c section etc. I then check my schedule to see if i have availability for you and you pay a booking fee to confirm your booking and that is it. You are booked in! We just wait for the baby to arrive.
You can find all the details and information for the Newborn sessions here
I hope this has answered some questions for you and i really look forward to being your Newborn photographer.