Imagine bottling up your family’s fleeting moments — not only what they look like, but what they feel like. Imagine your family in true-to-life, joyful, connected imagery — and being able to hold those timeless moments in your hands 20 years from now.

The Newborn Experience is a wonderful and miraculous time that presents itself once in a lifetime. You can never go back and capture these moments of the womb-like stage again. This is my WHY. To capture the unforgettable stretches, yawns, crinkly faces, tiny toes and simply the pure wonderment of new life.

May the days of Parenthood bless you beyond all measure and always fill you with love.

The First Few Weeks of new life is a precious and exciting time to capture moments like these that only happen for a short time. Newborns under four weeks of age is a sleepy-stage-period that allows me to curl them in to multiple positions in order to represent their tiny, delicate features. Since they are so sleepy, especially right after feeding, they are able to hold the position long enough to capture the moment. While it’s not required to have your baby photographed during this time period, it is highly recommended if you are looking to have these type of images.

My Simplistic Style lends itself to a soft color palette of whites, creams, pinks, grays and blues with little to no props. With this type of style, I’m able to represent the baby as the most important subject in the image without any distractions.

A Newborn Session will last approximately 45-90 minutes, based on which collection you chose and, depending on changing and feeding periods. Planning for your session ahead of time is key to ensuring we are both prepared. There are a few way in which you can help me achieve this:

Feed your baby before you arrive.

Dress your baby in a zip-up, snap onesie or sleeper. (Avoid over-the-head clothing)

Bring extra milk. Newborns always use more energy during photo sessions and usually eat more than usual.

A pacifier is a very helpful in soothing your baby during the session. The “soothie” type is recommended.

HAPPY, SLEEPY BABY

Newborns can lose their body temperature very quickly. Therefore, it is essential to keep the studio between 80 – 85 degrees to ensure their comfort and help them to sleep well. This, combined with a full tummy and swaddle when needed ensure we capture plenty of amazing images of your newborn.

Baby Safety

ENSURING YOUR BABY IS ALWAYS SAFE

I will be handling your baby throughout the entire session. I need to be able to pose your baby and will do so with extreme care and caution, but it is necessary for me to handle your baby to create beautiful images for you.

Babies are never forced into unnatural positions or into poses that would be potentially uncomfortable for them. My style of newborn photography is referred to as “baby-led” meaning that take my cues from the way your baby naturally sleeps and gently guide their hands and feet into flattering angles and positions.

If there is anything specific you are looking for out of your session please be sure to let me know ahead of time.

FAMILY – Parents & Siblings

It is my honor to include Mommy, Daddy and Siblings into all Newborn Sessions. I feel it is so important to capture the bond between a mother and her child as well as the tiny baby wrapped up in the strong arms of a father.

Older brothers and sisters need to know they are also part of this new baby’s life by involving them into the photos. Mommy’s favorite images are those where a family member is connecting with the new baby. Some day when the baby is older, he/she will be grateful for the photographs they have of their first few days of life and to see themselves with their family members..

It is highly suggested that siblings under 3-years-of-age have the opportunity to interact with the new baby at home as much as possible prior to the session. Allow them to lie on the floor right next to the baby while you snap a few photos with your cell phone from above. Also, place them on their tummy on a bed with the baby cupped in their arms. This will help them get used to these positions so they are better prepared the day of the photo session.

Thank you so much for allowing me the amazing and rewarding job of photographing your new little baby in his/her first few days of life. Newborns are my passion and I consider myself truly blessed to be around these little miracles so much!

Please keep this guide on hand as your session approaches as it contains valuable information such as my studio address and tips on preparing for a successful session!

I can certainly appreciate that leaving the house with a brand new baby can be quite an experience and you may find yourself running behind. If you are going to be more than 20 minutes late please email me or text/voice call me at 217.778.1325 to discuss your options.

My studio is located at: *102 E. Front St., Suite A, Fisher, IL 61843

for your convenience, you can park directly in front of the steps.

After your session

The work doesn’t stop for me once you leave the studio. Since I am a film photographer, I will package up your film right after the session and send it to my lab via priority mail. Once the digital scans come back to me, I will carefully review all the photos and choose the best to include in your online gallery. I take very special care during post-processing to create beautiful final images for your family to enjoy for years to come.

It takes approximately 4 weeks to receive the link to your proofing gallery at which time you will receive a link to your session including all the final images where you can decide which albums and digital files you would like to purchase. If you chose a collection that includes all of your digital images, your gallery link will be ready for downloading and sharing right away!

A print release will also be included in your final gallery. The print release will not give permission for printing at Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Shutterfly, etc … , as the quality of the printed images and the paper they are printed on will be subpar. When you’ve invested in custom photography, you deserve to have the images printed at a quality print lab.

Any specialty product order (i.e. albums, announcements, etc. .. ) can take 6-8 weeks