NEWBORN

CLIENT GUIDE

HELLO & WELCOME!

Nothing is more magical than welcoming a new baby into your family. The tiny, delicate fingers and toes; the precious, soft skin; the certainty that this is a love unlike any you have known. You know that your life will never be the same. These moments are fleeting. It is a privilege for us to preserve this special milestone for you and your family to remember forever. We are thrilled you have chosen us and we look forward to meeting your new addition!

Lauren & Sarah

PLANNING YOUR SESSION

TIPS and guidelines to help prepare for your session

WHAT TO BRING

We want to make your portrait session as easy (and relaxing!) as possible for you and your family. Below is a general list of items we have compiled to bring to the studio for your session. We suggest older children leave the studio once the family portion is completed.

  • Diaper bag basics: diapers, wipes, extra clothes, pacifier, etc.
  • Heirloom pieces or props you want incorporated into the session - quilts, swaddles, nursery decor, etc.
  • Extra pair of comfortable clothes for parents (just in case!)

BEFORE THE SESSION

We know that it may be difficult to predict when your baby will want to eat and sleep during those first few days, but ideally, your baby should be fed, changed and sleepy before the photo session begins. Sleeping newborns produce the best photographs.

  • Give your baby a full feeding 30 minutes prior to your session
  • Dress your baby in an outfit that does not have to be removed over their head. Snap or zip jammies are great!
  • Try to keep your baby awake for 1-2 hours beforehand

OUR STUDIO

WE are located at 1701 Southwest Parkway #204, College Station, TX

INSIDE ENERGY PLAZA ON THE 2ND FLOOR

Props, Props, & more props!

Our studio is stocked with beautiful and unique props. We have a variety of headbands, hats, bonnets, props, backdrops, and wraps to provide for your session. Each session is customized to your style and taste based off of the below questionnaire.

SNacks, beverages, and comfort!

Our seating area is equipped with comfortable seating, snacks and beverages to enjoy, and low light to sit back and relax while we do all the work!

SICK POLICY

We are committed to ensuring the studio maintains a sanitary environment. We require clients to inform us if any individuals traveling to the studio have experienced illness within the last 72 hours and reschedule for a date when participants are healthy. Symptoms include, but are not limited to: fever (99 or higher), vomiting, diarrhea, sore throat, cough laryngitis, hand/foot/mouth, chicken pox, RSV, and influenza. We know families are busy and rescheduling can be an inconvenience, but we want to keep every baby that enters our studio healthy, and ourselves as well.

RUSTIC WOOD

Our lightly distressed wood wall is the ideal backdrop for an earthy rustic style. This option works best for darker colored clothing.

WHITE WOOD

Our painted white wood wall is perfect for a light and airy style. This option works best for lighter colored clothing.

The NEWBORN SESSION

What to expect during the session

THE HEAT IS TURNED UP

It sounds bizarre, but we prefer to set the temperature much higher during a newborn session than what you’d normally have it. This helps baby feel warm, comfortable, and — most importantly, sleepy.

KEEPING BABY CALM

We’ve done quite a few newborn sessions in our day, and we have a few tricks up our sleeve to help calm fussy babies. However, in the case of a baby who is very upset, we are more than happy to reschedule.

FAMILY & SIBLING SHOTS

We know that having your older kids at the shoot for the entire session may be a bit much for them. For that reason, we photograph family and sibling poses at the beginning of the session. We request you arrange for childcare for them when they are not being photographed.

posing & wrapping

You don’t have to come up with poses or image ideas. We’ve got all that covered and know exactly how to set up an image to get great shots. We’ll also take care of all the prop setup and wrapping. We hand select props and backdrops based on your preferences.

PARENt help during posing

We encourage parents to relax in our seating area while we work with your baby. There are times, however, we may need parents' help during our shoots for composite imagery or spotting.

WE TAKE OUR TIME

There is no rush with a newborn session. We plan for extra time that baby may need for diaper changes, feedings, or breaks needed to soothe your baby into a deep sleep.

NEWBORN SAFETY

SAFELY CAPTURING PERFECT IMAGES

One of the most common asked questions we receive as newborn photographers is how we make all of the images look so perfect. The truth is that we work a lot of magic during and after the shoot, primarily with a little trick referred to as composite imagery. In short, we combine multiple photographs into one--in post processing--in order to create the finished result. Sometimes it’s a matter of capturing a better expression in one image and then combining it with another photo where the positioning is better. In other cases, we’re combining a backdrop scene with the image of your baby. This is done both for aesthetic effect, and also to ensure your child’s safety. Not only are we highly skilled at wielding a camera, but we are trained to ensure baby is kept happy, comfortable, and safe throughout the session. For example, the froggy pose appears as if the newborn is holding their head on their hands by themselves, when in fact, it is two images placed together.

FOLLOWING YOUR SESSION

WHAT TO EXPECT ONCE YOUR SESSION IS OVER

The Portrait Process

01.

Organizing images

After your newborn session is finished, we will need time to sort through the photographs we have taken. We eliminate test shots, duplicate images, missed focal shots, shots with poor expressions, etc. We will select to keep the best images possible to present to our clients.

02.

SOFT PROOFING

Soft proofing means light edits are applied to the top images from your session. This allows us to retouch only the chosen images while showcasing many different images from which you'll select. You will see a large array of images from our time together; while each session is different you will have tons of options. Full edits such as skin smoothing, blemish removal, skin discoloration correction, etc., are completed once you have selected your favorite images.

03.

EDITING & RETOUCHING

Newborns require extensive hand editing. Once you have selected your favorite images, you can expect for your images to be retouched to remove acne, blemishes, or imperfections. We will adjust skin tones and remove any flaky skin.

04.

FILE delivery

In the weeks following your session, we will carefully choose the best photographs and hand edit them to perfection. On average, our clients receive images within 4-6 weeks. Peak season may take up to 8 weeks.

The questionnaire

Please fill out the following questionnaire to help us better prepare for your session

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