Thank you for booking your baby photoshoot with me! I'm looking forward to meeting you and your little one. Please take a moment to read through these answers to frequently asked questions to ensure your photoshoot goes as smoothly as possible:
GETTING THE BABY READY FOR THE PHOTOSHOOT:
To ensure your baby is ready for his/her photoshoot I would kindly ask you to follow a few steps in the morning of your photoshoot:
Bathe baby: this doesn't have to be an actual bath, but makes sure the baby's skin and hair is clean of all dry bits/milky stains etc.
Dressing baby: Have your baby wearing a nice good quality and good fit or even little bit tight onesie/vest/bodysuit sleeveless, short or long sleeve - the very loose/bigger ones don’t look pretty in photos. Preferably white or cream. (H&M, Next and M&S do really nice ones) You can also bring another outfit or outifts of your choice, that you'd like to use in photos. Little rompers/dungarees look super cute on little ones and I have some in the studio to borrow. A knitted top, cardigan or a bobble hat are very sweet too.
Feed the baby. Full belly equals happy baby :) All baby photoshoots are baby-led so we can always take a little snack break or cuddle break during the session, if needed.
WHAT DO PARENTS AND SIBLINGS WEAR?
Simple and timeless clothing on parents and siblings works the best in the photographs. A thought spared on the styling ensures these images are something you will not tired of looking on you wall or mantelpiece in the years to come.
Soft, light and neutral colours; white, cream, any pastel color, light blue, light grey, light brown, light pink, sage. Plain or with a small pattern (for girls).
Studio is very warm so for example floaty summer dresses for moms and sisters and shorts/fitting jeans for daddies and brothers look lovely too all year around. Dungarees or rompers with or without a t-shirt on little ones are adorable. Bohemian off the shoulder blouses; cotton, lace and frills or white shirts with sleeve rolled up photograph beautifully. Bare feet and no tights if you want relaxed images. These are all suggestions, but ultimately wear something you feel like you in.
If you like moody family portraits black or dark grey tops/T-shirts are great.
There's only a few items I would avoid:
Bold, block or neon colours and logos, that look distracting. Any sporting wear. The colour red and high contrast stripes (black and white) don't really look too good either.
one family member looking like the "odd one out" . Meaning here that everybody else is wearing light soft colours and one family member is wearing a black top or the other way around. For the timelessness of images some common thread - even if not matchy matchy - is the best.
FEW LITTLE TIPS FOR PARENTS:
Even though you've booked a baby photoshoot, I normally feature parents in the images too. It might just be your silhouette or hands, if you're not comfortable infront of the camera, but I assure you the portraits with parents are so so precious. There's a few little things worth mentioning:
As I often feature parents hands in my images, try to make sure you either have freshly applied nail polish or none at all. Your hands don't have to be manicured or pristine - they're not that much in focus - but chipped nail polish is very hard to fix afterwards.
I totally love a bit of fake tan myself and how it makes me feel, but would very much recommend a carefully applied light gradual tan to avoid streaks in your wrists and fingers (they're practically impossible to touch up on Photoshop) as they can really ruin a photo. Also, if your skin tone is very warm compared to your partner and baby/children, it may also look a little odd in the final images.
skin to skin photos with your baby look amazing so think ahead if you'd like to have baby photographed on dad's bare arms or with mom wearing a tube top or a tank top. Please mention your interest in these type of shots in the beginning of the session.
WHAT DO I NEED TO BRING?
You probably go everywhere with a change bag so the essentials like extra nappies/milk/dodie goes without saying. Here's a few other thing you can bring, but they are only optional:
I'm happy to use any personal items in the images such as teddies or blankets or anything sentimental to you. I've had babies wrapped in Christening shawls passed down in families for generations, mom's wedding dress, a teddy gifted by a loved one etc. This is not at all a must, but a nice little personal touch. Please inform me in advance if you want to use any sporting equipment such as helmets, balls etc.
If you have toddler sibling coming along, please bring them entertainment (toys, books, iPad etc) and snacks or organize for them to come in for a section of the photoshoot. No matter how much I love the sibling shots, please keep in mind that the sibling shot is not guaranteed depending on toddler’s age and personality. There is loads of tricks we can try to help us to get the sibling shot, but sometimes no matter how hard we all try, toddler siblings are just too small to understand and we can not force them. You can bring treat like white chocolate buttons; sometimes it does help to get the images, but please don’t give it to child unless we all agree now is the right time.
And that's pretty much everything you need to know in advance. If there is any further questions, I'm more thank happy to answer them.
LOVE, Sara xxx
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