The Day of your Shoot
Try not to make any other appointments to follow your session, as you may become anxious and put pressure on yourself to rush through. My whole aim for your time here is to maintain a calm environment and to enjoy watching your baby in their very first photo shoot. Everything I do is done with great patience and care.
“Getting here”
I will have emailed/text you my address. If you can’t find it, please text me on 0451 442 710 and I’ll happily text it back to you.
South Morang is easy accessed from Metropolitan Ring Road, Greensborough Bypass and Plenty Road, or Greensborough Bypass and Gorge Road (the latter is more scenic way!).
“On the day”
I always say a rough start time of 10am – if you are running a little late, no problem! Just text me. I don’t send session reminders out, but rest assured I am expecting you.
If you need to feed as soon as you arrive this is of course more than ok. The room we work in is private and comfortable.
When you arrive, please park along the neighbours house pass the road bend. Please do not park directly outside the studio address because of the road bend - this would be dangerous for any cars emerging and it will obstruct traffic (chicanes are in place so there is no way to overtake parked car).
Please be mindful of steps when coming up to the front door and take extra care when walking on the steps when wet - they may be slippery. PLEASE DO NOT SHORTCUT BY GOING UP THE DRIVEWAY - PAVERS ARE OLD AND SLIPPERY AND A HUGE HAZARD FOR ANYONE, ESPECIALLY WHEN CARRYING A NEWBORN BABY
There is no need to take pram, you are best to carry baby out in your hands or car capsule.
The room is very warm to make sure your baby is as comfortable as possible (around 23 degrees celsius). I wear clothing to reflect this and I suggest you do too!
If you are having a C-section, and are attending a session with baby’s siblings but without their Dad, it may be best to bring an additional family member to help with the children. I always require a “spotter” - another adult that will be around to help ensure the baby stays safe throughout the session or older kids are looked after.
For more information about the session with older siblings please access the main menu of this guide - there is a seperate page dedicated to the subject of the newborn session with siblings.
“Feeding”
Feeding your newborn baby will become your biggest priority once they are born. You may find yourself in a semi-regular pattern of feeding by the time it is time for your session (generally every 2-4 hours).
This may mean that you decide to arrive at my home and feed once you get here: perfectly ok! I’ll check in with you once you arrive and we’ll work this out, then I’ll give you some privacy to feed your baby with no pressure to rush through it.
If you give your baby a nice bath at home, then a feed and then hop in the car and drive here, this gives us a really good chance that they will sleep well after their feed, and I can get straight to work once you arrive. But honestly, It’s your baby and you do what you are comfortable with.
Sessions last between 2-4 hours (expect 4 hours if baby is a light sleeper, or is hungry or session is with siblings!) The easiest way to ensure a sleepy baby is the willingness to nurse/bottle-feed off and on.
Please strongly consider bringing bottled top ups of either breast milk or formula - this often helps when babies just want to suck for comfort instead of feeding efficiently (they love staying on mummy’s boobs for the gorgeous comfort that offers them). The session will come to a stall if baby isn’t feeding sufficiently on a breast and falls asleep without completing full feed. But once they have been topped up with bottled milk, we can be certain of sufficient milk intake, which will help them relax and go back to sleep.
“What to bring”
Anything to do with feeding your baby is essential, as well as your nappy bag which should contain the norm; nappies, wipes, change of outfit etc.
If you can, bringing a dummy - it will help enormously. Even if you haven’t used one, just for the hours that I’m photographing baby usually really helps. However if you really prefer that we don’t use one, that’s fine as well!
Because of the timeframe you are here, I suggest bringing a bottle of water and a snack with you to nourish yourself throughout the session, you are more than welcome to eat whilst I work away. New parents often forget about this important part, especially Mums. Please don’t skip your breakfast and if you run out of time feel free to either bring your makeup bag with you or breakfast to eat as soon as you arrive.
Please feel free to bring your own reading material to help pass the time while I’m working.
HANDY HINT: If possible, bathe your baby before hopping into the car – it really relaxes them. Place a flannel over babies’ tummy whilst bathing to allow them to enjoy their bath more.
Extras: dummy + bottle for top up feeds (with either breast milk or formula) are really handy, even if you are not planning on introducing bottle feeding anytime soon.
“SHOOTING TIME”
I would not recommend you trying to fit in an appointment of any kind before 3:00pm on the day of your session. My aim is to capture family in a relaxed and natural environment. It is difficult to predict exactly how long or the nature of the shoot – particularly relating to feeding, cuddles etc. My experience has shown that the best results are achieved when there are no deadlines, commitments or distractions and it is best for mother, father and baby to be relaxed and focused on the experience. If circumstances dictate too many compromises or deadlines, then I am concerned we will not achieve images you seek, and this will become a stressful experience rather than enjoyable one.
All my sessions are natural and baby led, and time we spent together does have an impact on the final results of my work. I don’t practice setups and my sessions don’t have a staged routine, therefore I am not able to commit to delivering images your are seeking for with any time restrictions (i.e. in the event of partner’s engagements that will limit his/hers presence on the session day). Should the need arise, I occasionally have weekend sessions that are available on a special request basis. Please let me know if this option would suit both of you as an alternative to mid-week session.
Furthermore, when due to your personal commitments, we are unable to proceed with the session slots that were tentatively reserved for you, or in case of baby arriving much earlier/later, where suggested available options are not suitable for you to proceed - I will offer you an opportunity of the session on the first availability close to your tentative booking as possible. The weekend newborn sessions are subject to an additional fee of $200.
