Today I thought I’d mix up the behind the scenes a bit and show you a day in the life of a newborn photographer. 1. Cuddle babies 2. Take cute pics 3. Get paid….that’s about the sum of it, right? Sigh…I wish!!! Anyone who has had a newborn session knows there’s a whole load more that goes on to making that magic happen, and even if you have had a session, there’s even more magic behind the scenes you might not know about! I’ll give you a clue…there’s more mess than fun 😉
Obviously the preparation begins when I first get in touch with a family and we begin planning the session but the actual getting into it starts the night before the session…once my little one’s are in bed I head into the studio and begin setting up for the session….choosing props, blankets, wraps, outfits and tiebacks that fit with what a family has talked about in their pre-session prep. This is definitely one of the fun parts. I have so many things to choose from and always love creating special set ups for every unique little one.
Every family have such different styles…some families are sure about what they want, what style, what colours…other families leave it entirely up to me! Once the studio is all set up to go then I usually sneak off to bed!
The next morning I set up all the tiny details that make your session with me unique…a cute little chalk board with your little one’s name on it, a beautiful scented candle, my favourite coffee cups and the netflix remote to make you all feel at home in my home while I’m capturing the magic of your teeny tiny loves.
I send my little one’s to their Nanna’s, turn on my shusher and heartbeat app and wait patiently for you to arrive!!
Now comes the next fun part…lots of snuggles…but also lots of poop and lots of patience! I had a client say to me last week…’you are so patient’ and it got me to thinking, that is definitely my most important skill as a newborn photographer. It’s not my 10 years of experience, my mentoring, training, workshops, conferences, my 17 years as a NICU nurse or 8 years as a Mumma myself, it’s not my focus on newborn safety or my concern for the comfort of my families….it’s my patience. Patience waiting for newborns to be born, patience waiting for new families to arrive (everyone is always late lol!) patience to settle newborns to sleep, patience to wait for them to feed, patience to get them into that perfect snuggly pose, then patience while we clean up all the poop (& there is so much poop!) and then achieve that perfect snuggly pose again, patience to wait for babies to smile, wait for that perfect shot and capture all the shots in between, it’s all about patience…and almost all sessions families comment on how patient I am so I know I am winning! Anyway, I digress….
We take lots of cute pics!
Sessions go anywhere from 2-4 hours but usually that time is filled with feeding and settling and pooping…plus some sneaky photos! And then you head home with your sweet new babe and my work continues. Usually I get changed first…because, like I said, poop! Then I start the mammoth washing! Everything is washed in between sessions with gentle detergent and sanitizer. Do you know how tricky it can be hanging out one billion teeny tiny hand washed outfits!!
Gosh don’t look too closely at my dirty laundry!!
Ok…these are adorbs! So much gorgeous in tiny little packages…all those little details!
After all the washing is on I sit down at the computer to upload all the magical images and get to editing. I prepare your gorgeous blog post sneak peak for the evening, a handful of each of the set ups we did during the session and a little teaser leaving not only Mumma and Papa wanting more but also all my lovely followers! I know that fix is what keeps y’all going! Usually I work till near midnight…the joys of wearing many hats…and then often, turn around and do it all again the next day. There’s blogging and emailing and advertising…planning and knitting and sorting! A girls work is never done!
A day in the life…hope you enjoyed a little sneak behind the workings of my day 🙂