MILLIE DEE PHOTOGRAPHY ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR YOUR NEWBORN PHOTO SESSION

So, perhaps you're either pregnant or just had a baby and looking for professional newborn portraits.  I'd like to offer a little information on preparing for your newborn photo session.  First, if the photos are important to you, I strongly suggest planning in advance; two to three months in advance is reasonable.  Research your favorite photographers or if you need to find one, of course google or instragram are great places to start but also word of mouth, so ask your friends if they have any suggestions.    
Once you've found a few photographers and checked out their websites, the next step is to inquire, either send them an email or call them.  Yes, I said make a phone call.  it may be an old school thing to do, however, when you're going to be spending a few hours with someone who could potentially be holding your baby and photographing your family, it helps to know if you 'click' with that person; if they're someone you'd want to work with.  
Questions to ask a newborn photographer are what safety precautions they take with the baby?  Does the photographer offer in studio or home portraits.  Is their style more freestyle/candids or more posed?  Does their style fit YOUR style?  Newborn photos are an investment and you certainly want to make sure you're investing wisely and with someone you like and trust.  

An investment?  Yes, planning ahead also helps prepare you for what you're planning on doing with your photos.  Did you want just digitals?  Our clients prefer to have some products professionally printed along with receiving digitals as a back up.  Many Professional photographers are somewhat of a concierge service for our valued clients; as we know you're busy with life; especially when a baby is arriving; there are alot of new wonderful life experiences happening and the days just fly by, so we offer printed products to keep our clients from having to spend time uploading images, cropping, creating album pages, etc.  yes, its fun, however, how many of you have a child, had the digitals and still haven't printed the pictures?  Our clients come to us for those printed images they can share gift to grandparents, that they can hang on the walls in their homes, and create beautiful heirloom albums that can be handed down through generations.     

So, now you know that planning 2-3 months in advance is helpful, finding the right photographer who fits your needs and your style is important along with and planning how you'd like your images printed is also a consideration before baby arrives.    

Then what?  Well, once the baby is here, those sleepy baby poses are usually taken with in the first 2-3 weeks of the baby's life, so before you know it, you're in front of a camera, holding your baby for your first family portraits.  A professional photographer will help you create a vision for what you'd like these images to look like.  At Millie Dee Photography Studio, we offer our moms professional hair and makeup.  Desiree Tunnero makeup Co is someone we use almost exclusively and every client she works on is treated like a queen and all look incredible for their pictures.  We will discuss wardrobe, our studio offers wardrobe for Moms and a few pieces for Dads as well.   

This is many times the first time mom and dad are getting out of the house after their new baby has arrived and a little primping with hair and makeup for mom, who's just birthed a new human may be a help to have HER feel human again.  

Yes, these sessions are about your newborn baby, however, the first family portrait is just as important; and for mom and dad to look their best, we should plan that out for the best results.  

What else is there to planning your newborn baby's photo session?  Oh yes, well, there's the baby.  Do you want certain colors or props or poses to be used or tried during the photo session?  Ask your questions, see how your photographer handles their photo sessions.  We're all a little different.  At Millie Dee Photography Studio, we always have two people working with the baby; the photographer and an assistant, who in most cases, is also a newborn photographer, too.  Some photographers rely on parents to help out during the photo sessions, so ask and make sure you're okay with that; sometimes moms are healing and not able to bend or stretch too much, so it's a good question to ask the photographer.  
Also ask the photographer what happens after the photo session?  How long will it be until you get to see your pictures?  Will they be edited?  How many pictures will you get to see?  How do you choose your pictures?  How do you choose what size wall art and canvases you will be ordering?  How many photos can fit in a photo album?  etc.  It is a good idea to ask all of these questions before the session to make sure you get your answers.  

Last thing I'd like to mention about how to prepare for your newborn baby's photo session is just bring yourself, the baby, a diaper bag and have fun.  Actually, you don't even need the diaper bag, we have just about everything a mom, dad and baby need for a few hours at the studio.  At our studio, moms have the opportunity for a little pampering for professional hair and makeup and dads and moms are encouraged to relax and watch from the lounge area as we work with the baby.  Have some coffee, have some snacks, or take a nap or watch tv, let us have your little one for a couple of hours, give yourself a few hours off, we got this!
If you're interested in newborn baby photos and located in Northern New Jersey, please don't hesitate to contact our studio with any questions, Millie Dee Photography Studio is located at 172 Landing Road, Landing, NJ, our phone is 973.805.FOTO and our website is www.milliedeephotography.com