When and How to Book A Newborn Session

If we don’t know when baby will be born, how do we book a date? What does it take to lock in a session? Is there a studio? Breaking down common FAQs around booking your Lifestyle Newborn Session.

Booking

Booking a newborn session isn’t quite the same experience as booking any other kind of session. With the exception of a planned C Section, it’s reasonable to expect your baby to come within a 3 week window of time. So how do you move forward with getting a session booked?

1. I book a certain number of newborn clients per month. So instead of booking a date, you book a spot during your “due month”.
2. Once you have all of your questions answered and you are ready to move forward, a signed contract and $150 deposit holds your spot during your “due month”.
3. Once baby arrives, you let me know the good news! At that point we will compare schedules to get an exact date on the calendar sometime within those first two weeks. I keep quite a bit of flexibility in my daytime schedule, so this part is never difficult.

In Home vs Studio

I do not currently have a studio space in the area, so 100% of my newborn work is in my clients’ homes. My clients say they book me because they love the natural connection in my photos that don’t feel stiff or overly posed, and a studio space doesn’t give us the relaxed, calm environment needed to create those feelings. I know it can feel a bit stressful having someone into your home right after having a baby, but all I need to work with is a couple of rooms that have good window light (usually a bedroom and living room). It’s much more normal than not that my clients have messy kitchens, laundry in piles, and spaces that aren’t perfectly put together.

The major advantage of having the newborn session in your home is that everything you need for baby is within arms reach. No packing a diaper bag, using the carrier, or enduring an uncomfortable car ride if your body’s not feeling great. Being in your own home is so much more comfortable and calming all around.

How do I book?

Booking a newborn session is seamless. I am a diligent communicator, so making sure you have all of your questions answered before booking is really important to me! Once you know you are ready to move forward, I email an invoice, a contract, and a link to pay the deposit. Payments are collected via a secure third party (called Honeybook), and you are able to use either a credit card or bank transfer.

Along with the invoice and contract, I send a little questionnaire that gathers some helpful information like your address for the session location and names of family members. There are also spaces for you to tell me some of your hopes and vision for the session.

The deposit you paid at booking goes toward the total payment. The remaining balance is due the day of the session, via the same payment method used to pay the deposit. An automatic reminder email will be sent ahead of the session.

Do you have any questions for me? Are you ready to move forward with booking your newborn session? Reach out here and expect to hear back from me quickly!