As a newborn photographer…
My top priorities are your newborn’s safety and nurturing a low stress experience for your family. The entire newborn photography experience that I provide, from first contact to delivery of final images, keeps these two points top of mind. Because babies come on their own schedules, you do not need to select the date of your session until after the arrival of your baby. Rather, your booking deposit reserves a spot on my calendar for your ‘due month.’ From there, your experience begins with a phone call so that I can learn a bit about your family, answer any questions you may have, and help you select a wardrobe to highlight your connection. Planning these things before the arrival of your baby allows you to relax into those first days after birth, knowing the details have been taken care of. Remember to reach out after the arrival of your babe to get an exact date on the calendar with your Oahu newborn photographer!
A few days before your session, you will receive further guidance via email on how to further prepare your family and space for your session. Throughout our time together, I will provide gentle prompts to encourage natural interactions. Then, I quietly observe and capture little details that reveal your family’s unique story. We will allow your baby to lead the session, lulling them to sleep in your arms while I document soft hair whorls, fuzzy shoulders, wrinkly feet, and the way their tiny fingers grasp your finger. There will be plenty of time for feeding, diaper changes and snuggles, so don’t worry about timing your session around your newborn’s sleep (as if that were even possible!).
Inevitably, most newborns do fall asleep at some point during the session and we are able to lay them down so I can capture their own natural sleepy newborn poses and (sometimes!) the elusive sleep smile. Years from now, when you snuggle up with your child to tell him about the story of his first weeks with your family, these are the tender photographs that will transport you back to a time when he slept on your chest in that perfect round baby shape. You will recall the sensation of their downy soft hair against your cheek, silky smooth, newborn-scented skin, and the other details that would otherwise fade into the haze of memories from those first sleep-deprived weeks.
While you will often hear that the best time for newborn photos is in the first two weeks of life, my connection-focused approach allows for more flexibility with wakefulness than a posed newborn session. Those fresh, squishy newborn details do change quickly, but it is never too late to schedule newborn photos! The babies in my gallery range in age from two weeks to several months of age.
Reach out today to inquire about Oahu newborn photographer availability in your due month or to ask any other questions you may have.