Kirsty Smith Photography, Newborn, Scottish Borders

Newborn
"Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving.
What you have caught on film is captured forever...
It remembers little things long after you have forgotten" - Aaron Sisking

Our newborn photo sessions capture beautiful portraits of your baby both posed and natural, capturing magical moments and tiny details that can often be forgotten in the haze of becoming a new parent. The session will be as relaxed as possible to make sure that baby is comfortable and nice and sleepy. We will take your baby's lead, with sessions normally lasting between 2-3 hours, to allow time for feeding and comforting.

Newborn shoots should ideally take place a week to two after birth - this will enable us to capture your new arrival at their tiniest. We offer a limited number of sessions each month and recommend booking in a tentative date while you are still pregnant. We can move things around, should you need to, when your baby is born.

Preparing for your Newborn shoot

In this page there will be lots of information to help you prepare for the session and to help it run as smoothly as possible.

Before your newborn session:

On the morning of you shoot before you leave your home dress baby in a baby grow only, no vest, baby grows are easier to remove as vests have to come over babies heads and are more likely to wake them if they are asleep when they arrive.
Before the shoot, please feed baby just before you leave the house and although babies love to sleep in the car if you have a long way to travel try to keep them awake for most of it so that they are sleeping/sleepy when you arrive. If you have a long way to travel considering feeding baby as soon as you get to the studio so they don't need to miss a feed.
The studio gets very warm so wear layers you can remove, this is for babys comfort.
Arriving on time is very important I have sessions all day and cant extend the session, please allow plenty of time to leave and get ready, learning to leave the house on time with a brand new baby is a skill and I understand that you can get held up, especially if it is your first outing with baby.

What to bring with you:

If you bottle feed bring extra as baby will feed more as they will be hot and thirsty and as I disturb their normal sleep pattern by moving and posing they may need more to help them relax.
If baby uses a pacifier please bring it, even if baby doesn't and you have one, please bring it, these are very useful during the session to help sooth a restless baby.
If you have anything you would like to include in the images you are welcome to bring this along, I will only use items that are safe to be used near baby.

Who to bring with you:

The studio is a fairly small space and due to the equipment and props I ask that only the babys parents and siblings attend the session, if one parent can't attend clients are more than welcome to bring someone in place to help especially if you have had a c-section and need someone to drive you here.

Older Siblings:

If you are bringing other children to the studio it can get boring for them, I tend to do the family pictures last so bring tablets/toys that the children can play with. There is a park near the studio that they could possibly go to until we're ready for them.
If older children/siblings do stay in the studio as you can image I have some very expensive, hot or heavy equipment, a lot of things are breakable but look very attractive to children, these things are not allowed to be played with and parents must keep a close eye on their children (I am a mother of 2, I know the struggles)

During your session:
If you breastfeed the studio is private and not overlooked and I breastfed my children too so I would like you to feel comfortable to feed your baby. The session can take anything from 2 to 3 hours this is to allow plenty of time for your baby to feed, for me to clean up messes and settle your baby if needed, but allow plenty of time if you do have to be somewhere afterwards in case we do need a little bit longer.

I will ask that during the session you allow me to take over. Babies can smell their mums and may not sleep well. You will be able to watch me mold your baby into different positions, and I may even ask for your help in supporting baby, you may feel the need to comfort your baby when he/she seems unsettled or starts crying and that is absolutely fine. We will start on the posing bed where I will get some naked and wrapped images of baby in multiple poses, then we will use some props and baskets. Finally we will do sibling and family images if this is something you would like.

What to wear:

For your family shots the best things to wear are plain clothes, usually lighter tops and darker trousers.
Avoid anything with logos, or hats, no watches or hairbands on wrists.
For sibling shots simple and light colours works best and no socks.
I can swaddle baby for your parent shots but if you have an outfit for baby please bring that too.

After the Session:

Depending on how busy I am at the time, the images could take anywhere between 2 and 3 weeks to be edited.
Once the images are edited they will be uploaded to a password protected gallery and a link sent to you to view them and purchase prints if you wish. The gallery will contain approximately 20 images.
You can then decide which 3 images you would like and the high resolution images will be emailed to you. If you wish to purchase the entire album this is £90 for all images via download. You can also purchase prints and canvases from your online gallery.