What To Expect
Preparing for your Studio Newborn Photo Session with Lindy

 Congratulations on your new baby!
Thank you so much for allowing me the amazing and rewarding privilege of photographing your new little bundle in their first weeks of life.

This guide is designed to help you get the most out of your session. Please read this thoroughly, it’s in your best interests, I promise!
Feel free to let me know if something is not clear or you have any questions.

My studio is located at the very end of Aurora Lane, at 37 Aurora Lane, Wanaka. This road is just off Anderson Road and directly opposite Mataraki Place. Drive to the end of the sealed road and continue along the unsealed driveway. Follow this around to the red brick house and a gravel parking area. There is a space for you to park directly in front of my studio.

. You can text me on 021 803 114 if you’re running late, but don’t stress over 5-10 minutes.

Please refrain from taking any photos or videos on your phone during the session. I understand how hard it is to resist snapping a picture of everything when you’ve got a new baby, but now for couple hours you can just sit back and relax – we’ve got the photos covered.

 THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

The most important thing on this page.
I’m going to ask you to keep your baby awake for at least one hours before your session. I know that this doesn’t sound easy for many babes. In-fact, it may sound like downright torture. However, this is the single most important thing you can do to ensure a successful session. Even babies who ‘sleep all the time’ still need this extra wakeful period to sleep soundly through their session. I will be touching them constantly and moving them around, so it takes a little extra magic to make it happen, and the wakeful period IS that magic. Ideally, your morning looks like this: wake up (7- 8) - feed - wakeful period.

My tips for keeping baby awake prior to session.

  • Bath time! babies are exhausted by bathing, even sponge baths.

  • No pacifiers

  • Walking, talking, stimulation

  • “Floor exercise”

  • If you have a long drive to my place, a cool washcloth on the cheek or other pestering works well in the car… we don’t want to use up our sleepy time up en route!

  • If you are having a really hard time and baby is over tired and screaming, don’t stress, let them sleep if you really need to.

 WHAT TO EXPECT

  • We photograph newborns between 1-2 weeks old
    The younger your newborn is, the more relaxed and sleepy they will be for their session. Though I of course I do photograph newborns older than this. The photos we get may be different poses but we will get some beautiful photos either way.

  • Let us know if baby is having a tongue-tie fixed close to their session date.
    Please advise so that we can reschedule, as I like to give them a few days to recover before the photo shoot.

  • Sessions last for about 1-4 hours depending on the session you have booked.
    Sometimes longer if your baby is cluster feeding or just a light sleeper! If your newborn doesn’t want to sleep or is a bit cranky and you need to tend to their needs, that is more than ok. We are completely prepared to take our time with capturing their portraits if needed.

  • If you arrive early
    please don’t feed baby nearby and then come to my studio as this means it can be hard to sooth baby once we start the session. If you are early, send me a text on 021803114 as I may be ready for you, though it is not guaranteed I will be ready as I have children of my own and often I need to be a mum beforehand.

  • When you arrive
    we want baby to arrive ready to have a nice full feed.  After you get here, we’ll strip baby down in the nice warm room and have a serious meal. Whether this is by breast or bottle does not matter one bit, just be sure that there’s plenty of it.  If your shoot is scheduled before you feel you’ve got a good handle on breastfeeding, some pumped milk or supplemental formula can help immensely. It’s essential that your baby is getting a full tummy.

  • You’ll need to feed your baby throughout the session.
    The easiest way to ensure a sleepy, happy baby is to feed them on and off during the session.

  • You will have full access to my props and accessories.

    My studio contains lots of goodies for your session so don’t stress about bringing or buying anything for your time here. Keeping in mind I don’t usually dress babies “up” aka, i’m not going to put a mermaid tail on your baby… it’s just not my thing.  We will talk about colors and preferences, but I do all of the styling of the session while you relax and enjoy it!
    That being said, let me know if there are any in-particular props or set ups of mind that you’d like me to include in your gallery and I will do my best to get what you would like.

  • Your baby may cry or need a little extra time to soothe.
    This is expected and completely normal. I take my time and there is no pressure when your baby needs to feed and settle again with you.

  • I sometimes need to use pacifier during my session to get the most out of baby.
    Don’t worry if you haven’t used one before or don’t plan on using one, this is just for the few hours that I am posing your baby if they need a bit of distraction. They will not pick up a ‘habit’ from the session alone, but if you’d prefer I didn’t just let me know at the start of the session.

  • My sessions are ‘baby led’.
    Some babies love being naked and on their tummies while others may hate it. Let me know at the start or the session if there are any specific poses or set ups that you’d love to capture and I’ll do my best to get them for you, but I of course won’t force your baby into anything that causes them too much distress.

 HOW TO PREPARE

  • Dress your baby in loose, easy to remove clothing.
    This makes it easy to undress them on arrival.

  • Dress yourself in cool, comfortable clothing.
    We keep the studio very hot during the session, so make sure you dress appropriately.

  • Bring along a water bottle and some.

 SIBLINGS

  • Sibling shots will be the first thing we do.
    This is simply because it’s often the most important photo for you, and we like to take advantage of their shyness (aka stillness) when they first arrive. Be prepared that these can sometimes take up to an hour, so try not to stress if it’s not working out straight away as the kids can sometimes pick up on this and start to feel pressured. If needed, we will pause and get started on the newborn photos while your partner takes the child down to the small park beside the studio.

  • Bring along snacks and a treat
    Please keep these snacks non-messy and small, something we can feed to them slowly if needed. Also bring along some kind of small reward/treat in case we need to employ a bribe.

  • We can also take individual portraits.
    Let me know if you interested in one or two of these as they only take a few extra minutes to do between the sibling and family shots, and it’s nice for them to have their own photos.

  • Family photos will follow if you are doing a large family session.
    Straight after we have done sibling and individual shot, we will start on the family photos. Again keep in mind that it’s completely normal for these to take a while, so be prepared to be patient and understanding with your little ones. If you also want some nice individual with your new baby, we will return to these at the end of the session

  • Someone has to take them away after they have had their photos.
    If your little one has toddler or preschool aged siblings, a session can feel very long to them! the space we’re working in is very warm and needs to remain pretty peaceful. I find it really helpful to have a friend, mother, etc., come with you to the first part of the session with brother or sister, and we will do sibling shots very first thing, and then your helper, or your partner can take the older siblings home or away for a few hours so that no one gets flustered during the long session.

  • Older sisters.
    I do have some beautiful dresses in the studio for girls up to 6 years old. If she’s older than 6, bring her along in a nice plain, light dress in case we can’t fit her into one of our bigger dresses. Keep her hair natural or in braids, free of any bows or headbands as we have our own selection to match our styling.

  • Older brothers.
    We can dress boys around 1-2 years, but our selection is limited and we don’t have anything matching for two boys, so you may want to bring them along photo-ready. Dress them in a snug pair of brown pants or tan shorts with a nice, well fitting top.

 PARENT PHOTOS

  • Be prepared to get close.
    It may feel a bit strange being so close at first, but it photographs beautifully when you’re all connected. I’ll often simply move your heads and arms to where I want them, so just let me know beforehand if you’re not comfortable with being touched. We will likely shoot these towards the end of the session.

  • Dress in something cohesive.
    While you don’t all have to be perfectly matching, you ideally want to both be wearing shirts of a similar style and tone. Take into consideration which colour backdrop you prefer, as lighter warm tones tend to look better on our signature cream, blues, greys and cooler tones look better on our stone white, while darker clothes tend to look better on our rich brown. We love texture, so lace and wool tops.

  • For the Mums.
    Wear something nice, neutral but something still comfortable. Earthy tones look great as do creams.

  • For the Dads.
    Wear plain T-shirts. Ideally with a v-neck and some sleeves. We also love woollen tops. Avoid wearing any logos or loud patterns as these will stick out in the photo. You can both bring along a couple shirts along if you aren’t sure, as there is a bathroom to change in.

  • Wear some nice, neutral jeans or pants or long skirts for mums.
    They may appear in the photo, especially if we are getting a larger family photo. You can also bring along an extra pair if you need to wear something more comfortable for the session.

  • Clean and trim your nails.
    Please ensure that both of you have clean nails as they will make their way into the photos, and we may also use them for newborn poses on the beanbag. If you paint your nails, apply a solid, fresh coat a day or two before to avoid chips.

  • Avoid fake tanning.
    The undertones of fake tan doesn’t photograph well, especially next to the skin of your baby/children.

Sickness
If I am sick or there is sickness in my house I will postpone the photo session.
If you or your family are sick please let me know and we will postpone the photo session until you are all well. There is no fee or loss of your booking fee to postpone your session due to sickness. If you need to message me my phone number is 021803114.
I adhere to the Ministry of Health Guidelines regarding Covid-19 when preparing for and photographing your family session.

Editing Your Photos Your digital photos will be returned within 2 to 4 weeks of the photo session. After our photo session I go through the photos and choose the best ones for you. They will be delivered as a private online gallery which you download to your computer. Photos, framed prints and albums are also available to purchase and you are able to do this through your online gallery that I send to you afterwards. I print my photos and artwork through Queensberry, the professional-photographers’ printing company who produce high quality prints and albums.

Social Media and Referrals My business relies on posting on social media and referrals. In the contract I have a model release clause for you to consider. If possible I would love to post your photos to my website, facebook page and instagram. However, if you wish to have nothing posted on my website and social media accounts, please let me know and I will respect your wishes.

I am looking forward to photographing your story . If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to ask.

Lindy