A Tale of Two Newborn Sessions
When I was about 6 months pregnant, one of my fellow pregnant coworkers asked me who was taking our newborn photos. At that point, I hadn't even thought about it and wouldn't until December rolled around. I had no idea then that we would end up having not one, but TWO newborn sessions! That may seem a little excessive but there were some distinct differences between the two. One was a lifestyle newborn shoot and the other was a more traditional newborn shoot. If you are trying to decide between the two, here is a recap of our experience that might help you determine which is best for you. We worked with two different photographers, and we were extremely happy with both. I would highly recommend either.
Lifestyle Session
Budget was a big factor for me, and most of the photographers I looked into were charging more than I'd like to pay. Thanks to a friend's suggestion, I found Karly Alexander. She was willing to do a lifestyle newborn shoot with us at a price I was comfortable with.
So, just nine days after Decker was born, Karly came over to capture some photos of him in his nursery. We had chosen a 30-minute session, which wasn't much time. I was worried about how Decker would do. If he were fussy, would that be enough time to get any good shots? It turns out the worrying was for nothing because he slept almost the whole time.
Karly was great to work with. About 20 minutes into our session, Decker woke up and was getting a little fussy. Karly offered to stay while I nursed him even though that would put us well over 30 minutes. Fortunately, he settled back down and we were able to wrap things up. We even had time to squeeze in some family shots. Those are some of my favorites, and I love that we have pictures of his nursery!
On the same day Karly took photos of Decker, one of my friends tagged me in a post on Facebook. Katie Lewis, a newborn photographer in town, had some new props and was looking for a baby boy model. Decker was a few days too old, but I messaged her anyway on the off chance it may work out. I am so glad I did. Just four days later we were in her studio posing for shots.
I was a little stressed out that morning because she had asked that I keep him up for two hours prior to the session so he'd sleep well during. At that point in his life, he didn't spend much time awake unless he was eating or taking a bath. But those weren't options for us either because taking a bath would dry out his skin, and we were waiting until just before the session to feed. So Decker spent most of that morning crying. Poor little guy.
Once we got there, though, things got much better. Decker got to eat while Katie set things up. She then took over from there. She changed him into the clothes she had selected for him, took care of dirty diapers and lulled him back to sleep each time he woke up. That woman has the patience of a saint! (Which is why she gets such precious pictures!) In all, we were there almost two and a half hours. It was a big time commitment, but that allowed her to capture Decker in lots of different ways.
I got in on the action, too, just before the session ended. She had a pose she wanted us to try, so we were trying to recreate that when he started to wake up. She took a few pictures but he was squirming around. We were just about to give up when it happened. He pooped in one hand and spit up all over the opposite arm. Oh the joys of motherhood! Katie and I agreed that was the perfect way to end things. :)
Because we were models for her, we got five images for free and could purchase others at a discounted price. That was great because her normal fee was more than I had budgeted. I will say that you get your money's worth, though. She got so many great shots! It was incredibly hard to decide.
So there's a little recap of our experience. I am so glad we were able to do both sessions because I love certain aspects of each. And now we have lots of photos to remember this precious time in Decker's life. He has already changed so much since these were taken!
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