A day in the life of a newborn photography session: Photographers edition; Part One.
If you’re reading this, the likelihood is that you’re a new photographer looking to up your newborn game - welcome, Im glad youre here! Im going to walk through my process from initial contact to product delivery (Part One: pre-shoot, Part Two: shoot day and afterwards). If this article doesn’t cover all of your questions or you have questions about my gear or process then please do reach out via email or IG, Im always happy to help a fellow photographer if I can.
Initial contact: Its really important to respond ASAP to any client contact, read their query thoroughly and respond to all of their questions. Establishing a client relationship is SO important to me, I want my clients to feel like they know me before I rock up at their home so being friendly, open and helpful from day one is key. Once Ive offered a client a date I put it in my calendar (marked as tentative) so I can keep track of which dates I have already offered. I add them to my client management system (I use StudioNinja) and send an invoice so they can pay my session fee online to secure their date.
Once they have paid my session fee I send a receipt and a PDF welcome guide which covers my client journey, how to prepare, what to wear and what they can expect before, during and after a session. This is helpful for everyone as it provides a clear framework for all of us and answers almost all of a clients questions before they need to ask them.
The day before our shoot I check-in to make sure we are confirmed for the day and time and to ask if they have any last minute questions. I make sure that all of my camera batteries are charged and charging and that all 3 of my memory cards are formatted and ready to go.
The day of the shoot: I make sure that all of my lenses are clean, my cameras are working with fully charged batteries. I check all of my equipment is present and correct and thoroughly clean my beanbag. My blankets, wraps and drops will already be washed, dried and folded in a large plastic tote box.
What I bring to every newborn shoot: In my camera bag - Nikon D850, Nikon D700, Sigma Art 35mm, Nikon 50mm, Nikon 85mm, 90mm macro lens, hand sanitiser, phone with white noise app installed. In a fishing tackle box - 4 clamps, duct tape, spare batteries for both cameras, spare memory cards, lens cleaner and cloth, hand sanitiser, hot-shoe trigger for OCF. Studio size beanbag. In my tote - multiple white and grey fleece blankets, drops, blankets, wraps, newborn nappy covers (hand knitted by and amazing lady in Victoria.)
So thats part one! In part two Ill cover the day of the shoot, my editing process and how I deliver my galleries and products. I hope its been helpful and as always, if you have nay questions at all then please do reach out!
xo rose