Sugar Six Photography
Washington newborn & portrait photographer
The Newborn Experience
Newborn babies are one of my favorite subjects to photograph. But having had newborns myself I know that the idea of a photo shoot with a newborn can seem stressful. Good news is you really don't have to do, or bring, anything other than the baby! I have everything we will need in studio and will guide you through the process. SCROLL DOWN FOR PRICING & PACKAGES.
BOOKING YOUR PACKAGE - You can schedule your newborn session anytime, even after you've had the baby, and i'll fit you in if I can. If possible it's best to book before your due date so I can designate a slot for you and know to expect your baby. When you book your shoot time we will simply schedule you for your due date week and then wait for baby to arrive before picking an actual date and time. Babies come as they choose so whether they are early, right on time, or a little late, if i've prebooked you I will save room to slot you in. Simply give me a call, text or email to let me know baby has arrived and we will schedule you for a date and time within the ideal newborn window.
GETTING SCHEDULED - The ideal window for most newborns is about 7-16 days old. We want baby to be eating well and a little settled into their new life on the outside but still young enough that they are willing to be wrapped, molded and moved while in a deep sleep. Typically at about two weeks old they get use to being stretched out and start resisting those squishy newborn poses everyone loves. It's never too late for photos of course but to get the sleeping newborn shots in my typical newborn setups we want to get them in somewhere around their second week of life. Sometimes life doesn't go exactly as planned. If for any reason your baby needs extra hospital time, has medical issues to be considered or needs accommodations for anything simply let me know. Your slot will remain for you and we will get you in whenever your baby is ready.
WHAT TO BRING - When you come in for your newborn shoot the only thing you need to bring is baby, extra diapers and lots of food. We will have plenty of time for feedings because we want baby to be full and content to hopefully fall asleep. I have props, wraps, baskets and accessories galore here in studio. You do not need to bring any clothing or items for the images themselves. If you do have something that is special and you want to be incorporated you are certainly welcome to bring it but don't feel obligated to bring anything.
WHAT TO EXPECT - A newborn session involves a lot of patience, feeding, shushing & waiting. We will keep the room nice and warm, feed baby until they are nice and full and then patiently wait for them to be comfortable and settled. You get to sit back, relax and just take in this wonderful moment with your new baby. I will figure out what your baby is comfortable in and we will follow baby's lead from there.
SAFETY - Safety is my upmost priority when working with babies and is something I take very seriously. I wash & sanitize my hands often while moving your baby from prop to prop as well as clean everything baby touches between sessions. My studio space is about 1000 square feet of dedicated photography space in a building attached to my home and is not used for any other purpose. You can tour the studio on the "Tour the Studio" page.
In addition to cleanliness another element of newborn safety is the posing and wrapping process. With an explosion of newborn photographers there is a lot of concern about newcomers not taking newborn posing safety seriously. Being training in safe newborn posing & handling practices is critical and something you should absolutely inquire about. Newborn's airways are different than older babies as well as their circulation & joints. Newborn photography is a very specific thing and being a parent or having handled babies in general is not sufficient training in posing safety. In my 15 years of photography I have taken several courses on newborn posing safety and received my safety certification. I also have the experience necessary to handle your newborn properly while getting those gorgeous poses everyone loves. Every prop is counter weighted, every setup has safety in mind and images are composited in photoshop if need be for baby's safety.
AFTER THE SHOOT - After your newborn photo shoot I will post sneak peeks for those who'd like them within a few days. Then your images will be edited, polished & perfected over the next few weeks and are typically available for you to preview in about two weeks. Once you have previewed your images, love them, and want to complete the purchase of your package, you will simply pay the final balance of the package. Once final payment is made your images will be available online in a private gallery to download within 24 hours of payment.
PRINTING & SHARING - Every package with Sugar Six is all inclusive all digital. You can share, Facebook, Tweet, print & archive as much as you'd like at no additional cost. You are welcome to share the actual online private gallery for friends & family to download directly from or you can download the images and share them individually as you'd like. you will receive a personal print rights release so you can print anywhere you'd like. I recommend you go through my professional lab for the best skin tones, color & clarity because I'm calibrated to them but you are not limited to my lab at all. You can conveniently order prints directly through your private gallery which will then ship right from my professional lab in Missouri to your address. I highly encourage clients to print their favorites, even if just small 4x6 or 5x7 size, right away from your gallery. Reality is life moves fast, especially with a new baby, we forget to print our memories and five years later realize that all of our precious photographs live only on a computer hard drive. PRINT your images right away so you have hard copies you can frame, place in a box on the coffee table, pin on the fridge, walk by and enjoy everyday. PRINT so your children can see their images throughout the house and feel loved! Please PRINT your images so you have little pieces of you all over your home as tangible reminders of how tiny they once were. One day when they are 15 and making you crazy you'll be thankful for those little tangible reminders of when they were tiny & couldn't talk. Haha. But seriously please print your images.
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