A sitter session is probably my favourite age to photograph within your baby’s first year! Yes, I absolutely adore your newborns. But the smiles that I get from your baby around the time they start to sit up make my heart happy. This milestone session, for when baby is confidently sitting up alone but not yet on the move is usually captured between 6-10 months old. Their little personalities are starting to shine through. And well lets face it they are usually happier when they’ve started eating food too!
The sessions are simply styled, and include fun tummy time shots, quirky prop shots as well as more traditional portraits. For baby alone a 30 minute session is just enough time to capture beautiful images without losing their attention. Or if you would like to add in family and sibling images then I also offer a 1 hour session.
What would I need to bring along?
I have a client wardrobe which is fully available for you to use! Rompers for both boys and girls, pant and hat sets for boys (as below) and head bands for girls too. I always like you to bring at least one outfit too and any other special items you may like to be included. Of course snacks, toys and even baby’s favourite music will also help to keep them happy for the duration of the session.
All studio props and backdrops are available for your use. This can be discussed when booking if you have any specific preferences. We do as much baby is happy to do, its all baby led and they will be kept comfortable and safe throughout!
Sitter sessions start at just £149 including 10 digital images via download. If you had the SILVER or GOLD newborn session with Sugar Plum Photography you will also have a discount voucher of £25 or £50 to redeem to!
You are a proud parent to be and have been thinking about booking a newborn photographer to capture your baby’s first portraits. But to put it bluntly it’s a minefield. Add ‘newborn photographer’ into google and you’ll see there are a lot options! So how do you choose? I mean this is going to be the person who is going to capture all your baby’s first portraits, tiny details and well just gorgeous newness!
Here are few things to look at when choosing which photographer is right for you…
1. Recommendations and reviews
If you speak to friends or colleagues they will happily tell you who took their little ones first pictures and how much they love them. Or sadly in some cases don’t. Ask to see some of their baby’s photos so you can see if their gallery matches the quality on the photographers website/social media. They will often be local to you (although I do get people travel up to an hour to my little studio so thats not 100% essential) and give you a starting point for your research.
Don’t have many momma friends? Google reviews from actual paying clients are always useful and can be very insightful into the experience that previous clients have had. Facebook also has the recommendations tab on a business page which is much the same.
Click here GOOGLE REVIEWS to browse through some of my clients experiences.
2. Style
Do you like their style? Each newborn photographer is very different and generally has a style which they tend to stick too. Some photographers pose babies while others offer lifestyle sessions for example.
I always go through the same set which is wrapped in props, posed in the little sleepy poses on my posing bed and then outfit in prop/bucket and family images. This can be seen in my portfolio and explained in my client guide. My sessions are baby led and if they are unhappy in certain positions or poses I adapt the session to fit baby. When looking at other photographers portfolio’s you should be able to see some consistency.
Think, do i like the colours used, the poses baby is in and props available? I wouldn’t book a photographer and then ask for something completely different that I haven’t seen in their portfolio. Although they might try new things out you don’t know how that will turn out on the day or they might just say no.
Imagine their images up in your home, would you be happy?
3. Safety and experience
You’ve probably researched the safest car seat and bought the latest baby monitor. The same thought should go into who is going to be handling your precious new baby in the first few days or weeks of their lives.
Have they had any training in safely handling newborns, especially if you are booking a photographer that poses them. They will be manoeuvring the baby into different positions or even props and you want to know that this is being done in a manner that will not hurt baby in anyway but also with care. This information is often found on photographer’s websites.
Some images to be done safely such as the ‘froggy’ pose need to be taken as two images and put together in photoshop (called a composite image). I myself don’t offer that particular pose, even though I had training to do it. I decided that it just doesn’t look natural to me, but that is just my personal preference. I do however use parents hands to support baby’s head in certain positions and props. Such as the little armchair, I then edit hands out in photoshop, example below.
Experience as a photographer and with handling babies are both things you should consider. Every baby is so different, can they adapt the session to still get beautiful images when baby doesn’t like poses, has reflux or is even just a fussy baby! Photographers consistent work will show experience with good lighting, camera settings, flattering angles.
4. Budget
This will always be a factor in who you book. You always want the best you can afford with anything we buy especially something this important. The cost for newborn portraiture can vary greatly. Some things to take into consideration is session duration, detail in editing (this takes time), the photographer’s experience, their level of training, and equipment/props used by that photographer.
Photographers use lots of different models for pricing but the two main pricing structures used are all inclusive packages where you get a set collection or package for a set price or in person sales where you are invited back to view the images and sold digital collections or wall art.
Make sure to look through price lists and understand what final products will be delivered and how. You don’t want the shock of paying a small session fee and then realising in a reveal appointment that the final images are way more expensive than you can afford.
5. Finished product
Do you want hi resolution digital images to print and share as you wish? Or would you prefer a couple of stunning pieces of wall art to put up in your home?
I offer both with your chosen collections including a set amount of digitals/prints delivered via online gallery and then you can add additional wall art, prints or gifts if you choose to.
Some photographers don’t offer digitals at all or only if you buy the wall art and then they are small files to share. It very much depends on how you want to display your images as to which option is best for you. For me, as a mom myself, I always want to know straight up how much something is going to be without hidden costs. So that is how my collections are priced what you see is what you get!
I hope this has helped you in your search and if you like my work get in touch! I’d love to document a little part of your new babies story
You can check out my pricing HERE and email enquiries@sugarplumphotography.co.uk for a client guide or if you have any other questions!
Baby Photography | Newborn Photographer | Photography studio Dudley West Midlands
Baby photoshoot | Family Photography | Award winning newborn photographer
Firstly well done all you new mommy’s for getting through the most magical and yet stressful time in your life without the help of family and friends by your side!! I truly can’t imagine what that must be like. But you can do this, mommy’s will always soldier on <3
If you had already looked into booking a newborn photography session then you will probably know that the best time to get those beautiful curled up sleepy shots is within the first 2 weeks of babies life, i usually offer mine til baby is 4 weeks old.
So what happens if you missed this timeframe due to the current unprecedented situation we find ourselves in??
There are 2 options depending on when we can get up and running again.
1. Take babies images ASAP
Be that 6 weeks, 12 weeks or even 5 months old you can get beautiful images of your baby and even get a few smiles thrown in too!
Unfortunately we may not get those posed newborn shots and we will get less variation in images, but with their big wide eyes and beautiful smiles will still make for a stunning gallery and would still include parent, sibling and family photo’s as required.
2. Wait until baby is sitting confidently, around 6-9 months
I absolutely LOVE sitter sessions, it one of my favourite ages to photograph! Your tiny newborn is now a chunky baby, sat up all oh so very proud of themselves. There smiles and interaction melt my heart! I usually go with 2/3 set ups for sitters and have a range of vintage style outfits that you can use along with a collection of simple props.
Again sibling and family photo’s can be included if required and we would book in around baby’s nap times to make sure we capture your little one at their happiest!
Both of these sessions would be priced as ‘Sitter Sessions’ please check HERE for pricing. Make sure to like and follow my Facebook and Instagram pages for some great re-opening deals too!
If you would like to get in as ASAP once the restrictions are lifted then please get in touch by either using the contact page above or FB/ Instagram message to let me know babies details and I can add you to my priority list.
#Stayhome #Staysafe and look forward to seeing you all on the other side…
So its coming up to your little ones first birthday, you’re considering a cake smash but your not sure what to expect, whether they will enjoy it or indeed behave or what you get for your money?? So heres an insight into a full cake smash session for you!
So where do we start? Each cake smash is different and is fully tailored to your taste whether that be something you’ve seen me do before or something a little different we between us will make a decision on what kind of colours/theme you would like for your little one. You can book a time to suit you depending on their naps etc to make sure they are at there happiest for there shoot. Firstly we will get some beautifully natural, timeless portraits of them which can take around 20 mins and usually amounts to 10 edited images for the gallery.
Then you can get them changed into there smash outfit (which you can bring along or i can supply depending what you want to go for) while i set up the backdrop and get out the cake to let the fun begin! I find shorts, rompers, dungarees and tutu’s are most popular and really are cute.
This Mamma wanted pastel rainbow colours so this is what we decided on…
We’ll get a pic with the backdrop and hopefully one with an intact cake lol before letting them free to get messy and eat! Don’t worry if they don’t seem too interested with spoons, balloons and some gentle encouragement they all soon get going. This usually lasts around 30 mins. And if they are polite with their cake, you can take the rest home too! You will be sent a gallery link within 1-3 weeks where you can view your professionally edited images.
As a mom myself I hate hidden costs, and A LOT of studio’s unfortunately offer free sessions with horrendous prices afterwards, thats why i always show my pricing in full with no surprises.
Included is the yummy cake, ALL images on USB and 3 10×8 mounted prints of your choice for the package price £269. Pay just £50 deposit to secure your session. You can get in touch using the contact page above and have these memories up in on your walls for years to come!
