DGN Photography in Columbus, Ohio - newborn, maternity, baby, child, family, wedding photographer, senior pictures » Babies

Tips for a successful newborn photography session

Dianna — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:41:58 +0000

As a newborn photographer, I give my clients tips when they schedule their photography session with me, and thought I would share some of them with the rest of the internet.

First, I find it helpful when clients have an idea of what they would like. There are a lot of directions that we can go with their newborn photography session, and while some people “like everything!” other people take a look at my galleries and other photographers’ galleries on the web to get an idea of what they would like me to aim for (but not copy), and what ones they would rank as the most important.

However, secondly, parents should relax and understand that not all babies are able/willing to do the same things as other babies. But, with a creative photographer, you will still end up with wonderful photos that you will treasure for years.

So those are the first two things to keep in mind, but as a veteran newborn photographer, here are some things you can do to make sure that this short time in your baby’s life gets captured in a way that you wanted.

1. Book your photography session BEFORE you have the baby. I really can’t stress that enough. Babies come when they want to, and to get the sleepy, curly newborn shots, it’s best to aim for them to be younger than 2 weeks old. Sometimes people call me when the baby is 1 or 2 weeks old already, and then we can’t fit the session in until the baby is 3 or 4 weeks old. Month old babies are really adorable, but they don’t sleep as well as they do when they are brand-new.

2. Choose a photographer that has experience working with newborns, and one that comes recommended by others and is responsive to your inquiries. I hear quite often from people “My friend who is just starting her business did my baby’s newborn pictures for free/cheap, but they weren’t very good, and now it’s too late…” I’ve also heard “I booked a newborn session with this other photographer, and my baby is already 9 days old and I can’t get ahold of them! They don’t return my calls! I’m freaking out that my session might not happen at all.”

3. As part of #1, don’t expect to get heirloom-quality portraits from the hospital photographer. A lot of hospitals have contracts with a photography company that claims to do artistic newborn photos in your hospital room. But the pay as a hospital newborn photographer isn’t better than minimum wage, and they don’t take much time with you, so you can imagine that skilled photographers don’t work that job.

4. When scheduling your newborn session (after you’ve pre-booked with your photographer), think about your baby’s sleep/wake times. I’ve generally found that morning sessions run much more smoothly than afternoon & evening sessions, because after the baby spends all night awake, they are really tired in the morning!

5. Things to bring: make sure to bring formula if you are formula-feeding, and if you are nursing, it’s helpful to bring pumped milk so the baby can get his tummy filled up and avoid a nursing marathon. Bring diapers & wipes, and possibly an extra change of clothes for you if the baby won’t be wearing a diaper in the photos. If you are going to be in the pictures, bring powder for your face to help avoid shininess. I also love it when parents bring things to the session that are meaningful to them, to incorporate into the pictures.

6. Keep in mind your baby’s safety. Good photographers know what to do and what not to do with babies, but I’ve seen some really crazy things on the internet that make me fear for the baby’s safety. If it doesn’t seem like a good idea, don’t do it! You CAN tell your photographer “No!” Babies don’t belong on railroad tracks, in real trees, or in real mailboxes. Even if the baby is just sleeping on a beanbag, there should ALWAYS be a baby spotter right there next to the baby, just in case. You can never be too careful.

7. For max sleepiness, bring the baby in the carseat with just a diaper on (and blankets over top). Feed the baby right before you leave your house, and the baby should be happy, content, and sleeping soundly when you arrive at the studio. Then you’ll be able to get all the sleepy pictures out of the way quickly right when you get there rather than spending the first hour putting the baby back to sleep. And when the baby wakes up, you can then move on to some awake photos.

I may add some more tips as I think of them (you may have noticed that I’m a photographer, not a writer, so I don’t expect to win any awards for my writing abilities) I love photographing newborns (ok, I will admit that I love photographing babies in general, not just newborns!) and I really like hearing that people had a wonderful experience giving their baby their first portrait session. I still proudly display my own children’s newborn pictures; they will never be that tiny again!

If you are in the Columbus, Ohio metro area and looking for a newborn photographer, feel free to check out my main web site with my galleries and pricing information at http://www.dgnphoto.net. I can also be reached by phone at 614-323-3147 if you would like to book or have any questions I can answer.

Adorable adorable 7 month old! | Columbus Ohio photographer

Dianna — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 22:59:06 +0000

The other day, I had a fun photography session in my studio with this great 7 month old baby. He was on the go go go! When we put him in the brown basket with the cream blanket in it, he liked it so much in there that he cried when we took him out of it! What a little ham! Enjoy!

Filed under: baby photographer Columbus Ohio, portrait studio Columbus Ohio

Newborn twins! (And a big brother) | Columbus Ohio photographer

Dianna — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:19:02 +0000

It’s not often that I get to photograph newborn multiples, and this set of twins was my first set of boys! They were about 4 weeks old, and I did not expect them to still be sleepy (most babies are wide awake by a month old, which is why I try to aim for about 2 weeks old). One was very sleepy, and the other was a bit more wakey-wakey, but we had a great session!

Filed under: newborn baby twins, newborn photographer in Columbus Ohio, family photography, portrait studio for babies

6 month baby pictures | Columbus Ohio photographer

Dianna — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:51:58 +0000

This adorable little guy is on my baby plan, and so his mom brought him in to the studio for his 6 month photography session. Isn’t he precious??

He wasn't quite sitting up very well yet, but he did great leaning on my small pedastal

We got him to sit tripod-style for just a second. Look at those adorable pudgy rolls!

He was loving the baby bathtub!

The bear is cleverly positioned to hide baby boy parts. I love his little tongue sticking out!

Filed under: Baby plan, 6 month old baby portraits, portrait studio in Columbus, Ohio

6 month old cutie pie! | Columbus Ohio Photographer

Dianna — Mon, 02 May 2011 18:28:14 +0000

We just had an amazing photo session for this little sweetheart! She is on my Digital Baby Plan, and she has grown so much since her newborn photography session! I really think 6 month old is my favorite baby age to photograph.

Filed under: Columbus Ohio portrait studio, Columbus Ohio photographer, baby and family photographer in Columbus, OH

New baby { Columbus Ohio family photographer }

Dianna — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 21:27:32 +0000

Here are a few photos from a great family session… look how the older kids adore their new baby brother!

Filed under: Columbus ohio portrait studio, family photographer in Columbus Ohio

4 months old! { Columbus Ohio baby photographer }

Dianna — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 00:18:40 +0000

I think every year I think I’ll try to remember to blog and every year I go full steam for a little bit but then get busy and don’t. But then it looks like I’ve fallen off the face of the earth, and that doesn’t work either! So I’ll see what I can remember to do, but if I don’t update, I promise I’m still around!

Here is cute little A… I did his mom’s maternity photos, then his newborn photos, and now he came in for his 4 month photos. I prefer to do the next session after the newborn session at around 4 months, because babies can usually hold themselves up well on their arms (although Mr A wasn’t feeling like moving his chunky baby self much). His “little man” hat is just too adorable. Anyway, here’s a few from his 4 month old baby photography photo session at my photography studio in Columbus Ohio.

Filed under: Portrait studio Columbus Ohio, children, baby & family photographer in Columbus Ohio

Fall Family Pictures | Columbus Ohio family photographer

Dianna — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:22:49 +0000

October is always the busiest month out of the year, and this past October was no exception. It is really amazing to me, following the pattern of the fall leaves. The first weekend in October, there was not much color, and most people wanted to wait a bit to do their portraits. The 2nd & 3rd weekends had more color, with the weekend of the 24th and 25th at the peak color. The weekend of Halloween, most of the leaves had fallen off the trees, and I had to hunt around to find trees still with color.

The number of photographers at the parks were quite amazing too. Usually when I am shooting up at Inniswoods, there might be another photographer there. In October, you could count at least 5-8 there in the late afternoons, and sometimes on Saturdays you’d watch and see weddings parading in and out. The rangers certainly had their work cut out for them!

So here are a smattering of some of the recent outdoor photography sessions from this fall. Enjoy!

6 month baby pictures | Columbus Ohio baby photographer

Dianna — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:39:20 +0000

I love the 6 month age so much! They are cute, smiley, with little chub rolls, and game for anything! This little guy was no exception. We had his 6 month baby portrait session at 8 am, when he is at his happiest (and because I was shooting a wedding later on in the morning), and we were able to capture a ton of very happy and cute photos down in my photography studio (in Olde Towne East, Columbus Ohio)

Filed under: Columbus Ohio baby photographer, family photographer, photography studio Columbus Ohio, Central Ohio children’s photographer, photo studio baby plan

1 year old! | Columbus Ohio baby photographer

Dianna — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 19:30:23 +0000

I had the pleasure of photographing this sweet girl for the 3rd time this past year. The first 2 times were at the Janie & Jack photography promotions last October and then March. (She wasn’t very happy at the March one, she had a tear in her eye). I thought she was cute then, but goodness gracious, she’s grown into the cutest little one year old. Here’s just a little sampling sneak peek from her one year photography session at Inniswoods Metro Gardens in Westerville, OH.

Filed under: one year baby pictures, columbus ohio newborn & baby photographer, studio and outdoor photographer in Central Ohio, children’s photographer in Columbus, OH.