If I were to ask you what the most important to you in this world is, you'd likely say your kids.

So their safety is the MOST important thing to me, as I work with your sweet little bundle. 

Newborn photographers should be well-versed in how to safely handle, pose, and style babies. This is a huge part of why it's important to work with experienced, vetted photographers for these sessions in particular. If you're browsing through new photographers to stick to a budget, because we ALL have budgets, please just be sure to touch base on this oh-so-important matter.

The wraps, layers, and fabrics used need to be soft, clean, and hypoallergenic against their soft, new skin. I have SO many parents cringe when their baby spits up, pees, or poops on my stuff... DON'T. Everything we use is washable. And it's washed whether they soil it or not to avoid any contagions being passed from one baby to the next. The props need to be sturdy, balanced, and sometimes weighted to keep baby safe. We need to ensure there's no rust and the distressed items we use are actually generally new and designed to look vintage, but created with safe, non-lead paints, with no flakes that can be left on baby. 

The posing we do with your little one is very industry-standard. We have spent countless hours researching, watching, and practicing in order to achieve some of the poses you see, all while keeping an eye on the color of little toes and fingers, watching for good circulation and any signs of discomfort. Babies are bendy, but we are always mindful to pose them in the ways that they're accustomed to from their time in the womb. 

As a photographer, and mom of my own littles, I'm also Red Cross certified in CPR and First Aid, and I'm up to date on all of my vaccinations, including scheduled boosters for Tdap, which protects your little one from the dreaded Whooping Cough.

Finally, an area that unfortunately some parents and potentially new photographers may not be aware of (because why would you??), is that a lot of what you might see in image is thanks to the wonders of Photoshop! Some of the shots you see cannot be safely achieved just the way that you see them. Some of these shots that you pin on Pinterest and see posted all over social media are what's known as a "composite." It's a combination of a couple of images so that we can remove the things supporting baby and keeping baby safe. And sometimes we just remove things entirely from a single image. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is! 

For example, here is a recent photo I took for a mama who wanted a favorite toy included with her new little man:

Never in a million years would I balance baby on the top of a toy, with no support on the back, with a set of wheels, just asking to roll off with baby inside! So you can get an idea, here is the SOOC (straight-out-of-camera) shot that this came from:

So the moral of the story here is to be SAFE. You're your baby's biggest advocate. Make sure the people who handle your baby know what they're doing. And be careful yourselves if you see something fun and cute on Pinterest and want to capture those sweet moments yourselves. I'm always here to help if you have questions, clients of mine or not!