Prepping for a Studio Newborn Session | Indianapolis Newborn Photographer

January 04, 2020 in Session Prep

Thank you for choosing me to capture your little one at this precious, amazing, crazy time in your lives. This phase will go by quickly so having these images will be wonderful reminders of how tiny your little one once was and how you felt when you brought your baby home.

I'm looking forward to hosting you in my studio and I want to make it a comfortable and painless process. Please use these tips and information to prep for the session to ensure it goes as smooth as possible:

*Try to keep baby awake for a couple hours before you leave for the session. Give baby a bath to keep him/her awake, interact with him/her, tickle feet. I know - so counter-intuitive to what you want to do, but again, we want baby nice and sleepy (: Maybe even ride next to baby in the car on the way over to keep him/her entertained.

* The goal is to have baby nice and full for the session, so I HIGHLY recommend feeding baby when you arrive. This makes a HUGE difference and will make the session much smoother. I have a boppy you can use. (I will remind you when you arrive but strip baby down to his/her diaper for this feeding and please take a wet cloth during this time and wipe down baby's face/body to eliminate skin flakes and "eye boogers." If baby is super flaky you may consider using a baby-safe lotion (nothing greasy though!).)

*Please bring an extra bottle of breastmilk or formula. It’s easier to feed baby quickly in the studio if he/she becomes unsettled.

* If baby takes a pacifier, please bring it with. And even if baby does not take a pacifier, bring one and if you are comfortable, we may use it if baby appears that they just want to suck. I have some new ones in the studio as well. Newborns are so fresh they haven’t developed real patterns of liking/not-liking pacifiers. I know new parents are often reluctant and again I would never force a baby to use a paci if parents don’t approve, but as a mom of three, pacifiers were often a helpful tool.

*If you use cloth diapers please plan on bringing disposable ones for the session or I have some in the studio. The diaper stays on for the majority of the session and cloth diapers are too bulky.

*MOMS: This one’s for you! Take care of yourself! Don’t forget to eat and bring water (or I’ll have water here). I know you usually carry the heavy load getting everyone ready for photos but don’t forget about your own self-care.

* My studio will be quite warm to help keep baby asleep and comfortable - so plan for that.

* I have plenty of hats, wraps, blankets, etc so you don't have to worry about providing anything. My studio sessions are completely planned out based on the colors and info you provided in the questionnaire. My workflow revolves around the props, wraps and accessories I will be using and I work in a manner that helps babies stay asleep the entire session, after he/she initially falls asleep. If you have a special outfit you want photographed on baby, please let me know beforehand, but understand that will probably compromise one of my other setups.

* As for what to wear for mom, dad, and siblings (if applicable) - I suggest something simple. Solid colors are good - patterns or wording take focus from the baby.

* Session flow: I will wrap baby first and rock out a couple sets. Sibling shots (if applicable) will be next and then some parent & family shots. Next will be more wrapped/half-wrapped baby sets and I save the naked shots for last. Please let me know if naked shots are desired or not. Note: naked shots are the least priority on my list - if baby is awake and/or fussy they may not be possible. If baby is calm we’ll get some eye-open shots which are always awesome to have in your gallery. We may need a feeding break at some point if baby becomes unsettled. NOTE: if several siblings are involved, we may discuss tackling sibling and family shots first to get those out of the way. I like to minimize distractions in the studio so I suggest keeping younger siblings in the playroom until they are needed for photos.

*The questionnaire you fill out prior to the session is the time to let me know if you have any specific poses you want. Also PLEASE do not arrive and show me a bunch of Pinterest ideas on your phone. I already will have a detailed workflow planned out and I don't like to be mean and say "no." (: It’s better to send me photos from my own portfolio beforehand that you like.

*Normal session time is 2-3 hours but that is just an estimate - sometimes they are quick and easy, sometimes they last longer than planned. Don't stress if it's taking awhile to get baby settled - it's all part of the process. I will never rush through a newborn set, pose, etc. just because it’s taking a long time. Patience is key and necessary when dealing with babies. I can never guarantee we will be done at a certain time to accommodate older siblings’ schedules, work schedules, etc. We are on the baby’s schedule. I suggest you clear your schedule for the part of the day you’ll be with me. Enjoy the process. It’s actually pretty fun to watch. (:

*Just to be upfront, my family or portions of my family might be home (my husband works in the basement and depending on the time of the year, my kids may be home). They are used to this routine and will be completely out of the way as my studio is closed off. We do not have any pets.

*Depending on availability, I may have an assistant who is trained and has worked with me several times before. In the absence of an assistant there may be a couple poses I ask a parent to spot or help.

*Regarding Covid, my assistant and I are fully vaccinated. We wear masks and sanitize throughout the session to ensure we are taking all measures to keep everyone safe.

*Lastly, you need to know how to get here! My address is 6525 Briarwood Place, Zionsville.

*After the session I will post a sneak peek on Facebook and Instagram within two days, unless you opted out. An online gallery with all images will be delivered to you within 14 days (21 days max during peak fall season).

*Please let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to meeting you and your new addition!

Rescheduling Notice: Please note that if I am sick, I will reschedule our session. Per my contract, if that puts us outside the window of 3 weeks of age, you have the option to cancel your contract and I will return your deposit. Babies can be photographed successfully outside of the 3 week window but I don’t want to compromise your desired results and I definitely do not want to risk the health of your baby. I will always be open and honest about my health (which good news, I am typically a healthy person - but I have kids and kids tend to bring those germs home). (: Since my studio is in my home, I also will have an open discussion with you if any of my family members are sick and we can mutually decide how to proceed.

Fall Mini Sessions 2019 | Indianapolis Family Photographer

August 19, 2019 in Marketing

Fall mini sessions are now open to the public! Book your fall mini's today as slots will fill up quick.

Sunday, October 6th at Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis

SOLD OUT

Saturday, October 26th at Eagle Creek Park, Indianapolis

9:00am

Saturday, November 2nd at TBD (NW side of Indy)

Times: Sold out!

Details:

$175 for a 15 minute session
Includes 8 edited images that you pick with print release (option to upgrade for $50 to receive all edited images)
Limited to 5 people per session
Payment is due upon booking and is non-refundable (exception noted below). If you have to cancel, your payment will go towards another session with Kelly Martin Photography.
If inclement weather occurs, a backup date will be provided. If that date does not work for you, we can work out an individual session time or I will refund your fee.
To book your session, contact me at kellymartinphotos@gmail.com or 765-749-4388. Please provide your preferred date and time. Once a date/time is confirmed, I will send you a booking link to sign a contract and pay the session fee. Your spot is not guaranteed until the session fee is paid.

The Kirkpatrick Family | Coxhall Gardens Family Session | Carmel Family Photographer

June 14, 2019 in Family

Sometimes it’s funny to me how the first time I meet many of my clients is the day I photograph them. It’s pretty standard in the industry and I guess it takes a certain type of person to drum up conversation with all types of people (the little humans and the adult humans) to help the session go well. I have to win clients over and make them smile, and be playful, and have fun in a short period of time. Something like this would completely stress me out several years ago but now, it’s all part of this gig. My planning helps. I get to know my clients by sending a questionnaire where they share their kids’ interests and their hopes and dreams for the session. This planning portion has been so key in helping me create a vision for a session before it even happens.

I met the Kirkpatrick family for the first time on a PERFECT evening in May. It not only was a perfect evening but they were the perfect family. We played, swung the kids around, tickled, adored the baby bump on mom (baby #4!!), and most importantly, had fun. The vision I had for a playful, candid session came to life. Amazing clients make amazing pics….

If you are looking for a family photographer in the Indianapolis area, please contact me at kellymartinphotos@gmail.com or 765-749-4388.

Olivia | 7 Days Old | Zionsville Newborn Photographer

April 01, 2019 in Newborn

Life is pretty sweet at 7 days old. No responsibilities. Sleep is life. Eating is life. Mom and Dad take care of everything. I visited the Thakrar’s a week after Olivia was born and she was living the good life, just like any 7 day old should. Teresa and Sanjay were rocking the parenthood thing already. We spent the afternoon of St. Patty’s day chasing some great light in their home and capturing sweet images of their new family of three.

If you are looking for a maternity or newborn photographer in the Indianapolis area, please contact me at kellymartinphotos@gmail.com or 765-749-4388.

What is newborn photography? | What session is right for me? | Indianapolis Newborn Photographer

March 19, 2019 in Newborn

My Road To Newborn Photography

Back when I had my first kid seven years ago, I knew pretty much nothing about newborn photography. I had a friend of a friend who was building her portfolio come over and take some posed images of my new babe. I remember being intrigued and thought she was a baby whisperer. And I adored those images and honestly had no idea what it took to create them and make them look perfect. After we had said kid for awhile I decided we needed a nice camera. I purchased a Sony mirrorless camera for $800 that I thought was pretty fantastic. I was still shooting on auto but it was good enough for me. Once we had kid #2, I decided to take newborn photos myself using an awful green fleece blanket and a snowman hat. I look at those now and cringe, but at the time I thought they were the bomb. (: I would share but I don’t want to embarrass myself. Fast forward to my third kid, which was early in my business and I did take her newborn photos. Much better but not to where I am today.

Newborn photography is an absolute art. When I started my business I knew I wanted to include newborn sessions in my offerings. And to complicate it more and give myself a real challenge, I wanted to tackle posed newborns. In those first couple years of my business, I was not that good at the posed stuff. I didn’t have much of a plan going into a session and I didn’t prepare the parents enough. In my first year I had one newborn session last 6 hours. 6 hours!!! That is insane. I didn’t improve until I committed to learning. Perfecting posing - investing in training videos from some of the best photographers and focusing on just a few at a time. Perfecting wrapping - this was huge for me because I discovered that my starting off sessions with a calm wrapped baby gave me confidence at the beginning of a session because I was able to capture several great images almost immediately. Perfecting editing - I learned Photoshop at the end of my second year in business and it’s a game-changer for newborn editing. Newborn editing is both time-consuming and tedious and any tools to make that easier, like Photoshop, are necessary. And perfecting….I use that term loosely…..there is always so much more I want to learn and improve on. But baby steps and with each year I’m getting better and better.

What is Newborn Photography?

Newborn photography is not all about the posed images. There are basically three different types of newborn sessions offered by photographers (and this does not include birth photography - but that is a thing too):

Fresh 48 Session -This session is held in the hospital after the baby is born, and typically happens with the first 48 hours of life. These sessions are documentary and focus on the emotions of those first few hours with your baby. Very unposed, very candid.
Lifestyle Session - This session is typically held in your home in the first couple weeks after you bring your baby home. This session is also a very documentary-styled shoot, focusing on emotions and connections while shooting in well-lit areas of your home. It’s a “this is how our life was at this point in time” type of session. Some photographers do offer a lifestyle set up in their studio with a bed and/or couch to mimic a home.
Posed Session - This is probably the type of session that comes to mind first when people think of newborn photography. Sleeping newborns in wraps and props, wearing hats and headbands, or sometimes naked on blankets in cute poses. Anne Geddes was one of the pioneers in posing newborns in different props. In this type of session, the photographer works with a (normally) sleepy newborn to position the baby in flattering and adorable poses that accentuate their tiny features - those tiny hands, fingers, toes, lips, etc. And some poses show off how curly they still are after being in mom’s womb for 9 months.

What does KMP offer?

KMP currently (this blog post is dated in early 2019 and these may change over time - for the most accurate info always check out my Investment page) offers four different types of newborn sessions:

Posed+lifestyle session - This session is held in your home and offers a mix of the traditional baby-only posed shots as well as some documentary lifestyle images for sibling, parent and family shots. I bring my “studio” to you and provide props, wraps, blankets, headbands, and hats for the posed portion. It typically lasts 3-4 hours including my set-up and tear down but the glorious thing about this session is not having to leave your home.

Lifestyle session - As mentioned above in the descriptions, this type of session is very unposed and candid. The focus is on capturing the emotions of those first couple weeks home with your new little one. I typically shoot these sessions with all natural light. We will spend some time touring your home and to find the best lighting. Then I guide you through some “poses” to make the best use of the light. We’ll get a variety of images - entire family, each parent with baby, sibing shots, if applicable and baby only. This session typically lasts 1.5 hours.

Studio mini session - This is a fully posed session held in my in-home studio. At the time of writing this, I only offer a mini wrapped session in studio BUT I do have plans in the future to offer a full session so please check my Investment page to see what my current offerings are. The studio mini is a session where baby stays wrapped the entire time, but I layer wraps to get a variety of looks. It includes 2-3 baby-only set ups as well as sibling, parent and family shots. This is a 60-75 minute session with limited images included with the session fee.

Fresh 48 - This session is usually included in a package along with one of the above newborn sessions. A Fresh 48 is done in the hospital following birth. It captures the newness and emotions following the arrival of your new babe.

What session is right for me?

Need help deciding what session is a good fit for you and your family? I think the most important question to ask first is what type of images are you drawn towards? If you absolutely love the baby-only posed shots, then you can narrow it down to the Posed+Lifestyle or the Studio Mini session. The baby-only shots will be almost identical with either session, except the Posed+Lifestyle session possibly will include some naked shots if that is priority for you and if baby will cooperate. Parent and family shots will be more posed and formal in the studio and will be more lifestyle in the in-home session.

If you are more into the documentary/candid images in your home and posed images don’t intrigue you, then the Lifestyle session is perfect for you.

The time in the hospital is a blur - trust me, I’ve had three kids. So maybe capturing that time is important to you - just so you remember, with clear, sharp, creative images. They probably aren’t the images you will hang on your wall but you will treasure looking back on them when your kids are older and giving birth is a speck of a memory.

I always ask my clients, “what do you envision on your wall?” What do you want to hang on your wall? Do you have plans to hang the adorable posed baby images in the nursery? Do you want a large family canvas for the living room? Or maybe a collage of B&W candid images from a lifestyle session? I think starting there will give you a good foundation on how to choose. And let me know exactly what you want and I can possibly create a session for you that checks all of your boxes.

Just know that with any session you choose, I will be there to help you prepare and guide you through it. I send out prep guides for each session so you know exactly what to expect. And I’m always here to answer any questions you may have. I’m a mother and I’ve been there before.