Kimberly Jarman Photography

 

NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY AT THE STUDIO OR YOUR HOUSE? We get a lot of inquires about newborn sessions and one of the big questions is “Where should we take the pictures”. While our options are somewhat endless for locations that we can take pictures, the 2 most popular locations are  a studio session at our home studio or a lifestyle session at your house. It truly does depend on your style and what you are looking for. In order to understand both, let me explain how each work.

A Studio Session: This is probably a more common type of look that most people choose for their child’s first pictures. These pictures are more controlled and allow us to get a lot of posed newborn pictures. You would come to our in home studio, and we would utilize our props, the large windows with natural light pouring through them, and our backdrops that we’ve hand-picked especially for newborns. The type of pictures you would see from this session would be posed and detail oriented. We have control over a lot of what goes into the photo. If you’re wanting some gorgeous portraits of your baby – with their beautiful face and tiny little toes on a soft and subtle background, then studio sessions are for you! We actually do prefer these sessions because we have a little more control of light, props, and the environment.

Below are some examples of  a studio session:

A Lifestyle Session: These types of session convey more of a relaxed, natural, this-is-us sort of feel. These really only work if you live in a home with lots of big windows to let natural light in. With these types of sessions we do not bring our props, backgrounds, or other lighting and only use what you have in your house or outside. These sessions tend to be more lifestyle oriented, which involve more cuddling with your baby and natural elements of your life. Since we don’t bring props or backgrounds, sometimes these sessions tend to be more about you and your child together, vs just your newborn. To make sure this type of session will work well your house should be tidy and picked up and you should take some “you” time to make sure you are looking your best for pictures with the baby!  Before we will do a lifestyle session, we will talk to you to ensure that your house will work for this type of session (especially if there is enough light to work with – Arizona homes tend to be very dark because of the shades we put on our windows, so these types of sessions don’t always work for all homes.  Photographers see light a little differently than most people because they know how it will be translated into that picture and processed into their camera, so when most people say that they have TONS OF LIGHT in their home, that may not be the case necessarily to a photographer’s eye! If we do decide to use your house, we’ll probably show up when the house is the brightest, and get right to work on capturing that very special time in your lives of welcoming a new baby into your home.

Below are some examples of  a lifestyle session:

 

 

Baby Love: First-Hand Experiences from our client, Rachel

Compiled by: Elise, Associate and Newborn photographer for Kimberly Jarman Photography

Throughout the whole month of February, we’ve been posting about newborns photography, trying to communicate as many details as possible so parents know what to expect before they go in for their newborn photos. So we figured what better way to show that then to hear from one of our recent clients! Rachel did a great job detailing how a session goes – we love reading it from her point of view! Here is Rachel’s First Hand Experience of a newborn session with Kimberly Jarman Photography.

From Rachel:

“One of the things I was most excited about when I found out I was pregnant was having beautiful, professional pictures of my baby taken shortly after he or she was born.  I knew that I wanted Kim Jarman to capture my baby’s first images, as she was one of the photographers that I hired for my wedding and her pictures were fantastic. I also loved that she specialized in newborns, and really knew how to capture the perfect picture. I was a little late to the game in reserving time for our session – I called her after I delivered and we were home from the hospital, thinking I had plenty of time.  To my surprise, she recommended having the session before my daughter Guinevere was 10 days old to capture the uniqueness of a “newborn”, as babies change so quickly – and she was right! – so we booked the session for Day 9.  She promptly sent over several emails detailing the timeline for the shoot, ideas on what to wear, props to bring, and our contracts. The booking process was simple and efficient. She also sent over a preview of photo packages and a la carte pricing for my husband and I to review before the session, and before our image selection appointment, so we had time to think about what we wanted to order and for whom.

We decided to have our session done in Kim’s home studio. Her front room is the perfect space for a photo shoot – high ceilings, tons of natural light, and plenty of room for props and backdrops.  She welcomed us with plenty of ideas for the shoot for our little girl – as new parents, we had no idea what to bring or what to expect – but she and her assistant photographer Elise had everything under control!  The room was warm to keep Guinevere comfortable in the diaper-only and no-clothes pictures, and there were several white noise machines with the “heartbeat” setting to help her relax and fall asleep. I was “new Mom nervous”… would she ever fall asleep so they could take the pictures?  What happens if she pees or poops while she’s being photographed without a diaper?  Kim assured me that all of their props were “washable” and the timeframe for newborn photo shoots could take longer than scheduled depending on how the baby responded – and there was no rush. Our shoot took a little longer than planned because Guinevere pooped, then was hungry, then pooped again, then was hungry again… and then was wide awake! Kim took her in her arms and rocked her for 20 minutes and, like a pro, got her to fall asleep so we could finally get started. Kim and Elise did several different looks for her pictures based on our wants, the props we brought with us, and their ideas for positions and backdrops.  They had so many different props to use, we really didn’t have to bring our own! My husband and I just watched, smiling proudly at our little girl, as they worked their magic. Our session was about 4 hours long, but the first 90 minutes of it was spent trying to get Guinevere to calm down, sleep and be comfortable. I would recommend bringing lots of patience and having an open-ended schedule in case the shoot takes longer than expected.

 

About three weeks later we sat down with Kim at her Studio and viewed the images of our session. There were so many, and they were all fantastic! I was overwhelmed.  But Kim grouped them into small subsets to help us narrow them down, and we did several rounds of comparing and eliminating until we had a handful that we wanted printed.  She was very respectful of our budget and had some great ideas to maximize the amount of images we could purchase within our budgeted amount. My husband and I are huge fans of art and photography in the home, so our priority was to have a canvas collage created for our family room wall. She asked us to bring a picture of the wall and helped us to pick the perfect collage arrangement to fit in that space. We also selected several images to have printed and framed in 5×7 and 8×10 for gifts and other areas in our home. We also considered doing a newborn photo book, but Kim suggested that wait and do a First Year book instead being we plan to have more pictures taken at 6 months and again closer to 1 year. Great idea!! Our canvases and prints arrived in about three weeks from the date of our viewing session, and they are gorgeous.

I am so happy to have beautiful images of my daughter that I can look at daily, and look back upon as she grows older. Hiring Kim to take Guinevere’s newborn photos was a great decision and I would do it again in a heartbeat. We are already looking forward to her next photo shoot in a few months. I cannot recommend her highly enough for her talent and professionalism.  She and her staff are truly top notch!”

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Thank you, Rachel! We loved working with your sweet family. We can’t wait to photograph Guinevere in a few short months!

 

 

 

Baby Love: Do’s and Don’ts for your newborn session
Written by: Elise, Associate and Newborn photographer for Kimberly Jarman Photography

 

Newborn Photography often raises questions for expectant parents, the type of newborn photography we do is a relatively new thing (reaching popularity within the last 10 years or so). You probably have very few experiences to compare it to, your parents probably have the experience of taking you as a 6 week old into their local studio with your cutest tennis shoes and overalls… or dressed you in the pouffiest dress they could find. While those pictures do have their place in history, our type of newborn is all about simplicity, and capturing those precious few weeks when your child is so freshly new into the world. Here are a few tips on what to do and don’t do before, during, and after the session!

WHAT TO DO

DO – Think about your baby’s newborn pictures BEFORE your little one is actually here! In order to get those sweet, curled-up newborn pictures that we all love so much, your baby needs to be no older than 10 days old. If you don’t think about the pictures until AFTER you’ve had the baby, that’s a short amount of time to decide on a photographer and hope that they’re not already busy – in only that 10 day period. Not to mention that adds extra stress onto the job of having figure out how to take care of this little one!!

DO – Have a color scheme in mind! We love when clients come with a ‘vision’! We have tons of props and different color schemes for you to enjoy, so feel free to let us know what color you’re painting the nursery, or the colors your home is decorated in, etc. These pictures will eventually become art for your walls – you want to make sure they do well with who YOU are!

 

DO – Watch what you eat before the session (applies if you’re breastfeeding). Newborn babies stomachs are so sensitive, something that we can digest easily might be really difficult for your  week-old little bundle of joy! The session will go as smoothly as possible if your baby sleeps as long and as soundly as possible, so if you’re breastfeeding, try to stay away from the following foods:

• Coffee
• Chocolate
• Citrus Fruits
• Broccoli
• Alcohol
• Spicy Foods
• Garlic
• Peanuts
• Wheat
• Dairy Products
• Corn
• Shellfish
• Eggs
• Soy
• Fish
• Peppermint
• Parsley

DO – Make sure you loosen your baby’s diaper up about 30 minutes before the session. Since we try to get lots of naked shots, the lines that a tight diaper can cause a baby’s skin to have is a little distracting and means more editing time for us.

 

WHAT NOT TO DO

DON’T – Worry if you’re baby has an accident during the session. We love those beautiful, natural, almost-naked, or completely naked shots of your baby – so expect accidents to occur! Don’t worry about our props or blankets – we have a washing machine and will wash it right after the session!

DON’T – Wear your brightest, chevron striped shirt to the newborn session, if you plan to be in the pictures. The keyword to newborn sessions is SIMPLICITY, because those sweet little ones are so tiny, it is so easy to overwhelm the picture so much that the newborn is not the focus of the shoot! The best colors to wear are more neutrals – cream, light brown, tan, gray, and sometimes black. And make sure you feel good in what you’re wearing, too! We realize that your body is changing, and most Mom’s feel so uncomfortable in their own skin so soon after the baby is born. We want to make sure you feel comfortable in your own skin, so something that’s not too tight and floats away from the body is ideal.

 

DON’T – Empty out the entire contents of your baby’s closet into a bag and bring it to us. I get it. Baby stuff is ADORABLE. I personally can’t look at baby clothes without an involuntary ‘Aaaahhhhhhh!!!! How Cuuuutttteee!!’ (you know you all do it…. don’t deny it!), so I realize it might be a little hard to choose one bow-tie over the other for pictures. But please try to narrow it down! We love bringing personal elements into your newborn shoot, like the necklace you wore on your wedding day, or Daddy’s favorite tie, but please no that sometimes it might just not work. Like I stated before, newborn pictures can be easily overwhelmed with distracting colors, too big of props. etc. But if it doesn’t work, or we don’t have time to do it, don’t worry! There’s still plenty of photo-ops left! a 6 month session is a perfect time to do fun stuff like that, when they’re sitting up and able to interact with the camera more,

DON’T – Worry about what you can’t control! I know, I know. It’s easier said than done. But after you’ve done all of the ‘do’s’ there’s not much more that you can really do to ensure the photos go well. Often times parents have this grandiose idea of exactly how they’re newborn session will go, and if they make a peep, it sends them into fits of worry. But we’re here to tell you – DON’T WORRY! We will try our best to get as many pictures of your sweet little baby as we can in the time that we have. If they’re a little fussy, we’ll work through it and keep shooting. If they’re awake for most of it, while it may not be the most ideal circumstances for pictures, we’ll do our best to work around it! Babies can sense when you’re tense, so make sure to come into the session cool, calm, and with the mind set of letting go and enjoying the experience.