5 things to do to ensure a stress-free picture day

1. fully review my studio prep guide days before your session
2. pack everything you need the night before. Trust me. 
3. if you are bringing other siblings to the session AND they will be photographed with the baby AND are under the age of 7, read this RIGHT NOW
4. map/waze directions to the studio the day before at the time you'd leave for the session to gauage traffic (we live in LA, let's not kid ourselves, driving 10 miles can take 2 hours) budget travel time accordingly 
5. please be sure to bring your calendar as well as the schedule/calendar of all other financial decision makers to the shoot. We need to set up your in-person ordering consultation after the session so that you can see your images as soon as possible! 

Contact me for a copy of my full newborn session prep guide.

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Fresh48 (?)

If I were completely honest, Fresh48 sessions are my very favorite type of session to shoot. In case you’ve never heard of this type of newborn session, here is some basic info (getting right to the point for once, I've heard your feedback ahem):

When: hours or days after birth! Just as long as you're still in the hospital/birthing center

Where: in the place of birth, BEFORE you go home; unless it was a home birth, of course

How: sometime after the baby is born and before you are discharged, your Photographer (me hopefully!) comes to photograph the lifestyle hospital session

Who: your baby! And immediate family. Due to the nature of the shoot, extended family and friends are asked to schedule visitations outside the hours of the shoot

Length: short and sweet to accommodate mom and baby’s rest, roughly 30-45 minutes

Fee: head on over to my investment page to see details

That’s the short of it! Here’s some other info you might find enlightening. The Fresh48 is such an up and coming session in the newborn photography industry. While these sessions are still relatively unknown to expecting moms, that makes these precious photos all the more compelling and memorable for you and your family. If becoming a parent is a crazy blur, the first couple of days is probably the most blurry of all! This is especially true for first-time moms. While you certainly can pack a camera/camcorder/smart phone on you, it is so assuring to know that even if you never took a photo, this monumental event in your life will be beautifully and artistically documented. Another thing is, you will ALL be in the photos without needing to take a selfie or ask your nurse.

Consider booking a Fresh48 and check that off your list of to-dos. Pregnant and thinking of booking a Fresh48 session with me?  

-contact me to book your session today!

-check out this blog posts on 5 tips to prepare for your hospital newborn session

-check out these recent Fresh48 galleries: Baby Cyan, Baby Max,  Baby Zoe

Gassy Baby? This MIGHT be why...

One of the main things I check for right before the shoot is if the baby's stomach is distended. To check, I gently place the base of my palm on the baby's stomach and give just the gentlest pressure, if the belly gives in to pressure, the baby is not gassy, if the belly feels quite hard like a very ripe tomato, the baby is quite possibly very gassy. 

From the prospective of a newborn photographer, this just means that the baby won't be comfortable in certain poses. All this would mean is poses where the baby's feet are coming up over or under the belly will be skipped in flow posing. 

From the prospective of a mom, a brand new, sleep deprived, going slightly crazy mama, this means a whole lot more. A gassy baby is a fussy baby and try as you might, it'll be very hard to calm the baby to go into any sort of uninterrupted sleep. Your baby could be experience gas for a number of reasons but if you are breastfeeding it can very well be related to your diet. Below I share my nursing guide that I send to all prospective clients to help avoid a gassy baby for the session. This, of course, is not an end all be all solution to your baby's discomfort, so definitely consult your pediatrician and doctor should the condition persist. In the meantime, check to see if you've ingested anything on the list and remove it from your diet immediately. It takes time for the food you eat to transfer to baby so give it 48 hours to adjust. 

Oh and have you tried gripe water? This can help too. Please do plenty of research and consult your doctor before administering anything to your baby. LLP did not and does not have any medical training and the content of this article should not be taken as medical advice in anyway. 

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Cheers to happy sleepy babies everywhere,
Lucy