The trick to any successful shoot is proper planning, but how does one plan a shoot when they don’t know if the subject will even be born yet on the day the shoot is scheduled for?
Just like your doctor, we newborn photographers use your EDD as a guide for when we can expect to see you in front of our camera with your new baby. Once we have your EDD, we stay on-call for your newborn session, because it’s simply impossible to know exactly when your baby will be ready for her close-up
At TMP, we encourage moms to set a date for their newborn session at the same time they set a date for their maternity session. In the weeks leading up to baby’s EDD, we send friendly emails to check-in and see how baby’s baking is coming along so that we can make any necessary adjustments for the date of baby’s newborn session.
For example:
A mom’s EDD is September 3rd, and she decides to book a maternity and newborn session. She chooses to do her maternity session mid-July so that she can have maternity photos at her baby shower, and we pencil baby’s newborn session for September 8th.
On August 16th, we send an email to check in with Mom and see if there are any updates on Baby. We don’t get a response from her right away, and understanding that the last trimester can be a doozy, we give a few days before sending another check-in. As long as the doctor hasn’t scheduled an induction or c-section, we’ll stick with the original session date until Baby actually arrives.
On September 3rd, we give mom a call and she says, “Oh my goodness, TeAirra, the baby was born on the 1st and I’ve just had so much going on, I haven’t had a chance to let you know!” To which I reply, “Congratulations, Mama! No worries, I totally get it. You keep enjoying your bundle of joy, and I’ll see you all on the 8th. I can’t wait to meet your little one!”
Another example:
Mom wants to book a Baby Plan with a maternity session add-on, and during the booking, she expresses concern about her pregnancy being high-risk. She explains that although her EDD is November 21st, the doctors have been telling her the baby can arrive up to three weeks before her EDD due to the circumstances of the pregnancy.
“No worries,” I say. “Let’s schedule your maternity session for the beginning of October to give you plenty of time to rest just in case he does arrive three weeks early.” We then schedule her maternity session for October 2nd. After talking more about how the doctors have been approaching the pregnancy, we decide to book the newborn session for baby’s actual EDD. This way, if he comes early, he has time to be evaluated as necessary, and if he’s on time, we can move the date ahead a week or so. We also schedule a 6 Month Milestone session and Baby’s First Birthday Portraits.
As the doctors anticipated, Baby arrived three weeks early, but what Mom and I hadn’t anticipated was that baby wasn’t allowed to leave the house for 6 weeks, pushing Baby out of the newborn age for posed newborn portraits. Mom really wants photos of baby as a newborn, before he turns a month old. So, we talk about it some more and decide to do an in-home lifestyle session instead, on our original date of November 21st. This way, mom gets her newborn photos and her baby is not exposed to the outdoors before his doctor gives the ok.
There have been plenty of times where the baby has gone past their due date or arrived a little early, or is asked not to venture outside due to medical reasons or personal beliefs. All babies come in their own way and in their own time. While we pencil a date to ensure you have space on the books, we also stay on call for you until your baby is able to safely come in for their session. We’re all about the babies, and the mamas, so we’ll pretty do whatever it takes to make sure you get newborn images you love.
For more information on TeAirra Mitchell Photography’s portrait services, visit us at www.teairramitchell.com.
Light from My Soul 