WE DON'T HANG BABIES IN STUDIO :)

We don't hang babies in the studio! I say this to almost every expectant parent who contacts me for a newborn session. We like to keep things safe..and easy! There are several reasons we will sometimes use digital backdrops and/or composites.

The main reason is safety. Me and my Assistant extraordinaire Michelle have both been doing this long enough to know you can never get too comfortable. Newborns have startle reflexes, making their entire little bodies jolt with no warning. You'd be surprised to see how powerful their hiccups can be. Covid babies have been born walking (obviously an exaggeration but some babies are born with the ability to hold their heads up and they will do it)! Their little bodies are adorably disproportionate with their heads being about 1/2 their body length and 1/4 their overall weight making them unstable and vulnerable. So we make sure they are properly supported while anticipating the unexpected. Composites allow us to keep them nice, cozy, and safe on a poser and then digitally add them into that hand-tied hammock and frail dream catchers.

The next reason is creative freedom. My most requested digital is the baby on the moon image. It's timeless, it's magical...and obviously, it can't be done in real life! There is an infinite amount of creative freedom allotted to us through digital backdrops. Baby nurseries did in elephants...I can't put them on a real elephant but I can add them to a painting of a dreaming elephant to match your decor and dreams perfectly.

Proper fit and positioning. Babies come in all shapes and sizes and while most of our props are the perfect proportion for newbies, sometimes they aren't. Sometimes. your little one just seems comfortable posing in a prop, but you still really wanted it... so we composite and make it happen!

And finally, it allows me to meet special requests with hard-to-find/store and rarely-used props. I like to tell a bit of your newborn's story. Of course, you will get beautiful images but I like to incorporate something special into their session that says a little about how they came to be. Everyone's story is different and I can't possibly keep all the props on hand. For example..one of our funniest requests was from the parents who met at an arcade...so we were able to surprise them with their daughter as Ms. Pacman.

What we won't do...photoshop your baby's head onto an image of another baby. Sure our props or scenes can be totally made up...but they have been created to highlight the magic that is your baby. They are perfect the way they are and we want to capture THEM as they are.