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Baby’s First Year Portrait Plan
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Would you like to have amazing, affordable baby portraits that you will cherish for a lifetime?

Congratulations on the birth of your new baby! In the first year, your baby will grow from a tiny, helpless infant to a curious toddler exploring everything in your house. These changes in your baby’s growth are amazing to watch, and happen so fast that it’s easy to overlook scheduling professional portraits. We don’t want you to miss a thing, so we have a special plan just for you: A wonderful collection of four portraits, photographed at the prime moments in your baby’s first year.

*	1 year of baby photography.
*	4 fun Studio Portrait Sessions at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months.
*	The four portrait collection of your favorite from each session, presented in a horizontal 10x20 wall panel.
*	Custom framed in your choice of beautiful coordinating molding style.
*	A solid white background is used during each session for continuity in presentation.
*	There is no minimum order required.
*	The Baby Plan is designed for one subject so that we can focus on achieving the best results with your baby. However, if you wish to include family members in a few portraits with your baby we can accommodate you.
*	Sessions scheduled weekdays only.

Call soon because when your baby is older it’s too late! To do the full plan you must call before your baby is 3 months old.

General Clothing Information for all Sessions
Our goal is to create timeless portraits with focus on expression. The clothing you choose is critical for a pleasing portrait with a strong visual statement. Clothing should not be too loose or it will bunch up, overwhelming the baby. Simple garments in solid colors always look best. Avoid patterns, stripes and logos as they are distracting. Denim and pastels work well. Avoid bright red and yellow as they affect skin color in the portrait. Avoid colored shirts with a white collar as the white next to the face pulls attention away from the face. You don't want the clothing to distract from your beautiful baby. I photograph in a clean, simple style, keeping props to a minimum to emphasize the subject. Feel free to bring a few meaningful props you might like to include, as this adds to the sentimental value and personalizes your portrait. A silver rattle, small toy, blanket, hats or headbands are some ideas. Since the baby plan is a promotional offer, we reserve the right to limit the clothing changes per session so as not to overtire the baby. We have a short window of opportunity when photographing babies and they control the session!

About your Session
Please schedule your session as early as possible to ensure availability for the date you prefer. If your child is sick or cranky, please call to reschedule to avoid an unproductive session. Schedule your session for when your baby is relaxed and well rested. Morning sessions seem to be best for babies and children. Sessions are by appointment only and we allow one hour per baby. Your appointment is exclusively for you, no long lines to wait in, no stress, no screaming babies who are tired and hungry. Please allow yourself plenty of time to get here and try to be on time. We don't want you to be rushed. If you are early, you may have to wait and if you are late, you will have less time for your session.
You are welcome to bring someone to help you, however sessions are usually more productive with smaller numbers of people present. Children can get overwhelmed and overstimulated when several people try to get them to smile. Please don't coach your older children to smile as this often results in a grimace of gritted teeth! We prefer to capture natural expressions by talking and playing with them. In addition, focusing on one child per session is usually most productive when possible.

Session 1
At 3 months your baby is reclining most of the time and smiles when you gaze into their eyes. We photograph them in a bassinet or in a "poser" that allows baby to lay back. A Christening gown is often a favorite for this session or at the 6 month session. The photographs taken are simple and we try to capture their beautiful expressions at this time. We even capture sweet images when they fall asleep during the session. We go with the flow of their schedule. Please dress the baby in something that can easily be removed because we start the session bare-chested. A three month old has a low tolerance level and we like to get these done first in case they get fussy. We will then photograph the baby in one outfit, but please bring several so I can advise you on what would look the best. Solid, pastel colors are best, hats are fine. Forget the shoes; a barefoot baby is a happy baby.

Session 2
At 6 months your baby is sitting up and can hold onto small objects so we can get a little more creative. Your baby must be sitting, without assistance and without toppling over. It is during this session we do our famous naked baby portraits, and capture all those wonderful little rolls of baby fat. The classic naked baby on the fur is a favorite! Or bring that special blanket made by grandma if you prefer. We still like to keep the portraits simple, but can start adding props such as a favorite small stuffed toy. This is also a nice time to consider a family portrait, mommy and baby, or formal Christening portrait.

Session 3
This stage starts to get really exciting! At 9 months most babies will pull up and stand while holding on to something, so this is a great time to bring a family chair or other special prop. If your baby is not quite standing yet, please call to reschedule. Denim overalls for boys and seasonal clothes for girls are cute. Bonnets and hats look great for this session. At this stage your baby may be teething and/or going through separation anxiety so smiles do not always occur. But I have lots of patience and we always capture something wonderful.

Session 4
It's finally here; your little one's first birthday and time for a one year formal portrait. We encourage bringing a formal and casual outfit for this session. If you put shoes on your baby, make sure they are clean and polished. Bring 5 blue or pink helium balloons if you would like to do our birthday cake portrait. Standing unaided, walking and even running has now been mastered, and curious exploring is at its height. We like to simply let your one year old play, and see what we can capture. This session is probably both the most fun and challenging for us to photograph. If you haven't done a family portrait, do it now! It gets harder to photograph a baby after this and you will regret it if you wait and it's too late!

Your baby will grow so much during the first year. Their looks, smiles and personality are different at each stage of growth. Don't miss the opportunity to capture all these wonderful changes!