Newborn Photographer. A title that I NEVER dreamt I would hold. Full transparency- I didn’t want it either. From my very early days of picking up my first DSLR & entering the world of photography, I almost immediately could see that newborn photography was truly an art form all of it’s own- completely separate from children/family portraiture. The lighting, the wrapping, the spit up, the folding of babies into cute squishy poses- I wanted none of it; it was entirely too intimidating.
Pretty early on in my career I took on lifestyle newborn photography. The most challenging aspect is tackling the different lighting scenarios that each home/room presents. But once you find your flow, it’s such a special session. You’re allowing a family to just naturally interact. The baby is typically calm in mama’s arms or laying in their crib surrounded by familiar sounds & smells. The setup of the family’s home isn’t likely to be that way 10 or 20 years down the road so even the detail shots of furniture throughout (especially the nursery) can be such a sweet memory.
Almost 2 years ago, I started to think about *possibly* getting into posed newborn photography as an add-on for my new family lifestyle sessions. I began watching wrapping videos online and figured I’d practice lots in the first few weeks after my twins were born so that I could eventually feel confident in offering it as session type. Needless to say, that did not happen and I practiced on my twins exactly ~zero~ times.
Flash forward to January of this year, I made the decision to again pursue this exciting new path. Except this time, it just didn’t feel like a *possibility,* it felt real. Something inside of me completely switched & I knew exactly where I could see myself and exactly what I needed to do to get there. I began re-educating myself through countless hours of studying and tutorials. I even found a mentor to help guide me through the process of correct newborn lighting as I’ve always been a self-described natural light photographer.
But photography is so much more than online education. Consistent practice has been my greatest educator over the past 4 years. This is a delicate session type because it is such an important time in new parents’ lives. Memories eternalized through portraiture of their new baby in all of his or her tininess at just days old will be something they will deeply cherish forever. In a wedding, you only have the 1-3 seconds to capture that first kiss, and similarly in newborn photography, there is a fairly small window of time when the baby will be easily squished into sweet sleepy poses. Of course, it’s a matter of days rather than seconds. But I just knew that in order to feel confident that I could get the shots and comfortable offering & charging for this kind of session I needed practice and a portfolio.
After ordering all my new posers, wraps, lighting, and miscellaneous equipment, I held a model call. I committed myself to t e n mama’s over the next 5 months. I’m so proud of the images we’ve created so far and cannot wait to see what these future sessions will conjure up.
As a first-year newborn photographer, I am offering these sessions at a highly reduced rate beginning July 2020 all the way through December 2020. Newborn investments for 2020 will be $299 and include a 2-3 hour newborn session of baby only + 15 digital images. I’m also offering 60-minute New Family Lifestyle Sessions (to be scheduled 2-3 weeks after baby’s glamour shots) with 25 digital images as an add-on for just an additional $100 ($249 value).
I do plan to create bundling discounts for families who want to book maternity, fresh 48, newborn portraits, & a new family lifestyle session.
For inquires or simply just to chat about what exactly you’re looking for, please don’t hesitate to contact me via the contact form at the top of this page, shoot me a text at 724.422.2024, DM via any of my social media outlets (@savannahtutkophoto), or email me at hello@savannahtutko.com
Savannah
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