1.) WHERE WILL THE SESSION TAKE PLACE?

 That's entirely up to you! We are adventure photographers lol - we shoot entirely on location in Los Angeles and Orange County - either in your home, at the beach, a park or at an alternative location of your choice, the creative session fee is the same regardless of where you shoot (as long as it is in LA or OC - we shoot in Ventura and up to SB for a $75 travel fee). The location depends primarily upon your aesthetic preferences and the age of your child. We have lots of options and recommendations and can guide you during your booking email or phone call. Babies who are not yet walking are best indoors.

2.) WHEN IS THE BEST STAGE TO SCHEDULE MY SESSION?

If you are doing a pregnancy session, it really depends on how much you are showing and when you feel most comfortable! This time can be different for everyone, so we encourage you to give us a call or email to discuss. 

When scheduling a newborn session, we suggest that you set it up within the first two and a half weeks after birth so you can capture the wonderful tiny newborn qualities. However, any time within the first month is acceptable - we understand the first weeks after baby is born are a little hectic! We will note that we tend to focus more on the emotion of your interactions with your new baby, as well as your baby’s natural beauty rather than posing them with props. Therefore we tend to be a little more flexible than companies that focus exclusively on sleeping newborns in baskets and backdrop setups as that isn’t generally our style. The next stage after newborn is 6 months (soo fun- classic giggling-baby stage), 9 months (full of personality and on the move) and 1 year (or when your child is up and walking). While EVERY baby stage is totally darling, for best results we do strongly discourage 3 month shoots unless baby is really holding her head up and full of smiles. If you missed newborn images, we recommend waiting until 6 months - you will get a lot more out of your session and we want that for you. 

If you are pondering doing a birth with us, call us now to discuss! It is never too early to have a consultation and get prepared!

All sessions require fee for booking and holding a date.

*Please reach out to us for current detailed Covid protocols - we are being VERY Covid cautious and safe and following all state guidelines as they develop and change.

3.) WHAT TIME OF DAY IS BEST TO SCHEDULE MY SESSION?

We have been doing this for MANY years and we have learned a ton so our suggestions are based on a lot of experience with shooting at different times of day with lots of different ages. We typically do at-home sessions in the morning as a general rule. The light is best regardless of which direction it is coming from as it is brightest then indoors and is flexible if we want to do some on your porch or in your yard as well. We cannot have this flexibility closer to 12noon. If your baby is not yet on a nap schedule mornings are ALWAYS the best for any age baby. Especially good is right after they wake up and we are more than happy to come as early as you need us to! A happy baby or child is truly the most critical element of your session, it is the one thing you cannot fully control so we HIGHLY RECOMMEND doing your session in the earlier morning, either right after baby wakes or right after the first morning nap for best results and less sleepy eye rubbing. Photo sessions are generally more stimulation than most babies are used to so its best to do them when they are at their most rested after a night of sleep. We have kids too and completely (totally and utterly) understand how hectic it can be to get everyone dressed and ready and hair and makeup and feedings and all the things done for a session in the morning - however you’ll be so glad you did! And we are happy to start taking pictures of the baby/kids solo while you wrap up those things as needed and then get family shots. Again - a happy baby is most important! The next most important element is light. Early morning and late afternoon/early evening are best for soft light. Several hours before and after 12noon are the least flattering light and can tend to be the crankiest for kids and babies. All that being said, we will follow your lead as far as when your baby is happiest but we just want you to go into it with all the info we have culled over the years!

4.) DO YOU HAVE A PACKAGE FOR THE “FIRST YEAR” OF OUR BABY'S LIFE?

We do! Ask us about our Baby Steps package that documents all those beautiful stages!

5.) CAN PARENTS BE IN THE PHOTOS? GRANDPARENTS? PETS?

YES PARENTS! and YES GRANDPARENT and GENERATIONAL portraits are awesome! YES PETS! Pets and baby photos are literally the cutest thing ever! They are included in the basic creative session fee. Those emotional interactions are a huge part of a session with us, absolutely. And getting the grandparents in is no extra charge - those generational moments are priceless.

6.) CAN I INCLUDE MY ADULT SIBLINGS AND THEIR KIDS FOR A BIG GROUP SHOOT?

Yes - we do it all the time and we call them “generational photo sessions” - it is a special group fee, please inquire further if you plan to do a larger group or if you would like us to photograph multiple families at once. As you can imagine, this is due to the number of people included and the additional time needed for that. But they are so worth it and amazing to have.

7.) HOW LONG WILL THE SESSION LAST?

While we don't limit the length of our sessions, your child will typically determine how long it lasts. On average, the majority of shoots will last between 1-2 hours max- newborn photo sessions can be a bit more of a wildcard due to feedings and such. As moms ourselves, we are super flexible and completely understand and are ready for and accustomed to these scenarios. We want you to be relaxed and enjoy your session!

8.) WHAT ABOUT PROPS?

Generally speaking, we are more lifestyle, documentary style family photographers. We keep it very clean and timeless looking so that you, your children and your moments can be the focus. This being said, if you’d like props that is totally fine, please bring them and we are happy to incorporate them into your session. When thinking of props we encourage you to bring things that are meaningful in some way if possible (i.e. an heirloom rocking horse from your own childhood or a quilt/blanket/sweater or a vintage hair clip from a grandmother… you get the idea - things that will be both charming in photos and meaningful.

*BIRTHDAY: If you are celebrating a birthday with a lifestyle session with us, we do a full session first and then end with some “cake smash” and it’s literally the best! For these shoots it’s always fun to bring a little cake (light colored is most photogenic, definitely not chocolate ;) We don’t usually recommend balloons because it can be way too distracting for baby, however if you leave them hidden in the car or in a room until the end of the shoot that can be a good option. Good birthday additions include: a birthday hat, a pretty and simple banner (no writing, flags etc. are good) that we can hang behind baby creatively - this works on location, etc and we can do a little cake smash at the end of your shoot. So worth it.

9.) HOW SHOULD I PREPARE FOR A SESSION AT MY HOME?

It isn't hard to prepare for a session at your home, so don't fret! It is fun, easy and relaxed to do an in-home shoot; and believe it or not, you don't have to do a lot of clean up! And you don't need to have a large place for it to work, we are very resourceful. First things first, we will take a look around your home to scope out different places we might want to utilize. We will mostly want to be in the room that has the best light. Ultimately, we do a majority of the session in your bedroom (so please make sure it has a solid, simple comforter in a soft tone or white) - possibly do some images in the living room, and the nursery or yard if you have some shade. Otherwise, we will assess when we get there and help you with anything else!

10.) WHAT SHOULD WE WEAR?

Simple, lovely and timeless is always good. Not too trendy but not too plain - be yourself and have fun with it! Let your personalities shine out. Some rules of thumb to follow: no wild patterns, no logos, no stripes unless they are tiny - they distract from the beautiful faces that we want to capture! Please no white and no black if possible, try to to find colors somewhere in-between. Don't go matchy-matchy; some color coordination is fine, but having everyone in exactly the same outfit is not ideal. Solids in colors that play nicely off each other are great. Fun hats and accessories can be sweet,, bring them along as we can always put them on for a few images. And if your session is on the beach - don’t be scared to use that hairspray!

11.) CAN I HAVE THE DIGITAL FILES?

The majority of our clients purchase digital copies of their images in some form ranging from a single files to the full session on disk or in a package with an album. This offers you the flexibility to archive and print your images however you like or reprint them for grandparents. We 100% understand that most people are going to want something digital. Unlike other photographers, these digital images are not sized down to limit the reproduction size. You can print these as large as you want, as often as you want. Additionally - you get to proof a TON of images after your shoot from which to place your order. We share the cream of the crop with you - and that is a LOT - typically between 90-200 images you get to select from! We’re not down with showing you just “our favorite 30” as some places do - we gotta share a ton! We can’t help ourselves! 30 is way too few in our opinion. Kids have more than 30 expressions! Plus your child’s unique expressions are often only known to you so we want you to be able to select from lots of little sweet magic moments and ensure we capture their personality. We also offer several product packages that include digital images. We often hear the story of the “forgotten disk of wedding photos” and therefore encourage our clients to purchase something physical (like an album or wall art) with their session rather than just walk away with a disk of images. That being said, you can certainly purchase all or some of your digital files! And we offer fine-art retouching!

12.) HOW DO REFERRALS WORK?

The greatest compliment we can receive is referral from our clients and to make it extra rewarding we have a referral rewards program! For every client you refer that books a session with us, you receive a $50 dollar credit and they do too!

 Los Angeles Family, Newborn, Baby and Holiday Lifestyle Portraiture