I have a friend who is newly pregnant, for the first time. She is so very excited to be expecting after trying for a long time, but now that she’s actually hit the goal of becoming pregnant, she has no idea what she’s doing.

This is not a slam on her. I remember being in her shoes: after my miscarriage in 2015, I didn’t dare allow myself to plan ahead while we went through all the scientific steps to try to get (and stay) pregnant. I could barely handle the emotional toll that it took after each failed IUI, and all the needles and hormones leading through the multiple steps of IVF. Allowing myself to plan ahead to what pregnancy, birth, delivery, and after might actually look like was impossible for me. So after finally reaching the goal post of getting pregnant and making it past the first trimester, I unburied my head from the sand and realized with surprise that the goal post had moved. And I had no idea what I was doing.

How the heck could I know? How could any first-time expecting mother know what to expect, what questions to ask, even who to ask?

So today I’m starting a series: questions to ask a professional. We’re going to start with five questions to ask a newborn photographer, because that’s the topic I know the most about (obviously). Edit: here are the other posts on this topic: questions to ask your doctor or midwife, your lactation consultant, and even HR. But let’s start here:

A new dad holds his newborn son to his chest and kisses the side of the baby's head as the baby nuzzles into his dad's chest. They stand in front of a blank wall. The figures are cropped closely in the frame.

Five questions to ask a newborn photographer before you hire them:

Do you do posed newborn photography in studio, or do you do lifestyle newborn photography?

If you’re not sure of the difference between these two types of photography, here’s a short and sweet explanation: Posed newborn photography is typically done in a studio (sometimes a photographer will come to you, though), with props and studio lighting. Babies are posed in adorable configurations with minimal backgrounds, and usually there’s some photography magic involved, with composite images (photos taken two different ways and then stitched together in an editing software). Here are some examples if you’re unsure (I searched “posed newborn photography” on Google for these results). Lifestyle newborn photography is usually at home (but sometimes photographers have studios where you can visit them), and is typically a more natural, documentary style with little to no posing, and some basic direction from the photographer, usually photographed with natural window light. The type of newborn photography I do is lifestyle newborn photography. Here are examples of that.

Newborn baby girl sits upright on her mom's chest and stares into the camera. Her little hand is gripping the burp cloth on her mom's shoulder, and her head is resting on her mom's cheek. She has an intense look in her blue eyes.

How will you keep my baby safe?

This is a good question, regardless of which type of style the photographer uses. If they’re posing newborns in adorable configurations, they should always be doing that in a safe way, again with heavy use of composite images. (They should mention the use of composite images when you ask the question). They should never dangle or contort your baby in dangerous positions, leave them perched precariously on a prop, etc. Likewise, a lifestyle newborn photographer has other safety protocols to consider, since they’ll be in your home. For example, I wear a mask in your home, and as much as I want to, I won’t be touching your baby. You’ll be doing all the cuddling.

Two Indian parents sit with their two children on their bed. Dad is holding preschool age son while Mom holds newborn baby daughter. The baby is making noises and the rest of the family is smiling and laughing while they look at her.

When is the best time to schedule my newborn session?

Great question. If you’re doing posed newborn photos, you’ll need to do those pretty soon after birth, within 10-14 days, because of the need for the baby to be tiny and flexible for the poses. Lifestyle newborn photos have more wiggle room (pun intended) and can allow you more time to recover and get into a rhythm with your baby before your session. I wrote a whole post on things you should consider when scheduling your newborn photo session with Allison Patel Photography (me), which you can read here.

How does this work? Who initiates the process when the baby is born?

Presumably, this would be something that the photographer brings up in your pre-contract consultation, but just in case they forget, it’s a good question to ask. Some photographers require you to notify them when the baby is born, others reach out to you. I do a combination of the two: I reach out on the baby’s expected arrival date (aka the due date) and see how things are progressing. It’s rare (though not impossible) to have a baby arrive exactly on the expected arrival date, so I like to know where in the process we are. Are you waiting for things to happen naturally, do you and your doctor have a plan if the baby hasn’t arrived by a certain date (common in high-risk situations)? Or has the baby arrived early? In any case, I’ll email you and check in, and then after the baby arrives, you can let me know and we’ll schedule the actual session after that. We don’t schedule before the baby’s arrival because there are far too many variables and unknowns. Nobody needs the additional stress of a looming photo session date added to their wait for the baby.

Newborn baby boy sits upright in his mom's lap. He is tiny; her hands look huge around his torso and his little fingers grip her hand with one hand and his half-brother's hand with the other. He has concerned forehead wrinkles.

What do I get, for what I’m paying?

This is most likely going to be the biggest variable when you’re asking questions, and can be the hardest part of trying to compare two different photographers. Some photographers will include everything together, including the session and the digital images themselves, which is called “all-inclusive” and can be a great way to get everything with minimal up-front effort, because you’ve already paid and all you have to do is download the photos to be done with your photographer. There’s a great deal of after-session effort on your part if you go that route, though, including finding a quality photo lab to print your photos, deciding what to do with them, and finding the time to make prints, albums, or other photo-related products. This was the route I chose for both of my own newborn sessions, and my daughter was nearly 10 months old before I got around to getting canvases and prints made of her newborn session. Also, she’s nearly 3 years old and I still haven’t made her album to match the one I did for her older brother.

Some photographers will go the exact opposite route of all-inclusive, and schedule an in-person ordering session with you a few weeks after your photography session, so that you can order exactly what you need as you view your photos together. This can be handy since the photographer will be taking on the effort of ordering the things you request, but sometimes digital images aren’t included in that print order, which makes it harder if you want to use the images for baby announcements or gifts down the line. The in-person ordering session can also be high pressure, especially if you have a new baby with you who is on the clock for feeding or napping, and you need to make decisions quickly.

Then there’s a Goldilocks method, which I’ve been using and really seems to help clients. My newborn session fee covers the session itself (bonus question for you to ask is about session length. My sessions are around 90 minutes - this can vary from photographer to photographer, too). About two weeks after your photo session, I send you the photos in an online slideshow so you can look at all of them together as a family and without me peering over your shoulder. Then you decide on a collection that includes digital images (some of them, more of them, or all of them) and a generous print credit that you can immediately use in the print store to get those prints, albums, canvases, or grandparent gifts you need. If you choose an album, I do the work to put it together for you, and then send you a proof so you can approve it before it gets printed. It really is the Goldilocks situation: You have control over what happens with your photos, with none of the work and no pressure.

A newborn baby girl lays on a soft blue fleece blanket. The baby is bare-chested and smiling in her sleep, with her little hand curled beside her face.

I hope these five questions are helpful as you navigate the waters of preparing for a new baby! If you need help narrowing down your search for a photographer in the wide internet world, I have a free download for that here:

5 Questions to Ask a Newborn Photographer