Denver Wedding and Portrait Photographer | Michele Schanker | 303.242.7268 » Lifestyle Photojournalistic Photography

I thought I would take this blog post to address some common questions for baby shoots. I hope this helps you out and get prepared for your upcoming baby photoshoot.

1. Do we come to you or do you come to us?

This is a great question. Its really up to you. I prefer to come to you. This way your little one is in a setting they are familiar with. Plus you have all the comforts of home. I don’t mind bringing all my blankets, drops, stands, etc… to your place. If for some reason you don’t want me to come to you, we can do the session at my house. Our house has some great natural light tool! But keep in mind we can do on location as well, such as fields, urban settings, etc…

2. What ages do you recommend for doing baby photos?

I recommend newborn photos are done before they are 3 weeks old. This allows us to get great sleepy shots. The next milestone is around 3 months old when they can old up their head really well. The third photography milestone is sitting on their own. Therefore, 6 months is another recommended age. Next I recommend 1 year. At this point the child is able to stand with the assistance of chairs and other props.

3. How long will the session take?

Plan for about 3 hours. It may not take that long, but it does depend on the baby. If the child is a little fussy that day, or needs some more meals, we always stop to deal with this sort of thing.I am a mom too and understand how important these breaks our for the little ones. With a happy baby, we can get the session done in an hour. But I would rather you plan on a longer period of time, just in case. Traditionally the younger the baby the longer it takes. The newborns need to eat frequently and we also need to take the time to get them into a really sleepy state.

4. Do I need to provide props?

Only if you have stuff you really want to incorporate into the shoot. For instance, if you have something sentimental then let me know and I’ll work it in. Otherwise I bring lots of stuff with me. Including hats, blankets, diaper covers,  ties for little boys and tutus for little girls.

Do you have other questions? Comment below or shoot me an email.

I can’t ever have a post without a photo!

Michele Schanker Photography is proud to announce its first Baby Model Search!!!

Yup we are looking for babies for photoshoots in the Denver metro area. If you have a baby under the age of 12 months (we’re not sticklers for the age thing…if you have a 14 month old that is fine to) and want to participate we want to hear from you. In exchange for your time, your session will be complimentary and you will receive a $50 print credit!

Michele Schanker Photography is an on location photography studio. You may be asking, what does that mean? On location means you determine the location. Since its currently winter time, for babies this 99% of the time means we will shoot at your home. But we love for you to be creative! Maybe your uncle owns a farm, and you would like to shoot there? Let us know. We will be more than happy to accommodate unique requests.

To reserve your model shoot please contact Michele Schanker Photography at michele@micheleschankerphotography.com or 303.242.7268. Feel free to email or call with any questions.

Like our facebook page and I’ll add an additional $10 to the print credit!
http://www.facebook.com/micheleschankerphotography

I love lifestyle photography and thought my son, Brayden, deserved some more blog love!

Enjoy these photos that I took when he was 4 weeks old.

This post is VERY special to me. Why? Because it is some of the first photos I have taken of our son…Brayden! Yup, I had a baby on January 11th 2012. I have been waiting for this bundle of joy for a very long time. As I prepare to go to WPPI in Vegas this year I realized that it was 3 years ago that we decided we were ready to start a family. How I know that is it was 3 years ago that I went to my first WPPI convention and the convention was only 3 or 4 months after we had made that decision. We tried for a year at that time with no luck of getting pregnant. Then my hubby and I made another important decision….to leave California. We had this dream of moving to Colorado and raising our kids there. We loved the time we spent in Cali and felt like the 5 years we were there was enough for us to be able to see and do just about everything we wanted. So we put the baby thing on hold while we focused on moving to Colorado. So here we are in 2012 and our Little Buddy (as I like to call him) is here and we couldn’t be happier! His name is Brayden Samuel and he was born at 4:32am on the 11th weighing in at 8 pounds 6 ounces.

These were taken at the hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital in Lafayette, CO. Yes I wasn’t felling all that great afterwards, but I had to get some of our son at the hospital so my camera came with my hospital bag.

I love this one with my husbands hand on Brayden.

And some of the photos I’ve taken while we’ve been at home.

With babies, I love to capture some of the natural things they do…like crying when they are hungry.

Want to do some family photos during the winter months? Think you have to wait til spring cause its cold out? Not true…just think out of the box.

Here are a few ideas to toss around:

1. the inside of  a mall – choose an early morning time before the mall is packed

2. maybe your family likes to go ice skating – lets go to the local rink and follow up with some hot cocoa

3. Brave the elements and go play in the snow. A family snowball fight can make for great photos.

4. Do a home photoshoot. This is a great time to get some shots of kids and babies in their rooms. Maybe even break the rules and let the kids jump on the bed. Think of  a family activity that you like and let me shoot you in action. This could be family game night. Lets get out your favorite game and I’ll catch the action and candid expressions.

Hope that helps get the ideas flowing.