Hey y’all!

I wanted to put out a quick blog about some upcoming changes to my collections and pricing starting July 1st, 2022.

I have avoided raising my prices for as long as possible, but I can no longer prolong the inevitable. Due to demand and product selection my prices are going to be increased and collections will be changed a bit.  I continue to strive to better serve my clients and give them the best photographs, galleries, post-processing, and products. 

With that said, any sessions booked between now and July 1st, 2022 will be honored at my current pricing, even if you choose a session date after July 1st. I wanted to give you advance notice so that you have time to do so if you wish to avoid the price changes. 

Collection price increases will be going up anywhere from $100-$300 depending on the collection. I will also be adding some additional newborn collections so that you have options that are still affordable.

Feel free to email me at info@ashleyflugphotography.com with any questions.

Every mother wants to capture as many photos of her new baby as she can and if you’re currently expecting, you’re probably wondering about the best time to schedule your newborn photo session.
The reality is that all parents have different preferences, with many not wanting to photograph their little one too soon. Others simply don’t have the time or energy to schedule in a photoshoot directly after birth.
Every shot of your newborn is special and this is a time that you’ll want to remember for years to come, so what are your options?

Understanding Your Newborn Photo Session Options

The First 48 Hours

The first few hours after your baby is born are very special and filled with ‘first moments’. If you want to capture your little one’s first bath or the moment they meet siblings or other members of the family, schedule your newborn shoot during the first 2 days. Usually these will be taken at the place of birth whether in the hospital or at home, you will be happy to capture these very special ‘firsts’.

The First Two Weeks

If you want time to find your feet as a new mom and you simply love how newborn babies look when they’re sleeping, schedule your shoot during the first two weeks after your baby is born. Your little one will still be very new to the world and will spend more time sleeping than anything else, which makes for beautiful photos.

One to Three Months

If capturing your baby’s personality is more important to you, wait a month or two before you schedule your session. During the first three months, your baby will become more alert, open their eyes and even smile. If this will be your first baby, you may only be feeling more relaxed after a month or two, which will make the shoot more pleasant for you.

Newborn photo sessions are very personal, so do what’s right for you and find a photographer that you feel comfortable with.

 

Home is where the heart is, which is why it’s one of the best locations for family photos.

Your home is where you feel most comfortable and it offers countless photo opportunities for you to take advantage of.

If you’ve been looking to take some updated photos of your family but want to beat the summer heat or keep things close to home, here are a few inspiring ideas for your upcoming photo session.

Take it to the kitchen.

There’s something about making a meal together that really brings a family together. You already spend a lot of time in the kitchen so why not use it as a backdrop for some new family photos. Throw on some aprons, choose a fun recipe and get the entire family involved in the process. These candid shots will definitely be something that you’ll want to print out or place in an album.

It’s all about the cuddles.

Curling up with the people you love in a big bed on a Saturday or Sunday morning is simply the best so throw on your best PJs, grab a few books, a cup of coffee, and let your photographer do the rest. Have a laugh together, read a story to your children or show off your matching socks at the foot of the bed.

Head to baby’s nursery.

If you’ve spent a lot of time decorating your baby’s nursery, it’s the perfect place to grab some memorable photos with your family. Plus, the natural light from the window will provide you with a warm atmosphere that will enhance every photo.

Hit the couch.

The lounge is another area of the home that your family probably spends a lot of time in, especially if you enjoy lazy days on a comfy couch watching all your favorite movies. It’s also the perfect spot to take some updated family photos. Depending on your preferences, you can all wear something comfy or outfits that are casual and coordinated – the choice is yours.

Have a playdate.

You don’t even need to pick a particular room for your family photos, you can simply aim to have a little fun with your kids for the afternoon and let your photographer capture your time together. Whether your kids want to throw on superhero capes or they want to play with building blocks in their room, these are all perfect photo opportunities.

Spend some time outside.

If you have a picturesque backyard, why not have an intimate picnic with your family while you capture some new family photos at the same time.

 

Your home is filled with perfect photo opportunities, you simply need to think outside the box!

Today’s blog post features Sarah, John, and their newborn baby, Max, in those kinds of lifestyle, real-world images. Of course big sisters Sophia and Avery were a part of the session as well.

I always love doing posed newborn sessions, but I also get really excited about going into new parents’ homes and photographing the candid moments, too.

The session took place at their lovely home located in Gilbert, and the day was truly memorable. You know there was so much love there based off the pictures alone! You can practically feel it through the screen!

Check out their gorgeous story collection and simply wrapped photos below. You are sure to love them!

How to prepare the baby to ensure they are happy and cooperative during the session

In my last post, I discussed what to bring and wear to your session. Now it’s time to talk about how to ensure your baby is happy and cooperative once you are at your session. Check out part 1 here.

1. Make sure your child is well fed before the session. Try to schedule the photos around feeding time. If your baby has a full belly, that usually equals a happy baby.
2. In addition to that, you should also be sure your baby has a fresh, clean diaper. No child is cooperative sitting in a dirty diaper. This may seem like an obvious tip, but in the rush of everything, sometimes we forget the basics.
3. I mentioned this before, but it is important, so I’m saying it again: bring a pacifier to your session. Even if you are not allowing your child to regularly use one, it will be good for a short time just to help him or her calm down during this time of potential stress. If your baby starts to fuss and we cannot stop the crying by other means, this will typically help ease the baby’s nerves.
4. Keep your baby warm. Newborns are used to being in a small, warm place. That’s where they’ve been the past nine months,and they are uncomfortable when they are cold. We like to keep our studio warm on session days for this reason. If we are doing a session at your house, we suggest bumping the heat up as well. We will also have plenty of blankets handy for in between photos.
5. I suggest playing soft music or white noise to create a soothing environment for your newborn.
6. This is probably the most important thing to note: be OK being a part of the photos. If your child is not cooperating with the session, the best way to soothe newborns is to hold them and rock them to let them know everything is OK. Sometimes babies just need to be held. A lot of new moms are uncomfortable in front of the camera during the first weeks after birth, and I completely understand. If you do not want to be in photos, I can work around this, but I may need to borrow your arms. You just have to make sure not to tense up when you get in front of the camera. Babies sense these things and will, in turn, think they need to tense up as well because something must be wrong. If you’re absolutely against being in photos at all, I could cover you with a backdrop and rest the baby on you. This will help your baby feel secure while keeping you off camera.

Hi gang! Today on the blog you get to meet Gracelynn Rain, the 7-pound, 6-ounce bundle of sweetness who belongs to Corisa. This session took place at my home where I have lifestyle & posed newborn set ups, and I was able to capture some of my favorite images to date!

I loved that we included mom and big sisters, Emma and Annabella, in this shoot, because I loved the sentimental touch.

Testimonial from Corisa: “Ashley was amazing at taking pics of my 10 day old. She was so gentle and patient with getting her posed and wrapped up. Her props and outfits were absolutely adorable. She included my older girls as well and made them laugh and smile so easily. She did a great job of capturing their personalities. She is great!”

Thank you so much for the kind words!

Not to mention, it total helps to have such a photogenic baby in front of the camera! Umm… can you say baby model? Plus, check out all the little details!

Thanks again for giving me the honor of photographing Gracelynn, Mom! You’re going to be an amazing mother to this sweetheart.

How to go go with the flow and not stress if the baby isn’t cooperating.

I’ve all seen those adorable photos of new little babies looking so peaceful and relaxed and, not a care in the world. And as new parents, we want similar photos of our children to send out to grandparents, make into screensavers, and blast out to our social media pages to show off our amazing baby. But then session day comes around and BAM! – your baby does not want anything to do with it.

You’re thinking, “Why won’t you stop crying? I’ve literally done everything I can think of, but you’re still not happy. Don’t you know I’m paying good money for this session? Steffani’s baby cooperated in her session, why can’t you just go to sleep and let us get some nice photos?!” and all the other emotions that are running through your head. If this is happening during your session, I want you to stop, and breathe and remember one thing: all newborns cry. This is a natural, real emotion that all newborns have for most of their first few months of life. It’s not abnormal. There is nothing wrong with your child for doing it. It is nothing to be ashamed of. They aren’t doing it to embarrass you. And when you stress out about the fact that they your baby is crying, that then makes things even worse because they he or she knows you’re upset.

Don’t let the crying upset you. Embrace this moment in time. It won’t be long before you forget how their her little forehead wrinkled up whenever they were screaming, or how their toes would get all stretched out and tense when they were upset. Let us capture these little details. These crying photos can evoke real emotion and demonstrate we show the love you have for your child as you try to soothe him or her. Your child can look back at these photos once they’re all grown and remember the solace that they found in your arms. These tender moments are just as important, if not more so, than the sleeping, posed photos.

The point of booking a lifestyle newborn session is to help you preserve the first memories of your child’s life. While posed photos are cute, you’re not going to look back and think, “Remember how cute she was whenever she would lounge around the house in frog-form?” because that didn’t happen. You’ll look back at these photos and remember all the nights you walked your baby around the house or rocked them in a chair and hummed lullabies to try to calm him them down. Those times are very stressful, but they also help you form a bond and that’s what makes these photos treasured.

All that being said, if you have your heart set on those peaceful, posed photos, we can always take a break and try again and, if all else fails, reschedule.

When it comes to booking your session, there are a lot of questions about how this the process works. Since your new little peanut isn’t here yet, it’s hard to figure out a schedule. Here is what I suggest:

Contact me during the beginning of your third trimester to set a date for the session. I require a deposit of 50% of the session fee to hold the date for you. I only accept newborn sessions during the first 14 days after birth. This means that we will schedule the session for sometime within 2 two weeks of your due date.

I will also hold a spot for two backup dates – one a week after the original session date, and one a week prior to your due date. This is to ensures that if your little nugget doesn’t come according to schedule that you’ll still be covered.

Keep in contact with me as your pregnancy comes to a close, so we can be prepared. After the baby is born, shoot me a message so we can make sure that one of the dates I have set will work out or if we need to move some things around.

 

Also, now through the end of September, 2018 you will receive a free simple maternity session with purchase of a newborn lifestyle session! 

Welcome back to the blog, dear readers! Today I’m sharing a preview of the newborn lifestyle session I recently had with Teagyn, who was welcomed into this big world on 8/4/18 to Steffani and Anthony. As you can imagine, Mom and Dad are equal parts exhausted and delirious with their sweet baby girl.

When mom seen Teagyn for the first time she remembered thinking that she was so excited to finally have her precious little girl in her arms and that she couldn’t wait for their other kids to meet her. Their favorite part of having Teagyn home has been feeling like their family is finally complete. Mom said, “Teagyn is such an easy baby and so loveable. She loves to be snuggled and rocked.” How could they not totally be in love?

When I asked mom and dad how their other kiddos reacted to baby Teagan this is what they said,  “Teagyn is number 4 in our family. We have Madysen, who is 5, Bryli is 19 months, and Xavier is 11 months. Mady and Bryli have both become little mommies, always wanting to hold Teagyn and help me out with getting her diapers, wipes, blankets, etc. I was nervous to see how Bryli would respond to a baby, but she couldn’t be more in love. She loves to rock her in her swing, cover her with a blanket and hold her hand while she’s eating. Xavier hasn’t really discovered that Teagyn is here yet. He doesn’t ever go near her or acknowledge that she’s around, but as he grows, I know they’re going to be super close. I can’t wait to see how all their relationships start to form.”

Their family has expanded faster than most in the last 3 years, mom and dad have gone through foster care, an adoption, 2 pregnancies and are continuing their foster journey. It has really kept their hands busy and their hearts full. There’s never a dull moment in their house, but they wouldn’t have it any other way and I feel so lucky to have been given the chance to be a (small!) part of their parenthood journey.

Congrats on your growing family, Steffani and Anthony!