Chicago Baby Photographer | Abigail Joyce Photography

A timeless approach from a top Chicago Baby Photographer:

So you're looking for a Chicago baby photographer to capture those special and fleeting moments of your newborn. Here's some great thoughts from a local newborn photographer:

Newborn safety and health first!

While there are hundreds, if not thousands of photographers available for hire, one important details to pay attention to is their code of safety and conduct. Make sure to ask questions about the space they use, their health, allergens they may be carrying, or just get to know their practice for keeping your little one safe and healthy during one of their first trips out of the house!

A good practice for all those handling babies and newborns is to wash or sanitize your hands often! Make sure your photographer is doing just this. It's my practice to always have hand sanitizer available for myself, kids, and families as they come into my studio.

Make sure no one is sick! This may be a no-brainer, and is not just something for your photographer to be careful of, but part of your responsibility is to be honest about your child's health or if you yourself are not feeling well. Passing germs or bugs can lead to others getting sick. Best to play it safe.

Studio Sessions over meeting at you home.

There are great reasons for meeting at your home! Artistic reasons and medical reasons at among the top.

Choosing a newborn session doesn't require you leave your home, and in fact a fantastic option is a lifestyle session where your photographer meets with you, your family, and your little one to capture the essence of your new life together in your own home.

If you are having a hard time traveling due to any surgery or doctor's orders, this is also a great reason to meet at your home. It is usually require that your home is clean, orderly, and has beautiful natural light. Without these three important factors, you may find that your session doesn't look as good as you'd like.

Studio newborn sessions may include family photos or not. This is dependent on your photographer. Make sure to check into this so you don't end up missing out on something you'd like to do.

I personally have made this an option for families coming to my studio. My sessions are modular, allow you to go as small as you'd like and as big as you'd like. This also helps keep the prices reasonable for the time and effort it takes to make this quality possible.

If given the option, most professional photographers will prefer their studio over meeting remotely. This is so they can provide the best results with the tools they are familiar with.

The fine print is where it's at!

Don't forget to look at each photographers fine print closely. There are many many ways that newborn photographers will provide you with the final results. Many photographers require a down

payment, a sitting fee, and separate gallery fees. If this doesn't make sense to you, choosing a photographer with a simple and all inclusive payment structure may be an easier way for you to choose your photographer. For example, I choose a simple structure to my costs so that everything from permits, insurance, digital rights, and my time are all included in your final gallery. No extra payments, unlocking plans, or hooks. Why do I do this? It's actually for my own sanity, and I can only imagine it makes it easier for you as well:)

We live in a changing landscape of technology and personal preferences. Most of us like to do things ourselves, and this includes printing and framing photos. With so many resources available and prices getting more competitive, deciding on a printed heirloom or a digital image package is difficult to justify for many. This has made way for the all inclusive digital packages that photographers are now providing. I don't recommend one way or the other, and I am honored when clients hang my artwork in their homes. I do want to understand clients, their needs, and hope that my specific outlook on packages, provides something that my clients find helpful and not confusing for them.

Newborn photographer, family photographer!

One of the best things that can happen from your newborn session is that you meet your new family photographer!

In the many years that I have been photographing both family and newborns, I love most when I can be apart of that amazing growth in your family! Kiddos are the best, and I love to see them grow from bump to beyond. It's an amazing experience to have someone who knows you, your family, and how to best capture them throughout the years to come.

Don't forget that as you choose your newborn or baby photographer, you may be picking your next family photographer for years to come!

Nephew | Chicago Newborn Photographer

You guys! I am an Auntie for the 12th time! (And since this little guy was born another nephew was born, I am now an Auntie for the 13th time! LOL)

Meet my new nephew Lewis! The sweetest, little peanut you will ever meet. He was one of the sleepiest babies I've ever photographed. Oh gosh, you guys...I seriously love love love photographing my family. It gives me the greatest joy to offer pictures to my relatives. I know it means a lot to my family that I do this for them, but it also means so much to me that I can do this for my nieces and nephews. I want them to know how much I love and care for each of them. I want them to know how much they are loved. Pictures have so much value to them, and hold our memories of ourselves. My Dad was the person in my life that went out of his way to take pictures of my siblings and I growing up and those photos are so cherished. I will always admire that about my parents and I want to be the same for my family someday.

Abigail Joyce is a top newborn photographer that provides studio, and on location newborn and lifestyle photography. She customizes the session to your unique specifications and provides the care and safety that each newborn needs during this beautiful first week of life. With your session, you gain access to all over her props, backdrops, hats, headbands, crates, baskets, blankets and more.

Now serving: Hinsdale, Western Springs, Burr Ridge, Clarendon Hills, Countryside, Elmhurst, Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn, Addison, Lagrange, Lagrange Park, Wheaton, Indian Head Park, Darien, Lisle, Woodridge, Naperville, Westchester, Brookfield, Hodgkins, Chicago, Oak Brook, and more.

Email: Abigail@abigailjoycephotography.com for inquiries, scheduling, and confirmations

Abigail Joyce is a newborn photographer that provides an in home studio. Abigail has her props, backdrops, hats, headbands, crates, baskets, blankets and more to your session. Abigail customizes the session to your unique specifications and provides the care and safety that each newborn needs during this beautiful first week of life. Abigail takes her time posing the newborns with gentle hands and patience. Make sure you contact Abigail at least a month before your due date to ensure a newborn session with Abigail Joyce Photography!

Rainy Days - Chicago Newborn Photographer | Abigail Joyce Photography

So this week, I have met with a bunch of newborns and have had some great outdoor sessions as well...when it wasn't raining outside! Ugh, welcome to rainy days. As a photographer in the Chicagoland area, its important to always follow the weather, even if you don't have a session that day, its important to follow the trends for the week. Days leading up to a session outside, its possible there may be chance of rain in the forecast but the day of may not rain at all. I'm always watching the rainy days season. But thats the other great thing about having an indoor studio. I love having newborn sessions inside. Its so cozy and warm in my newborn studio. I love getting to cuddle with babies, and wrap them all different sorts of ways. It makes my day 1000x better when I have a newborn in my studio, because it means getting to chat with my clients about their first week as parents, and getting to know them personally. On rainy days especially its nice to be inside the studio, working with a family for a newborn session. I love waking up, warming up with freshly brewed cup of coffee, knowing that I have a precious family coming in later that morning, just as excited as I am to have these sweet photographs done. It makes me so happy to know my clients are just as excited as I am!

So heres to those rainy days that bring us inside!

xoxo

Email: Abigail@abigailjoycephotography.com for inquiries, scheduling, and confirmations

I absolutely love this amazingly cute newborn session!

As a newborn photographer, a normal day for me is photographing two newborns a day and if scheduling allows, sometimes three. Its definitely a challenge to photograph three in a day to be honest! Just yesterday, I photographed two sets of twins all in one day. It had to be one of the most challenging and rewarding days. I felt like I was really able to practice my twin posing all day and work really hard! I was so proud of myself for being able to make smooth transitions all day with both sets of twins. I can't wait to post those photos on my blog to show you all the hard work that went into that day. I also want to say how appreciative I am of those families that were willing to help me and lend an extra set of hands when needed. Handling twins is definitely not an easy task, so I thank you!

I think newborn photos look great against the wood!

I love how the colors are so saturated and warm. I think newborn photos should depict an emotion, and in this case I feel like the colors represent warmth and comfort. Not all sessions are the same, but this one definitely has a central color palette!

Did you know babies dream about being in the womb? This is amazing, and a bit terrifying... at least now it would be;) But if that makes them comfortable and happy in their sleep, then so be it. This little guy is definitely dreaming of the sounds he heard in the womb, as I was playing them through a baby shusher during the session!

I love that baby photos can get so creative!

Many of the sessions, the mom will ask me to make up a completely new design or coordination using colors they pick out. They'll usually let me know ahead of time, and so it's easy to just find the colors in my studio and start piecing it together for them.

Sometimes I'll have moms ask about bringing in props, and typically this is fine, but again if we're using the hardwood backdrop I want to make sure it doesn't clash.

My newborn sessions start with closeups

Most times I'll start with the detail shots so we get this out of the way! These shots are important to the newborn session because of all the small details that change so fast after they are born. I like to capture these first so we don't forget them. Here's an example of a detail shot of a baby's face, the focus was on the nose:)

Can you tell which way I light my newborn photos?

One way to show depth and the dimension of the little one's face is to photograph with directional light. This is very hard to get in clients homes, and the problem becomes that everything is flat and even lighting. In some very bright scenes, this is great! But I've been working on shaping the light so we can see the curves and rolls of these cute little ones. Check out the newborn photos below or head over to my newborn gallery page to see my current work!

I am a newborn photographer serving Chicago and the surrounding towns! I have a studio in Westchester, but I also travel to mothers when they need it. My studio is a way to provide all my headbands, props, wraps, and posing tools for the best looks. I focus my work on newborn photos, but I am a maternity photographer as well! I love to bring emotion and happiness to expecting families through my maternity photography, and then follow up with the most beautiful newborn photos. Contact me today to book your next newborn session!