DIRECTIONS: Blair's studio is located in suite 210 of the Cranston
Building at 320 E. Towsontown Blvd., Towson, MD 21286.
From I-695 take EXIT 49B toward I-70 / I-83 / TOWSON. Merge onto DULANEY VALLEY
RD via EXIT 27A toward TOWSON. Enter roundabout and take 3rd exit onto YORK RD.
Turn LEFT onto E TOWSONTOWN BLVD. Turn east onto E. Towsontown Blvd.
(intersection at the pinkish public library and Wilson Lighting). Pass the
Maryland Dept. Of Labor, Licensing and Regulations. Turn right into the parking
lot by the street sign that says Centre Ave. (dead end- not really a street.)
Please park in any space in front (ignore "reserved" markings).
Clients may also park in the grassy area along side the building. Enter the
building from the EAST entrance near the wheelchair ramp. Come up the
stairs and look for Blair's suite on the right.
Newborn & Baby Portraits
The following are some guidelines that will help you to
get the most out of your session:
Mom's list to wear: wear solid black (or any solid, dark colored
shirt), tanks tops are good for skin-on-skin looks, no
lace, jeans are great, small stud earrings, no necklace, keep jewelry to a
minimum.wedding rings are okay. No watches. Bright colored nail polish really
stands out. Keep nails simple but tidy. No makeup with sparkles, including
eye shadow. The sparkles catch the light of the flash and you will have silver
sparkles all over!! No lipstick with a high gloss. The reflection of the
lights from the studio will show on glossy lips. Bring a change of clothes
for after the photo shoot just in case there is an "accident" during the
session!!
Dad's list to wear: wear solid black (or any solid, dark colored shirt), no
stripes, jeans are great, no necklace, keep jewelry to a minimum. Wedding
rings are okay. No watches. Check nails (we do lots of close-up shots of
baby in dad's hands). Bring a change of clothes for after the photo shoot
just in case there is an "accident" during the session!!
NEWBORN BABY UNDER THREE WEEKS: Ideally, I would like you to bring the baby to me naked, tired and
hungry! =)
My goal is to get the naked baby sleeping shots first and then later get
awake shots. In order to do that, I ask that you put the baby in the car
seat in only a loose tab diaper with no other clothing (cold weather,
you can put the baby in a simple solid white onesie or sleeper and
loose diaper). Place blankets over
the baby after you have strapped him or her in. Baby will probably be asleep
from the car ride when you arrive, so this way, I can easily transition the
baby from the car seat to the pillow and not have to wake him or her to get
undressed. It also helps us avoid creases in the skin caused by clothing and
elastic.
So if the baby is sleeping when you arrive for your appointment, please DO
NOT wake the baby. We will try to snap a few
portraits first!! I recommend placing a blanket over the entire car seat
before removing it from the car so that the sun beaming into the baby's eyes
does not wake them. No clothing with elastic should be on the baby.IE:
socks, booties with elastic on the ankle, elastic on the wrist, etc.
If your drive is not long, please do not feed the baby a full feeding right
before you leave. If baby wakes upon your arrival or soon after, I will
probably have you feed the baby to get him or her good and drowsy and
relaxed. (If you know your baby melts down if you try to stretch a feeding
time, ignore this advice!)
Please bring a pacifier even if your baby does not take one. Often newborns
need extra comforting during a photo session. For this same reason, please
be prepared to be flexible with baby's feeding schedule during the shoot.
Sometimes baby may need to eat as a way to relax, even if he or she is not
really very hungry. So, just for our session, please throw the schedule out
the window!
Before leaving your house, it's always a good idea to clean the baby's eyes
with a warm wash cloth and to check baby's nostrils for anything unsightly
that you don't want photographed! Please do this before leaving home. We
don't
want to upset the baby upon arriving for the photo session!
If you are planning to have the baby wear clothes, keep the following in
mind: Simple clothing, like a plain white Onesie, works best for creating
successful, timeless
portraits. Avoid patterns, busy prints, stripes, and logo clothing as they
can be very distracting and
tend to draw focus away from the faces. If siblings are being photographed
together, please have them dressed in similar toned clothing for a more
unified look. Think of every detail, down to socks and shoes. However,
barefoot is always the best choice!! Big kids clothing
like blue jeans or overalls do not look good on newborns .Newborns simply do
not look
good or comfortable in them.
On the day of your session, please allow at least three hours. I ask that
just parents come to the session. Please do not bring personal assistants,
grandparents, nannies, or friends. And only bring siblings that are being
photographed. If siblings are being photographed, it is a good idea to make
arrangements for someone to take them home after their portion of the
session is done. I would like to focus all attention on your newborn.
Distractions will limit the success of your session.
Please bring a change of clothes for Mom, Dad and baby. Also be sure to
bring lots of burp rags and blankets for drool, spit up and accidents. If
you aren't nursing, I ask that you bring preparations for a bottle.
Remember, you will be with me quite some time, so feel free to bring snacks
and anything else you need to make yourself comfortable (remember pain
medications if you need them from your delivery).
Absolutely no outside cameras or recording devices of any kind are allowed
in the
studio.
Breastfeeding Information:
To avoid possible issues with digestive pain and irritability,
I strongly suggest avoiding some of the common
culprits that tend to agitate newborns such as berries,
gassy vegetables and tomato based products.
The list below is just a helpful guide of some foods to
avoid the days before the session:
Citrus/Acidic foods and drinks such as:
Cranberries
Pineapple
Grapefruit
Oranges
Lemons
Strawberries
All berries
Tomatoes or tomato products
Chocolate (rarely affects babies)
Peanuts–Nuts in general
Pizza
Spaghetti
Chili
Tacos/Spicy/Mexican Food/Salsa
Ketchup
Gassy Vegetables such as:
Asparagus
Onions
Cucumbers/pickles
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Brussel Sprouts
Cabbage
Restrict Foods
Such As:
Soda, Coffee,Tea
Siblings and family portraits, wardrobe:
While it might be tempting to pick out the outfits that look best on
each person individually, PLEASE remember that the clothes need to
look good when viewed all together! Your favorite pastel pink dress
may not look good when viewed alongside that red sweater that looks so
great on your child! Clothing choices can make or break a portrait!
Please bring 2-5 outfits for each child so so I can have some
different looks to choose from and help you select what will
photograph best. For the shots of children together, the outfits
should coordinate (not necessarily match like a uniform!) in tone and
style. (i.e. both dark or both light, both casual or both dressy, all
earth tones or all jewel tones, etc). The best way to coordinate
outfits is to lay out all the clothes from the outfits together and
think of them as one outfit. Look for anything that will clash or draw
too much attention, anything that really sticks out compared to the
rest of the clothes. It may be good to pick two main colors and one
accent color and have everyone wear variations of those colors. White
can be used as an accent color (collars, etc) but please, no large
areas of white! In general, I ask clients to stay away from a lot of
stripes and patterns, but they CAN be worn if they are very carefully
coordinated with the clothing others are wearing. No large logos.
Dark to mid tones are best. Adults should wear long sleeves. Babies
who can not sit up should not wear overalls as the straps ride up
around their faces. Young children will be photographed barefoot.
Moms should not wear very shiny/glossy makeup or makeup with sparkles.
Minimal jewelery, no watches, tidy nails (natural or unpainted is
best).
Dads should not wear hats, ties (unless everyone else is dressed
formally) watches, or jewelry other than wedding bands.
Please do not bring people who are not being photographed.
Please bring small, non-messy snacks to use as rewards for very young
children (i.e. cheerios ,pretzels).
Please clean children's faces and nostrils well with a warm rag before
you leave home. Please see that all temporary tattoos, markers
stains, kool-aid mustaches, chipped nail polish, etc. are removed
before you arrive.
Please do a test run with the clothing before you arrive to be certain
clothings is not too big, stained, missing accessories, etc.
