When it comes to having your portraits taken, safety is usually not one of the first things you think of, but now that you are, have some peace of mind as we show you a few of the ways we keep your little one safe during their session. 

Before your session, we make sure to clean the studio. We tidy up the props, making sure there is no clutter to trip on or things that should not be there for small hands to grab. The floor is vacuumed (sometimes I have a little help, as seen above with my toddler wanting to vacuum haha) and towels/blankets are washed before being used in the setups.

Once the studio is clean, we get the floor and backdrop setup then it's time to focus on our props. Since I am a Mom myself, I know everything goes in the mouth with babies and little kids, so I always make sure to choose props that don't have little pieces, and nothing that could be a choking hazard. I also pay attention to the materials I use, such as the barrel above, which is made out of a heavy duty plastic, so no worry of splinters, and if baby chews on it, I can give it a quick wipe with a baby wipe after their session.

Just another example of babies wanting to eat everything. haha

Babies are wobbly, especially when learning how to sit up or stand on their own. Since babies can easily fall over or get into trouble, I always make sure to have a parent close by in case they are needed. For example, the image above had Mom's hand on the baby's back to keep him from falling over (like the image below) then I just removed Mom's arm from the photo. 

As you can see from the images above and below, Mom is sitting right next to her baby, just out of the setup, but close enough to be able to reach over if needed. A parent will be asked to sit near their child for all milestone sessions from Newborn up to a year old as a spotter in case of trouble.

For the pose below, Mom is again right there in case the baby needs her, and is also holding the crate steady to not slide when the little guy leans against it. 

Below is the final image, I just cropped in a little so Mom's hand wasn't showing, and you really can't even tell. 

Another way I keep babies safe during their session is weights. This barrel (below) has a weight added at the bottom before being covered by a towel to pad the bottom of the container before adding the fabric that will show in the portraits. Even with the weights, babies do get fidgety and can end up falling over, so I had mom right next to him just in case.

I pride myself on trying to keep everyone as safe as possible, but should you ever feel uncomfortable putting your child in a certain pose, or worry that something may not be safe, please speak up so we can all have a safe and happy session together. 

One last tip I have is wear something you feel comfortable having show up in the photos, so when your little one decides to make you part of their session, you don't mind being seen in it.