First
The selection is ready
You choose once the selection is in front of you, not on the day of the session. First the images are decided, then the format and the number of pages: it is the photos that tell you how much space is needed.
After the session
Newborn photo album, prints and frames
What to print once the photos are ready
How to choose a newborn photo album once the session is done and the selection is in front of you: the formats, how many photos fit, and what difference the paper makes.
Why print newborn photos
Because a printed photo gets looked at without having to search for it. Files end up inside a gallery that keeps filling up, and after a few months the photos from the session sit beneath everything else you have photographed in the meantime.
It matters more with newborns than anywhere else: the session takes place at the studio in Trani in the first 10 to 15 days of life and takes up a single morning. Those photos are what remains of those days. It is still worth keeping the files in two copies, on different media.
From selection to album
The album is chosen afterwards, in front of the photos. Here is the order of steps.
What goes
The nearly identical photos
In a newborn session many shots look alike, because the baby is asleep and only the position and the light change. When the list is long, the first to go are the ones nearly identical to another: in an album they stand out immediately.
The count
How many pages you need
There is no fixed number: the pages are counted afterwards, based on the photos you have chosen. I work out the count once the selection is closed, and I tell you before you order.
The format
How you will look at it
A small one is held in your hand and moves around the house. A large one stays open on the table and can hold a full page portrait.
The print
Paper is not a screen
Paper is not backlit, so blacks are less deep and light photos come out softer. A dark photo on your phone, once printed, gets even darker.
These windows come from experience, not fixed rules: if your baby already has a few extra days, write to me anyway and we will see what we can do.
The newborn session album: how to choose it
You choose it in front of the photos, once the selection is ready. First the images are decided, then the format and the number of pages: it is the photos that tell you how much space is needed.
In a newborn session many shots look alike, because the baby is asleep and only the position and the light change. In an album, the part that keeps the order of the morning is enough: the first portrait, the hands, the close up of the face, the cuddle with the two of you.
If you also had the pregnancy session, between the 28th and 34th week, the two sessions can go in the same album: the bump in the first pages, the baby in the last.
The pregnancy photography session
How many photos fit in an album
There is no fixed number: the pages are counted afterwards, based on the photos you have chosen. I work out the count once the selection is closed, and I tell you before you order.
Photos and pages are two different measures. A page can hold a single large photo, with white space around it. Or two or three in a row, holding together a short sequence.
When the list is long, the first to go are the photos nearly identical to another: in an album they stand out immediately, on the same page or on two nearby pages.
How many pages each format has depends on the lab that prints the album. I will tell you when you get in touch, so you can choose knowing how much fits.
The christening album
In a christening album the selection also takes people into account: those who were there want to find themselves in at least one photo. That is why more pages are needed than for a newborn, where there is only one person to photograph.
The same goes for birthday parties, where there are many guests and the day is long. The smash cake, on the other hand, is a single sequence, the baby with the cake, and in an album it works best kept in the order it happened.
Christening photos
Formats and papers
The combinations available depend on the lab that prints them: an album varies by format, number of pages and cover. You will not find them listed here, I will tell you when we speak, with what is available at the time you order.
The format mainly changes the way the album is looked at. A small one is held in your hand and moves around the house. A large one stays open on the table and can hold a full page portrait.
Paper is not backlit like a screen, so blacks are less deep and light photos come out softer. A dark photo on your phone, once printed, gets even darker, and needs correcting before it is sent to the lab.
Prints and frames for newborn photos
Prints are chosen alongside the album or instead of it, from small shelf formats to large wall ones.
One large print, just one
A single photo, printed large, on a wall you pass every day. The format is decided by the wall and the distance you view it from: on a wide wall a small print gets lost.
Several prints of the same size
Two or three prints of the same format, close together, with the same frame. They fill a wide wall, and you can replace one at a time as the baby grows.
Loose prints in a box
The photos printed one by one, without binding, inside a box. They get passed around and more are added over the years, from the same selection or from a later session.
The glass, the light and the wall
The glass in a frame reflects whatever is in front of it: hung opposite a window, the photo is hard to see for half the day. Direct sunlight fades a print over the years, so a wall that does not get it is better.
When albums and prints are chosen
After the session, in front of the photos, and neither one is compulsory. There is nothing to decide on the day you come to the studio.
Tell me which session you had and what you have in mind: I will get back to you with the formats and the quote.
What each session includes is on the session's page: newborn, pregnancy, smash cake.
Request information
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to get the album?
No. Albums and prints are chosen after the session, in front of the photos, and you can also choose neither. Those who prefer to start small get one or two prints, see how they look at home, and we talk about the album later on. There is nothing to decide on the day of the session.
Can I put the pregnancy photos and the newborn ones together?
Yes, and it lays out well: the bump in the first pages, the baby in the last. The two sessions are close together in time, the pregnancy one between the 28th and 34th week and the newborn one in the first 10 to 15 days of life, so the album is put together at the end, once the photos from both are ready.
What is the difference between an album and prints?
An album holds a bound sequence, in the order we decide: it is looked at while seated, from beginning to end. Prints stand on their own, hung up or inside a box, and are looked at one at a time. The two can also be combined: the album for the story of the session, a large print for the wall.
Can the christening or birthday session be printed too?
Yes. An album or prints can be made from every session: christening, birthday party, smash cake, family portraits. What changes is the way it is put together. On a day with many people the selection takes into account who was there, in a studio session the sequence of what happened matters more.
The album, after the selection
Message me to say which session you had and I will send you the formats currently available, with the quote. If the print is for a specific wall, measure it first: the width changes which format is worth ordering.