Safety is my number one priority when working with your newborn. I was the first photographer in North Alabama to become a member of Accredited Professional Newborn Photographers International. One of my main reasons for joining this specific photographer's association was to have access to the latest and highest quality safety information in newborn photography.

I am also proud to tell you that I am North Alabama's first photographer to successfully complete APNPI's safety course. I have taken other safety courses in addition to this, and I seek out all of the information that I can to be as an informed newborn photographer as I can be, to keep your little one safe.

There are some poses I do not do, because there is the possibility of your little one’s airway temporarily being compromised. Personally, I would Not be okay with my newborn not receiving oxygen for even a tiny moment to get the “perfect” shot.

I wash everything that baby touches with dye-free hypoallergenic detergent, without any fabric softener, for the sake of your newborn’s delicate skin.

I ask that you please turn your thermostat to 76 degrees when I arrive, so that your newborn will be warm enough to safely remove some to all of his clothing for his portraits. Newborns cannot shiver to warm themselves up, and they do not have the brown fat stores that we have to produce heat when cold.

Also, I do not want you to turn your thermostat too high because I do not want to risk overheating your newborn and cause a heat stroke.

There is a delicate balance between too hot and too cold.

I have been trained to watch for both the signs of a too cold baby and a too hot baby.

Should your baby become too cold, neonatal nurses advise parents to use skin-to-skin contact to warm their baby.

I have an assistant who stays close by to spot your baby. My first baby would army crawl in circles as a newborn, and newborns have been known to roll over for the first time, albeit non-intentionally, in their first weeks. While I am taking pictures I keep my assistant right there to make sure your baby is safe at all times.

If I even think I am coming down with something I will let you know so that we can reschedule.

Newborns’ immune systems are immature and even a simple cold for us can send a newborn to the hospital. It just isn’t worth the risk!

If waiting 1-2 weeks is not something you would like to do (it becomes more difficult to get asleep pictures and certain poses past the age of 2 weeks), I will refer you to other photographers in the area. It will probably mean that you will need to go to their studio.

However, I have had some Gorgeous portraits with babies as old as almost 2 months with their families,

so please know that waiting is definitely an option in the event of an illness.

My assistant and I are both fully vaccinated against Covid; also, I am vaccinated against Pertusis (whooping cough).

These can be deadly to newborn babies, so it is important that anyone visiting your newborn is up-to-date on their vaccines.

Let’s keep your little one safe!