Sussex Baby Photography Club
My Baby Photography Club gives you three sessions in your first year with your baby – the first session is when your baby reaches 4 months, your second at 8 months and then finally a couple of weeks before their first birthday so you have the photos in time to celebrate that amazing milestone. You can choose to either select a free digital image from each of your sessions or choose our favourite from each to be added into a triple aperture wall frame at the end of the year.
What does the Club Cost?
Each session aims to capture your baby as they grow and develop during their exciting (and a little bit exhausting) first year. Joey Club is free to join if you have attended a Newborn Photography Session with me. However, if you haven’t had one of these sessions, then of course you are still welcome to join in the fun. The membership fee for the year is £39.95 including the three sessions and the triple aperture wall frame or a free digital image from each session.
After each session, your images are uploaded into your own private online gallery – there is no sales process or viewing session to endure. If you would like to order prints or digital images from your session then you can do that online although there is no minimum spend.
What does the Club Cost?
Each session aims to capture your baby as they grow and develop during their exciting (and a little bit exhausting) first year. Joey Club is free to join if you have attended a Newborn Photography Session with me. However, if you haven’t had one of these sessions, then of course you are still welcome to join in the fun. The membership fee for the year is £39.95 including the three sessions and the triple aperture wall frame or free digital image from each session.
After each session, your images are uploaded into your own private online gallery – there is no sales process or viewing session to endure. If you would like to order prints or digital images from your session then you can do that online although there is no minimum spend.
4 Months Session
At about four months old, things should be starting to relax from the chaos that a newborn baby throws a household into. All those good things like routines and regular sleep should be starting to happen your little passenger will be really starting to engage with the world around them. When they get the hang of lifting their head while they’re on their tummy, it’s the perfect time for the first Joey Club session.
Obviously at this stage, your baby is still physically limited in terms of supporting themselves so this session is shot on our specially designed beanbags that allow them to sit upright and comfortably for at least a portion of their photos. They love this as it gives them the freedom to see exactly what is going on whilst remain secure and snuggled in.
8 Months Session
Now things are really starting to move along at a rate of knots and your baby will be mastering new skills all the time.
The ideal time for this session is when your little one is able to sit steadily by themselves but before they start to crawl as this gives us the maximum flexibility with props and backdrops. Of course they don’t always give you a window there so if they’re mobile, then we’ll work on capturing some action shots.
Again I have a range of outfits, props and accessories that are suited to various themes and you are welcome to use them on their own or add them to the items that you bring along to include – treasured toys, family heirlooms, or just clothes you adore them in.
12 Months Session
The first year has flown by and as well as all the other celebrations you and your family and friends will have planned, you can add in your 12 month Joey Club session to the festivities. The 12 month session is a birthday themed session complete with props and accessories, which we play with along with obviously capturing your little one as they reach their landmark first year.
The resulting images are cute, funny and ones to really treasure. You can choose if you’d like to add in a cake smash tub splash session if you’d like it to or we can just capture your baby at their first birthday. Basically, your baby gets to explore, play with and in some cases eat their birthday cake whilst we capture everything then they have a good clean up and splash in the tub.
No Sales Appointments, No Surprises
As with all of my photography, there’s no sales or viewing session to attend. You simply view and order your images from the comfort of your private online gallery where you are welcome to purchase additional prints, digital images or canvases if you would like to.
No Sales Appointments, No Surprises
As with all of my photography, there’s no sales or viewing session to attend. You simply view and order your images from the comfort of your private online gallery where you are welcome to purchase additional prints, digital images or canvases if you would like to.
Frequently Asked Questions
My baby photography club offers you three photo shoots in your baby’s first year. For the sake of ease of communicating the package details, I say that these are at four, eight and twelve months old.
That’s not entirely accurate though and here’s why. For your first session, your baby is going to be very limited in what they can achieve from a physical point of view – that’s not a criticism, just a fact of four month old life!
Of course, all babies develop at different rate and I have occasionally had four month olds that can sit up by themselves, but most of them are still pretty flopsy when it comes to sitting without at least a little bit of support. I do have a special posing cushion that supports them while they are on my beanbag and allows them to ‘sit up’ so we can and will use that. Our second option is to take pictures of them as they lie down on their backs.
However, and this is the part where timing of your first baby photography club session comes into it, I think it’s really nice to have a third posing option in your finished image gallery. This is when your baby is on their tummy. For this reason, I recommend waiting to book your first Joe Club session until your baby can lift their head while they are having some tummy time.
They only need to be able to do for a short period of time and we do have a choice of ‘ramps’ I can give them to offer them a helping hand but my advice would be to wait until they can look up at your pretty consistently.
This will give you a lot more variety in your finished images and it’s a lovely set of shots to have in your finished gallery. You are also more likely to be able to get those cute ‘happy baby pose’ photos if you wait that little extra time for your baby to discover their feet while they are lying on their back.
Like I say, all babies develop at different rates – some babies will be doing all of this at three months and some will get to it a little later. The four month age suggestion for your first baby photography club photo shoot is just a guide – hit the ‘tummy time confidence’ development stage for the widest range of images from your session.
This is quite a common question that I get when folk are booking their baby photography club photo shoots. The answer is as many as you want.
I’m down with creating whatever images you would like as part of your photo shoot – I don’t limit you to one style of photography. For some people, this means they have several outfits that they want to include so go right ahead as far as I’m concerned.
However, where this system can fall down is when it comes to your baby’s tolerance for getting changed. Therefore, if you have multiple outfits to include, we get them all out before we start the session and prioritise them. That also lets me see what I’m working with and get out any complementary blankets and props that I think would work well with them. When we have the in priority order, we then work out if we can layer stuff up to minimise the changing fuss. Then we get going and get through as much as we can before your baby gets the hump with us changing them! Simple as that…
My online gallery should be fairly familiar to you if you shop online but in case you need a bit of extra assistance, you can click on the button below to access a help document that walks you through how to access your gallery, choose your favourite images and place an order. Of course, if you are having problems, just get in touch and I’m always happy to help.
You need to pay for your photo shoot when you book it. If your session is more than two weeks away, then you have the option of paying a £20 deposit with the balance being due the week before your session. Otherwise the full balance is due on booking.
Of course, when you book a first birthday photo shoot, you are welcome to cake smash, tub splash, do both or do neither. Whatever works for you. I have some first birthday props such as number 1’s that you’re welcome to include.
Life is busy and especially so when you’re raising a small child. I’ll send you reminders the month before your next baby photography club session becomes due so you have a little prompt to make your next appointment.
My studio is really flexible and I have lots of different backdrops and lighting options to choose from. They’re very easy to switch between so we can simply create lots of different styles of images for you within one session.
When you buy a digital file from me, the copyright stays with me as it would with pretty much all other photographers out there. However, that’s just a legal term that I retain as the creator of the image. You’re able to print and share the image as much as you’d like to – the only things that you can’t do is sell the images or claim that you took them. Other than that, they are yours to do as you wish with.
This is question that I get asked a lot and it’s a really tough one to answer as it depends on so many things. If I’m photographing a baby and they’re in a great mood, then you have lots of photos where if they are finding things a bit difficult then you get less. Gun to my head, if I had to offer an average image count, then I’d say that you can expect to find about forty fully edited images in your finished gallery but that can vary wildly so it’s probably not a very useful statistic for you.
Of course, parents and siblings are welcome to join in with your baby photography club sessions.
No, you’re welcome to celebrate your baby’s first birthday with a cake smash and tub splash session as your last visit as part of the baby photography club. There’s no extra charge for this – you just need to bring along a cake, bubble bath and a towel.
Your last baby photography club session is designed to help you celebrate and commemorate your baby’s first birthday so any time around then is perfect to come and visit. If you’d like to have the images for the birthday itself, then just come in a couple of weeks before so I have time to get everything ready for you. You’re welcome to make this into a cake smash and tub splash session if you’d like to – there’s no additional charge for this.
The best time to come and visit the studio for your second baby photography club session is when your baby is able to sit unsupported but they haven’t yet started to crawl. It’s not too much of a big deal if they are already mobile but there’s a lot less chasing and resetting if they aren’t on the move plus we have a wider variety of props that we can safely use.
I recommend booking your Joey Club when your baby has good neck control and can lift their head up when they are on their tummy. This can often be around the four month old but of course it varies from baby to baby.
At the end of the year, you will see all of your images from your sessions so you can choose your three favourites to go in your wall frame. It’s best to wait to choose them all together rather than choosing one after each session so you can make sure that they will all go together and look great on your wall.
After each of your sessions, you’ll see you images in your private online gallery and you can order any you would like at this point. At the end of the year, you can choose your images for your frame – it’s best to choose them all at once so you can make sure that they will look great together on your wall. Here’s the link to the prices for prints and digital images.
Yes, if you’d like to add a newborn image so you have one from each of your four shoots with me, then the upgrade fee is £20.
The wall frame holds your favourite image from each of your sessions sized at 5×4″ and the overall size is approximately 42cm x 23cm. It can be hung on your wall with either portrait or landscape images and comes with a flat black frame as standard. There are a range of upgrade options that you can look at if you’d like to increase the number of images, or change the frame which I can give you a price for if you need it.
Your £39.95 Baby Photography club fee includes your three sessions in your baby’s first year and the frame with your favourite image from each at the end of the year. If you’d like to order more images from your session, you’re able to do this from your private online gallery.
My prop and accessory collection do change a bit over time as I like to keep things fresh but to give you an idea, I have a ton of bunting (and that really does keep on growing as people come up with new ideas), some very cute miniature chairs, an ivory vintage suitcase and a whole Harry Potter themed mini set (complete with owl) if you are a little bit of a Potterhead.
That’s totally up to you – you just need to bring along things that you love that you’d like to see your baby photographed in. If you’re having more than one family member in the pictures, it’s a great idea to coordinate – even if its just in colour or tone (you don’t need to twin, though you’re welcome to). I have some outfits at the studio (think pettiskirts and rompers for girls, and nappy covers and knitted trousers for boys) that you’re welcome to borrow and some people like to have photos of their little ones wearing nothing but a smile. It really is about whatever works for you. There’s always time for outfit changes if you want to.
You’re welcome to bring along anything that you’d like to include in your photo shoot – including any props or accessories. In fact, it’s a great idea as it makes your session really unique to you. I’ll do my best to work with anything you bring along to create your personal images.
Other than your normal baby bag (like you’d leave the house without it!), you don’t need to bring anything to your session. You might like to bring along changes of outfit and any props and accessories that you’d like to include but it’s not essential, I have everything we need at the studio.
I love dogs and they’re welcome at my studio. When you’re combining a dog and baby portrait, the only advice I have for you is to wait until your baby is able to sit up unsupported as otherwise it’s very difficult to pose them together. Probably don’t bring them if you are having a cake smash as that’s probably just a disaster waiting to happen – even the best trained dog is probably going to be unable to resist all that cake!
We won’t get good pictures if your baby is ill or unsettled and so it’s normally best to cancel if you know that your baby is under the weather. If you could give me as much notice as possible then that’s always appreciated although you can’t always tell in advance of course. I don’t offer refunds for sessions but you’re always welcome to reschedule if you need to when your baby is not feeling their best.
We book the studio for an hour for a baby photo shoot although in reality, little people would never actually shoot for much more than half of that. When they’re really small, sometimes the window can be just 15 minutes before they’ve had enough – don’t worry though, we can still get lots of great images in that time. The rest of the time is there if we need extra for feeding, settling and getting changed.
You should aim to bring your baby along when they are at their best so have napped and eaten – though babies are notorious for changing their schedule just when you think you’ve got it nailed. Quite often that means that a start time of 10 or 11 is ideal and after lunch and afternoon nap means the afternoon sessions start at 2pm and 3pm. That said, there’s no fixed start time as far as I’m concerned – just whenever is best for you and your little one.
Absolutely – parents and siblings are welcome to join in with the photos.
When you book a baby photo shoot, we have the studio for an hour where, in reality, a baby wouldn’t usually shoot for more than 20 minutes or so. We have that extra time for allowing for feeding, settling and generally gently encouraging them. That said, if your baby is really inconsolable (and days can happen when they just won’t settle down), we simply reschedule for another time. Trying to pursue photography with a baby that has really had enough of the whole affair is just stressful for them and for you, so if it comes to it, know that we can book another day to take care of things when they will no doubt being in a happier mood.
I keep your images for 18 months following your session date and after this point, they are permanently deleted so if you are purchasing digital copies, I can’t stress enough to back them up safely.
My studio is open from Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 6pm.
I present all of your images in colour and then I’ll add in black and white copies of some that I think particularly suit it. Of course, if you’d rather have an image in black and white then just ask and I’m happy to switch it over for you.
I have a range of backdrops you can use for your child at a photo shoot and you can make a choice on what you would like when you arrive at the studio. However, if you’d like to take a look in advance…
Each of your images is edited to make sure everything looks at its very best – that’s why you have to wait a little while after your session before you see them.
Each of your images is professionally edited and so there will be a bit of a delay before you can see your images while I get everything ready for you. This can vary according to a number of factors but generally, it’s about a two week wait before your images are uploaded to your private online gallery. I’ll be able to advise you better on exact waiting times at your session.
Sessions take place at my warm and cosy studio in Crawley Down, West Sussex. You can find out more about it including the address and directions at My Studio Page.
There’s no minimum spend or nasty pricing surprises with any of my photography. You’ll already know the price of your photo shoot and what’s included and if you’d like to order more, you simply do so from your online gallery.
I believe in complete transparency when it comes to pricing so you won’t get any nasty surprises. You’ll already know what your session fee includes in terms of images, and you can simply order more from your online gallery if you’d like to – there’s no sales or viewing session to attend.
Here are the prices for additional digital images and prints.
About two weeks after your session, I’ll have your images edited and uploaded to your private online gallery. There’s no sales or viewing session to attend. I’ll email you a link and a password and that will take you straight to your finished images.
Any digital images that you purchase will be sized at 10×8″ at 300ppi so perfect for printing up to this size or slightly larger (you have more flexibility on size when it comes to canvases as they are printed at a lower resolution).
Sorry but no. Obviously you can use your phone for making and receiving calls but I don’t allow any videography or photography inside the studio. If you are caught recording or photographing the session, you will be asked to leave and the session will be terminated without refund. All in all, that’s a horrible situation for us all to be in so please respect my copyright.
Joey Club Terms and Conditions
It is a little boring but all clubs have rules so here they are…
- You need internet access and an email address to join Joey Club as this is the only way I facilitate membership, booking and image viewing
- At the start of your Joey Club membership, you’ll be asked to select whether you want either a free digital image from each session or a triple aperture wall frame to display one image from each session at the end of the year. Obviously you if you select digital images, you won’t be able to receive the frame for free at the end of the year but you will have the chance to purchase one at the end of the year if you’d like to.
- You will need to have attended all three session to obtain the free triple aperture frame. Obviously if a session needs to be re-scheduled that won’t be a problem, but I do need you to come to all three session on or near to the key development stages.
- Your frame needs to be ordered within three months of all the images being made available for you to select from. After that time, your images will be deleted and your frame won’t be available.
- The first Joey Cub session is held when your baby is around 4-5 months old, so you can join the Joey Club at any time before that.
- Although you can buy Joey Club membership as a gift for any friend or family member (and it does make a fantastic gift for any new family), you must be a mother, father or legal guardian to register a child in Joey Club and attended sessions. Separate memberships are required for each baby with the exception of twins and triplets who of course can share a membership
- Joey Club sessions take place during your baby’s 4th, 8th and 11th month and are by appointment only. Once you have made your first appointment, I will send you reminders for the other two appointments so you can’t forget them – life with a baby is very busy and it’s easy to miss out.
- Obviously little-ones can become ill and not be at their best. It’s better to reschedule than persist if they’re not feeling good so if you need to reschedule then please get in touch.
- Joey Club session are approximately 20 minutes to 40 minutes in length and produce an average of 30 plus images to choose from, but this depends on the little-one playing ball and what we have planned for the session obviously.
- Joey Club sessions are especially designed to capture your baby as they grow throughout their first year. For this reason, we focus on your baby for most of the session although there is opportunity to capture a few family and sibling shots at each session if you would like to
- Session images will be online at my secure website for you to view, share and if you wish, purchase from approximately 10 -14 days after your session – I’ll let you know the wait time at the end of your session so you’ll know when to expect them.
- Images are online for 30 days following your session. You’ll get a reminder of their deletion date via email before they are removed to check you’ve ordered everything you would like.
- All image proofing and purchasing is completed online from your secure gallery page, I do not provide hard copy proofs or contact sheets. You’ll be the only one to receive the link and password that allows you to access your images but obviously you can choose to share that with friends and family who might want to view or order from the gallery.
- My studio is small but perfectly formed and so there’s not room for folk not involved in the photos to hang out or watch the session so I don’t recommend bringing along extra people.
- I reserve the right to cancel your registration at anytime and for any reason. Inactive registrations will be deleted without notice, along with registrations that have no sessions booked after a period of time. Please ensure you book your session at the appropriate Joey Club stages, (approximately 4, 8, and at 12 months).
- There’s no smoking allowed anywhere on the premises so please top up before you come.
- There’s no facilities for eating or drinking at sessions with the obvious exception of baby bottles or breastfeeding but of course feel free to bring along water if you’d like to – I wouldn’t want you to dehydrate!
- This does seem to be a bit of a ridiculous thing to have to say but obviously you are not permitted to use your own camera, smart phone or any other photographic device anywhere on our premises. I have never had to and I would be embarrassed to do it but I would have to cancel the session.
- If you would like to discuss any of our Business Terms or Joey Club Rules, please get in touch
Session and Booking Cancellations
If you need to change, cancel or postpone your photography session, please contact me as soon as possible. I will do my best to accommodate a change request to the booking date or time, but any changes are subject to availability. A booking with our studio is a commitment to attend, in return I won’t accept bookings from other clients for the same date and time. If you do not contact me prior to a photography session booking and subsequently do not show up, there will be a £25 fee to reschedule a new session. If you don’t wish to do that, I will assume that you wish to cancel your registration will delete your registration accordingly. I’m sorry to sound tough, but studio time is precious for me. At all times though, I would warmly encourage you to talk to me if you have any problems, I’ll always help you however I can.
Recent Blog Posts
If you’d like to find out more about me and my work, then my blog is a good place to have a browse. You’ll find lots of previous work plus some helpful articles on how to get ready for your baby photo shoot session and the kinds of things that you might like to plan for or bring along…
Waiting a Little Longer for your First Joey Club Session
When it comes to your first Joey Club session, you can come in when your baby gets to four months old. However, there are a couple of good reasons for waiting just a little bit longer.
Ready for your Close Up?
When babies are about four-five months old, about the time that most come in for their first Joey Club session, I like to set up this little [...]
Little Wooden Chair in the Studio
This little wooden chair is very cute but actually not requested that often as a prop in the studio. I've never been quite sure why. I guess [...]