I booked our newborn session with Katie Petrick Photography back when I still thought Annie would show up on her actual due date, on a normal timeline, with a normal amount of advance notice. Then my body had other plans, Annie arrived early, and I found myself emailing Katie to say "so.... about that date."
Here's how it actually went.
Booking It (And Rebooking It)
For Jamie's newborn photos, we used our wedding photographer. She's wonderful, but newborn and family sessions are not her main thing, and by the end I understood why that matters. This time around, I already knew Jamie was not going to be a cooperative two year old for a camera, so I wanted someone who does newborn and family sessions as their actual specialty, someone who has seen toddler meltdowns mid-session a hundred times and has a plan for it. That's how I landed on Katie.
Katie was easy to reach and even easier to reschedule with. When I explained Annie came early, she just moved things around without making it a whole thing. Ahead of the session, she mailed me an actual welcome package laying out what to expect, what to wear, how to prep. I appreciated having something physical to flip through and reference instead of scrolling a PDF.
We did the session at two weeks postpartum, in our own home. If you're weighing in-home versus studio, know that in-home means you don't have to pack a diaper bag for a newborn photoshoot, which at two weeks postpartum is its own kind of mercy.
What the Session Was Like
Katie showed up right on time with gear in tow and got straight to work. We started with just Annie, solo newborn shots on a white beanbag, all soft light and tiny fingers, the kind of photos you stare at later wondering how a person got that small.
Then we moved into family photos, and that's when Jamie remembered he is two.
We tried everything to get him close enough for a shot, including asking him to hunt for a worm or a dinosaur (he's currently obsessed with both) hidden in the couch cushions, in the camera lens, in Annie's ear. Normally he is insanely curious: he would rather investigate how playground equipment works instead of actually playing on it. But every single time, he'd get about two feet away, peer over on his tiptoes, and announce, completely matter of fact, "no worm" or "no saur," then wander back off to a safe distance like he'd done us a favor.
He said no to literally everything. Sit here, no. Look at Mommy, no. Hold still for one second, no. The only thing in the entire session Jamie agreed to was holding onto a snack pack, which he clutched like a life raft and which does not exactly scream "heirloom family portrait." Katie had tricks though, she pulled out ways to get his attention, kept the mood light, and told us something I am going to repeat to every friend who books a session with a toddler in the mix: no matter what your toddler does, just keep smiling. You only need one second of cooperation, and if you're smiling through the chaos, that one second looks great no matter what's happening around it.
What We Got
We got a discounted rate that included all of our digital images, no nickel and diming per photo, and walked away with about 60 final images from the session. Photos were back in two weeks, which for a newborn session felt fast, although I was refreshing my inbox more than I'd like to admit.
What I'd Do Differently
Katie offers hair and wardrobe help as part of the full experience, and I skipped it. I figured I wouldn't need it, I'd throw on something nice and call it a day. Then Annie came early, my whole timeline compressed, and I showed up to my own newborn session two weeks postpartum without having thought through wardrobe at all. If I could go back, I'd take her up on it. It's one less decision to make in a season where you genuinely do not have the bandwidth for one more decision.
The Verdict
If you want a photographer who is communicative before the session, calm during it, and fast with the turnaround after, Katie is that. She handled a rescheduled newborn and an uncooperative toddler without losing her cool, which is honestly half the job when you're photographing families in the thick of the newborn weeks. My one piece of advice: say yes to the wardrobe and hair help, even if you think you won't need it. Future you, two weeks postpartum and running on no sleep, will thank you.
