NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER IN AUSTIN, TEXAS
I'm Noëlle, a newborn photographer in Austin. I photograph in your home rather than a studio, so your baby stays in their own space, in their own light, and nobody has to pack a diaper bag two weeks postpartum.
Sessions run two hours and include your immediate family and your pets. You'll get 50 or more high resolution images, every one retouched by hand, plus a $60 print credit. Sessions are $950. Most families book during pregnancy and we set the date loosely around your due date.
SESSION INVESTMENT
$950
Plus Tax
To reserve your shoot date, 50% of session fee is due at time of booking (serves as a retainer and is non-refundable), 50% is due on the day of the session. If you need to reschedule your session due to sickness, injury, or a scheduling conflict — please contact me at least 24 hours prior to your session and the retainer will move with the session.
When you choose Noëlle Westcott Photography for your newborn photos, you get:
2-hour photo session with baby and immediate family (including pets) in the comfort of your own home
Grandparents/extended family are welcome to join for $25 per person
Session planning via email and/or phone
Digital Welcome & What-To-Wear Packet with session tips and tricks and wardrobe shopping links
A gallery of 50+ downloadable high-resolution images
Professional retouching = I hand edit everyone’s skin, retouch blemishes, clean up backgrounds, fix wardrobe malfunctions, etc — in every photo I deliver.
Print credit worth $60 (can be used on any size prints) - please note, the credit is valid on regular prints only. Excludes giclée fine art prints, frames, canvases, lockets, ornaments, matted prints, etc.
BECAUSE MORE THAN ANYTHING, I WANT YOU TO WALK AWAY FROM OUR TIME TOGETHER WITH SOMETHING REAL YOU AND YOUR KIDS CAN HOLD IN YOUR HANDS AND PULL CLOSE TO YOUR HEARTS — FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.
You’ll receive your high-resolution and social-size images in an online, downloadable gallery through which you may conveniently order additional prints and other products at third-party professional photography lab prices — if you so choose.
Sales tax of 8.25% will be added to all orders. Travel fees apply 20 miles from the 78759 zip code. Prices are subject to change at any time and are locked at the time of booking.
FAQs
There isn't a hard window, and that's one of the real advantages of shooting lifestyle instead of posed. Posed studio newborn work depends on a baby staying deeply asleep and tolerating being curled and wrapped, which is why it has to happen in a narrow band right after birth. I'm not doing any of that. I'm photographing your family in your home, so we can go whenever it makes sense for you.
That said, the age you choose does change what the pictures look like, so here's what to expect from each stage.
5 to 14 days. Babies sleep 16 to 20 hours a day at this point and tolerate being moved and settled. This is the sleepiest, curliest version of your baby, all folded limbs and tiny fists, and it's the closest to the classic newborn look. It's also the hardest stretch for you, so I'd only pick it if that's the aesthetic you're after.
3 to 4 weeks. More alert and more expression, but this is also when baby acne tends to peak and when growth spurts make for a fussier session. Perfectly workable, and I retouch skin on every image I deliver, so acne isn't a reason to rule it out.
5 to 8 weeks. Eye contact, the first real social smiles, and a baby who actually looks back at you in the frame. Less sleeping and less curling, more connection and interaction. If what you want is a photo of your family together rather than a portrait of a sleeping newborn, this is my favorite stretch.
Most families book with me during pregnancy and we hold a loose date around the due date, then pick the exact day once your baby is here and you have a sense of how everyone is doing. If you're reading this at six weeks postpartum and worried you've missed the window, you haven't. Reach out.
What age should my baby be for a newborn session?
When should I book?
During pregnancy, usually in the second or third trimester. I hold a loose date around your due date and we firm it up once baby arrives.
Do you use props, wraps, or posed setups?
No. These are lifestyle sessions in your own home. I don't pose babies into shapes or bring backdrops and baskets. What we're documenting is your family in the first weeks, in the space where it's actually happening.
Where does the session take place?
In your home, anywhere in Austin and the surrounding area. The nursery, your bed, wherever the light is best. I'll walk through your space when I arrive and pick spots.
Can siblings and grandparents be in the photos?
Yes. Your immediate family is included in the session fee, and grandparents or extended family are welcome to join for $25 per person.
Can our dog be in the photos?
Yes, pets are included at no extra charge and I photograph them regularly.
You'll get my welcome and what to wear packet with shopping links after booking. Short version: soft, simple, neutral, and comfortable enough to nurse or hold a baby in for two hours.
What should we wear?
What if my baby cries or needs to eat the whole time?
That's expected and it's why the session is two hours instead of one. We feed, we change, we soothe, we wait. Nothing about this is on a schedule.
Do I need to clean my whole house?
No. I mostly work in one or two rooms and I'll move anything that's in the frame. Please don't spend your precious time deep cleaning on my account.
How long until I receive my photos?
Usually two and a half to four weeks. I hand edit every single image I deliver rather than batch processing a gallery, and a newborn session is 50 or more photos, so that's where the time goes. When it's ready you'll get an email with a private online gallery to download from and order prints through. If you're working toward a deadline like birth announcements, let me know at booking and I'll plan around it.
How much does a newborn session cost in Austin?
$950 plus tax, covering a two-hour in-home session with your immediate family and pets, 50 or more retouched high resolution images and a $60 print credit. Sales tax of 8.25% is added to all orders and travel fees apply beyond 20 miles of the 78759 zip code.
What health precautions do you take?
I wear a mask for every lifestyle newborn session, and I always will. It's an easy thing for me to do and it's one more layer of protection for a baby whose immune system is still brand new.
Beyond that:
I wash my hands as soon as I walk in the door.
I take my shoes off, every time.
I sanitize all of my photography equipment the night before your session.
I'm fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, and I stay current on my other vaccinations, including Tdap, flu and MMR.
If your pediatrician has given you specific guidance or you'd like me to do anything differently, tell me. I'd much rather adjust than have you spend the session worrying.
HOW I KEEP YOUR NEWBORN SAFE
Your baby is a few days old and their immune system is brand new. I take that seriously, and none of what follows is something I stopped doing when the world moved on from the pandemic.
I wear a mask. Every lifestyle newborn session, always. It costs me nothing and it's one more layer between your baby and whatever is out there in the moment.
I wash my hands the second I walk in. Before I touch a camera, before I touch anything of yours.
I take my shoes off at the door. Every time, without being asked.
I sanitize all of my equipment the night before. Cameras, lenses, flashes, etc. Not between sessions, the night before yours specifically.
I'm current on my vaccinations. Fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, plus Tdap, flu and MMR. Tdap is the whooping cough one, and it's the vaccine most pediatricians want anyone near a newborn to have.
If your pediatrician has given you specific guidance, or there's something about your situation that means you'd like me to do more, just tell me. I'd rather adjust than have you spend two hours quietly worrying instead of enjoying your baby.
READY TO BOOK YOUR PHOTO SESSION?
Get yourself on my calendar by clicking the link below.
WHERE I PHOTOGRAPH NEWBORN SESSIONS
I come to you, anywhere in Austin and the surrounding area. That includes Round Rock, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander, Pflugerville, Tarrytown, Westlake, Lakeway, Bee Cave and Dripping Springs. Travel fees apply beyond 20 miles of the 78759 zip code. I've also photographed families in hotel rooms and at grandparents' houses when that's where everyone happened to be, so if your situation is unusual, just ask.
WEREN’T ABLE TO SNAG A SESSION THIS SEASON?
Please consider adding yourself to my waitlist. There is no obligation to book, but you will be notified if there are any openings that come up. Every year a couple families get off the waitlist and onto my calendar, so it's worth a try!