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5 Tips for Travelling with Your Wedding Gown

Santorini Wedding

Travelling with Your Wedding Gown to your Destination Wedding

A destination wedding is a fabulous way to start married life and is a great excuse to have a holiday. When you look back at your wedding photos, you will have a lovely time remembering how you spent time with the people closest to you and your fiancé in an amazing destination!

I realise that not many people are heading overseas at the moment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but I do know that many of your are still planning on having a destination wedding, and it may well be at a location you can still travel to! Like within Australia! I’ve covered many weddings in Darwin, Hobart, Canberra and Rural South Australia that beat many international destinations easily!

Before you jet off, though, you have to figure out one important thing—how to get your wedding dress to your destination.

5 Tips for Travelling with Your Wedding Gown

Avoid checking it in luggage

Whatever you do, avoid checking your wedding dress as luggage. It will get battered in transit, and there is always a risk of it getting lost. As much as possible, fly with your wedding dress as a carry-on item.

Check with your airline about their policies on carrying wedding dresses – as it may be an exempt item when it comes to the number of pieces of luggage you’re allowed. Also. label the bag containing it with your name, e-mail address, and the contact details of your destination.

Bride hanging her dress

Buy or recycle a garment bag

The bridal shop will likely use a garment bag when sending you your wedding dress. However, check if this is strong enough to stand up to travelling with your wedding gown. If you have your doubts, invest in a tougher garment bag. Ask your bridal shop to show you how to fold your wedding dress as well.

When you get to the gate, arrange for the attendant to hang your dress in a closet. Some airlines will preload your dress if you call ahead, so explore this option as well. Sometimes, though, there is no hanging space since surfboards and wheelchairs are the priority for closets.

In this case, you might lay your dress over bags in the overhead, but be considerate of the other passengers and ask permission. If you have the money to spare, you can resort to buying an extra seat just for your dress, or upgrade to business class – this allows you to have an additional carry-on bag!

Wedding dress

Invest in a vacuum bag

For brides with voluminous wedding gowns, a vacuum bag is almost mandatory when travelling with your wedding gown. Pack your dress while inside its garment bag into a similarly-sized vacuum bag and suck the air out, which will make the carry on much smaller – and if you’re lucky the checkin gate wont weigh it! Just dont try and fly with an airline known for being sticklers on weight.

You can then pack this into a tri-fold carry-on case, and store it in the luggage just like you would another bag. Remember to pack a garment steamer or request for one at your hotel or resort to iron out the creases. You do not want to memorialise the wrinkles in your wedding photos!

Putting on dress

Use a carry-on suitcase

A regulation-size carry-on suitcase is an excellent storage place for a wedding dress. For this to work, you need to pack your gown carefully. Use a hard shell suitcase; this protects your clothing from rain or other fluids. When packing, turn your dress inside out.

Turning your dress inside out will protect things like lace details, needlework, and other delicate embellishments. You can also put tissue paper in between the folds, to preserve the garment better.

Santorini destination wedding

Have your dress professionally packed

Your bridal shop can pack your dress to fit in your carry-on suitcase. You can specifically ask them to pack it for travel; this should be part of their services. You can also get a specially-designed box that meets carry-on size requirements for airlines or chartered planes. These boxes also have acid-free tissue paper which you can put in between folds.

Taking the wedding dress for a spin

 

You can pack a wedding dress for your destination wedding, but it will require a bit of planning from you. Travelling with your wedding gown can be tricky, but don’t let the hassles of travel prevent you from having a picture-perfect day!

Ensure that you have photos that will last a lifetime with Sven Studios. We are experienced destination wedding photographers super keen to travel and dedicated to perfectly capturing one of the most special days in a couple’s life. Browse our previous work or get in touch with us for more information!

 

 

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4 Things Parents Must Know about Newborn Photography

  • smiling baby mirella

 

What do you know about newborn photography?

Welcoming a baby into the family is an amazing and touching experience. As parents, you may find yourself just staring at your little bundle of joy, holding their small fists, and caressing their tiny, rosy feet. After all, it’s a magical moment that you’ve waited for so many months for!

As your tiny human grows each day, they start to do things they never did before, melting your heart with their little smiles and occasional silly faces. That said, it’s a wonderful idea to work with professional newborn photographers to capture these milestones and precious memories!  They have the skills, experience, and techniques to take photographs of your child that you’ll surely treasure forever.

4 Things you should know about newborn photography

If you’re about to have a photo session for your three-month-old baby, however, there are things you should know to ensure that the shoot goes smoothly—and that you get great pictures in the end!

  1. The Poses will Depend on Your Child’s Capability

At 12 weeks, your baby can already kick their legs about, but they’re still not strong enough to push themselves up. Considering this, please know that we can use as many bean bags or blankets as we have to support them, but we are still limited by what your child can do. After all, we want to make sure that they are comfortable and safe throughout the shoot.

Having photographs of your child carrying their own body weight completely may still be impossible at this point. However, there are other shots we can explore, such as baby on tummy and baby on back shots!

Happy bub
  1. We Need Your Help to Make Them Smile

Capturing your baby’s smile is always the highlight of any photography session. Unfortunately, it can be tricky to achieve this, as they usually hold their smiles for less than a second.

We will have you come as close as an arms’ length for your child to recognize you. Babies around this age often smile and laugh at hearing their parents’ voice or seeing their faces, so your presence can help us get that precious shot!

Smiles
  1. The Fewer Changes, the Better

We don’t want to tire your baby out throughout the session, so it’s best to limit the poses or setups to a small number. They can get easily exhausted after being moved around so much. Considering this, we’ll take into considering your child’s capabilities and mood during the actual shoot and make the necessary adjustments.

Moreover, we also suggest limiting passing the baby around for family photos. Instead, we can arrange for you more intimate cuddling poses—just the parents nestling the baby in their arms or lap. In this way, your baby can relax, and we can capture these special moments without a hitch!

Mummy cuddles
  1. Don’t Forget the Milk

While we will do our best to finish the photoshoot as quickly as possible, the whole process will still take time, especially if you have a few more setups you want to achieve. That said, it’s best to keep your baby happy and satisfied by keeping them well fed. Take advantage of the break time to feed them so that they can continue flashing those adorable expressions once the shoot resumes.

Baby Bub

Three months is an exciting age, as this is when they start moving around and amazing you with their capabilities. Sadly, they won’t stay this small and adorable for long, so you have to make every moment count!

This is where a professional photography session is very helpful. It helps you capture these milestones and, ultimately, immortalise the experience of being able to hold your tiny human in your arms. Hopefully this short list of things parents must know about newborn photography gives you a little insight on what the whole process is like.

If you’re looking for a professional newborn photographer in Adelaide to capture your baby’s beautiful moments, get in touch with us at SvenStudios! We conduct our sessions where you feel most comfortable. On top of this, we draw on our many years of experience in working with children to produce incredible photographs that you and your family will cherish forevermore.

 

 

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How to Get the Most Out Your Newborn Photoshoot

  • Baby foot

 

How to Get the Most Out Your Newborn Photoshoot

What many new parents don’t realise is that the newborn phase is just that–a phase. They power through the haze of sleepless nights and endless diaper changes, their days marked by delirious happiness or extreme exhaustion. Then in a blink of an eye, its over, and your helpless little angel is now a rambunctious toddler turning your house upside down.

When you are in the thick of the newborn stage, you don’t think much beyond the next week. You are in deep survival mode, only capable of processing what you need to do today and the next day. If you ask a new parent what their first few months of life were like for them and the new baby, they probably won’t be able to answer except to tell you that they survived it.

A great way to capture those precious first moments of your baby’s life is to hire a newborn photographer. They are better than a relative taking a blurry snapshot on a camera phone. You can have professional lit, styled, and photographed keepsakes that you will want to look back on for many years to come.

Get the Most Out Your Newborn Photoshoot tips

If you are considering newborn photography, here are a few tips you can follow to get the most out of your newborn photoshoot:

Look for a photographer in your third trimester

When it comes to professional photographers, the best ones book out fast! Since you can’t move your due date around, planning advance can ensure you get to work with the newborn photographer that you want. A capable photographer knows how to work with delicate babies safely, and they have the patience to get the shots just right. If you don’t book one in advance, chances are the one you won’t be available on short notice.

Belair Maternity Shoot

Schedule it during the first two weeks

The first couple of weeks are when your newborn is mostly asleep. It makes it easier for you to get them to hold still for photos. Older babies will not stay still and may easily be distracted or agitated by strange noises and bright lights. You won’t want to have an album full of crying or grumpy photos of your newborn.

Newborn Photography

Pick a time during your baby’s longest daytime nap

While your baby will be mostly asleep, they can tend to be fussy during their awake times. Choose a schedule during your child’s longest stretch of daytime sleep, if it is at least one hour or more. You may need more time than one hour, but at least the first one gets you enough time to get some good photos before you need to take a break for feeding and nappy changes.

An experienced newborn photographer will give you ample time to get the most out of your newborn photoshoot no matter how long you get in front of the camera!

In a basket

Skip the costumes, use heirloom clothes

While it may look cute to dress up your child in costumes, you can make the photos more meaningful and memorable by using unique clothes that have been passed down or gifted to you. Perhaps your parents kept your baby clothes which can be tailored to fit your new baby. You can also have an outfit fashioned from a wedding dress or dress shirt. There are many ways to dress up your baby for the occasion, but personal pieces will make it unique and give you a beautiful story to tell your child someday.

Fast asleep

Do it at home

If you have space, have your photos taken at home. You will have more flexibility, you won’t have to bring your entire arsenal of baby gear, and you will be more comfortable as a family. Photographers can bring equipment like lighting and backdrops, that will be a much easier feat than transporting an entire nursery. This is probably the easiest way to get the most out of your newborn photography.

Baby in Basket

When you emerge from the stupor of the newborn stage with beautiful, professionally-taken photographs, you will be grateful that you had the foresight to plan for it. Scheduling a photo shoot might seem like the last thing you want to do when you are covered in milk and surrounded by diapers. However, you will come to realise that the season is fleeting and you will only have a small window to capture those precious first days with your child.

 

Are you looking for a newborn photographer in Adelaide? We can help you immortalise the most important milestones of your life. We specialise in wedding, family, and newborn photography services. Don’t let the opportunity to create beautiful memories slip by. Call us to schedule an appointment.

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Babys First Year – 4 Stages for Great Professional Photos

Babys First Year

The first twelve months of a child’s life is a bright and exciting time for both the parents and the child. As a parent, you’ll have many opportunities to capture photos of these early stages to cherish for years to come.

While some may opt for having their young children photographed every month, another option that can be more meaningful is to capture special milestones in their growth and development. These different stages during a babys first year can serve as treasured and lasting memories that you and your child (once they’re old enough) can look back on.

Babys First Year Photo Opportunities

To give you a better idea of these stages during babys first year, here are some key moments in your baby’s life when you might like to consider getting their photos taken by a professional:

  1. Newborn: The Sleeping Baby

You’ve probably seen this a lot—a baby sleeping soundly in a basket or wrapped in a blanket with a simple backdrop. These types of photos are usually taken with newborn babies.

If you have a newborn and want to take beautiful snaps of him or her, the sleeping baby pose is an excellent choice. They are ideal for babies who are only days or weeks old because this is when they sleep a lot and can still curl up in a fetal position.

Little ones dont stay this little for very long, and they are absolutely adorable when they are asleep!

Fast asleep
  1. At Three Months: The Tummy Time

Once your baby is three months old, their individual personality will start to shine through. This is also when they should ideally be able to prop their head up by themself while laying on their tummy. At this point, they should be spending more time awake and let out the occasional smile—the perfect time to snap a few photos and capture their innocence.

Happy bub
  1. At Six to 10 Months: The Seated Baby

Your baby sitting down on their own is a big milestone during baby’s first year, and you should document this stage as it’s a huge moment in their life. The “seated baby” photograph is best for babies between six to ten months old. The shoots are often styled, and you get to have better photos because this is when the baby frequently smiles and giggles. Additionally, they are very curious at this stage, which makes this photo session a lot of fun.

Happy bub in the grass
  1. The First Birthday

The first birthday is one of the significant milestones in your baby’s life, so it definitely calls for a photo session. Photographers can style the session based on your baby’s personality. Usually, you’ll get photos of your baby while they’re playing around, ‘smashing’ their cake, and other adorable moments that only a camera can capture. It;’s also a lot of fun to let them loose with a tin of spaghetti!

I have a cake!

Having baby photos professionally taken will give you keepsakes that will last a lifetime. Fortunately, there are plenty of professional photographers out there who specialise in baby photos.

Make sure to choose a photographer who you’re comfortable working with and understands your tastes. You also need to ensure that they have proper training to handle your baby during the shoot. Even when you’re there, the photographer must know how to work with babies, especially newborns.

That being said, remember the different stages highlighted above and use them as our inspiration for your babys first year. Feel free to adjust them to your liking, as the memories are for you to cherish!

If you’re looking for a reputable Adelaide-based newborn photographer to take professional baby photos, then look no further! SvenStudios is happy to capture the special moments of your baby’s life. Contact us today for more information.

 

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What Not to Do at a Baby Photo Session – A Guide

  • In a basket

 

What Not to Do at a Baby Photo Session – Our Guide

Despite how long the days might feel, your little ones are only babies for a short while. You may blink and find them running out the door to their first day of school or a playdate with friends. Taking family photographs during their newborn and infant stage is a great way to capture those priceless fleeting first years.

Newborn photography can be tricky, so it is vital to choose an experienced photographer who knows how to shoot around potentially fussy or uncooperative babies. As a parent, you should also manage your expectations and make preparations so you can get the most out of your family photography session.

What Not to Do at a Baby Photo Session

If you are planning to have your portraits taken, here are some tips on what not to do at a baby photo session:

Don’t assume it will go according to plan

Babies are mercurial creatures. Newborns might be easier to photograph since they will most likely be asleep or oblivious to what is happening around them. Older babies tend to get distracted or fearful of new settings, so it might be challenging to get them to pose, let alone smile. Discuss your worries with your photographer before the shoot. Someone who is experienced in newborn photography will be able to adapt well to the situation and will guide you through the process.

Baby Bub

Try to keep the surrounds familiar

Unless you have no choice, pick a setting your baby is familiar with. Have the shoot at home or in a park. If you are shooting at home, your baby may feel more at ease and respond better to the photographer and his camera trying to take their picture. Consider also having your portraits taken outdoors. It can make for great photos as natural light will illuminate your photos beautifully.

Happy bub in the grass

Don’t try to rush the photo session

No matter how well you know your baby, they may have a meltdown just as you are about to capture a precious moment. Give your photographer ample time to set up. Allocate at least a reasonable amount of time to have photos taken with allowances for nappy changes and tantrums in between. Most of the time with newborns, a quick cuddle with Mummy is all they need.

Choose a time when your child will most likely be in a good mood, and be sure to prepare any food or snacks that will help soothe them.

Baby Smiles

Don’t get fixated on a particular photos you’ve seen before

You can provide inspiration photos to your photographer, however, you should try to do something original with your portraits. Trying to recreate a photo you’ve seen before is a good example of what not to do at a baby photo session and just sets everyone up for dissapointment.

Pick a setting and props because they reflect your baby’s personality and preferences, not because you want it to look exactly like someone else’s picture.

Smiles

Don’t cover your baby in too many props

Some parents get carried away with decorating the stage and putting fancy outfits on their child. These tend to get too distracting. You want the focus to remain on your baby and not on unnecessary props.

Baby Turtle

 

Newborn photography is a beautiful thing to have as keepsakes. What is essential is capturing family photos is not to get too caught up in making fancy layouts or magazine-style photo spreads. Keep these tips in mind when planning your photoshoot, and remember that the only critical components you need to prepare are just you, and your child. The photographer will take care of the rest.

Are you looking for newborn photography services in Adelaide? We’d love to get in touch and help you capture your memories!