How to book a newborn shoot in Bengaluru

If you cancel, you'll probably lose the advance. Get the rule for moving the date in writing before you pay. If you book through us and something isn't going to plan, a person here sorts it out.

Baby yellow, or came early? Your paediatrician decides whether the shoot waits, whatever the photographer's window says. If the baby came early, Casper Photography goes by weight and size.

Pick the photographer for the look, and the package for the time. Each photographer has a look of their own, quiet and matched at some studios, bright and full of props at others, so judge it from their gallery. A bigger package from the same photographer buys more time, more setups and more edited photos, and often the family and an album. At the very top you pay for a photographer whose work you love, and for printed pieces to keep.

Doing it yourself costs little. Phone photos in window light are free, and a printed book of them costs about ₹1,000 to ₹3,000. Elements Baby in Bengaluru hires out a room of ready baby sets from ₹2,000 for two hours, and you bring your own camera or phone. A camera costs ₹950 a day to hire at BokehDotz. Some delivery packages at Aster in Whitefield and Cloudnine in Bellandur include a baby photoshoot with one printed photo, at no extra charge. None of these gets you trained hands on a baby this small.

Ask about tax. Some studios add 18% GST on top, so a ₹9,999 package costs ₹11,799. Prismika, Alluring Lens Studio, Casper Photography and Baby's Backyard include it in their prices. Ask the other four.

The ₹22,000 package gives you more time with the baby and a safety assistant. Yathri's hour covers 2 themes and a family session. Alluring's three to four hours leave room to feed, settle and start again. Its safety assistant spots the baby while the photographer shoots, and its studio is temperature-controlled.

What each photo shows. Alluring's is cream, sage and tan: a cane basket, a sage wrap with a flower headband, beads and baby's breath, shot from above. Yathri's is bright and full of colour: a painted floral backdrop, pink roses and a lace parasol. If you love colour, you may like hers more.

Each is one package of several. Yathri's profile lists others, so ask for the ₹6,000 one by name. She comes home only on her ₹15,000 package, a bigger one with three hours, 30 edited photos and an album. Alluring Lens Studio's smallest package, ₹9,000, has the same hours and safety assistant with one setup and 7 photos. Go for that if the time and the second pair of hands are what matter most. The ₹22,000 is for when you also want two looks for the baby, both of you in the pictures and 15 photos to keep.

Get the travel charge as a number before you agree a price. Some studios outside this guide print one, from ₹1,999 to ₹10,000. None of the 8 prints one. It's the line most likely to be added to the bill later. Tell us your area and we'll ask them what it costs to reach you.

• The second person. Alluring Lens Studio has a safety assistant and Samavaya Studio a trained baby handler. Neither comes to your home. Casper Photography shoots with her husband, who spots the baby on the lift-up and bean bag poses. Little Boss Photography and Vandana Rout shoot alone, so ask who holds the baby. With Prismika, Yathri Lokesh and Baby's Backyard, ask who's coming and what they do.
• The chin-on-hands picture is two frames joined afterwards, with an adult holding the head in each. A baby this young can't hold its own head up.
• Legs. The International Hip Dysplasia Institute warns against wrapping a baby's legs straight down and pressed together. Wrapping itself is fine. Watch for legs held straight and pressed together.
• Clean wraps. Half of the 8 say how they clean props between babies. Ask the rest.

Ask before you book: Who else is coming? How do you take the chin-on-hands shot? What happens to the wraps between babies? How warm does the room get? If I say stop, does it stop? A studio that does this every week answers all five without pausing.

Twenty extra edited photos work out to ₹4,000 at one studio and ₹24,000 at another. Ask for the rate before you book.

• Raw files. Half of the 8 hand over every unedited file. Casper Photography shows you every frame watermarked and hands over none.
• Delivery. Anywhere from 4 days to 40 after you pick your photos. Get the date in writing.
• The gallery. Prismika deletes your gallery 60 days after the shoot. Download the whole folder as soon as the link arrives, and keep a second copy somewhere other than your phone.

Feed the baby first, then hand them over. A full baby sleeps, and a sleeping baby is the whole session. Yathri Lokesh adds a detail in her post:

1. The day before

   At home, put the photographer's name on the gate. At a studio, ask about parking and steps.

2. What to carry

   Milk, more nappies than you think, wipes, a change of clothes for you. All 8 photographers list wraps among their props. Samavaya Studio doesn't provide outfits for newborn shoots, so ask her what to bring.

3. First thing

   Feed, then hand the baby over.

4. The first hour

   The deepest sleep, so the curled-up and family photos happen now.

5. If it runs longer

   Feeding, settling, starting again. Nobody is behind schedule.

6. Any time

   You can stop. Say so and it ends.

Had a caesarean? Tell the photographer when you book and again on the day, because a long session upright is a lot two weeks after. Wear a top you can feed in, in any colour but white.

Ask each photographer, in writing, whether they post your baby's face and what saying no costs. Under section 17 of the Copyright Act, whoever pays for a photograph owns the copyright unless an agreement says otherwise. A photographer's contract is usually that agreement. A yes on WhatsApp transfers nothing, because section 19 needs it in writing.

You can also ask for a shoot with no faces at all. One Bengaluru family asked us for a faceless shoot of the baby with the mother and father.