When in my pregnancy should I schedule my shoot? I recommend that you plan your maternity shoot for any time between 29 weeks and 36 weeks.

Where will the session be located? Sessions take place at a location of your choice. This may be in your home (which lends itself nicely to a documentary lifestyle approach) and the surrounding neighborhood of your home, or in a park or other location in New York City. For example, some of my favorite locations for shoots include the Brooklyn Heights historical district, Dumbo, Central Park, West Village, Tribeca and Prospect Park. Please Note: For locations outside of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and parts of Queens, there is an additional $175 travel fee. I offer sessions outside of Manhattan, Brooklyn and parts of Queens from January - August.

What time will the session take place? We will decide together the best time for your shoot. For outdoor shoots, it’s best to photograph during the several hours just after sunrise or just before sunset. For indoor shoots, we will decide the best time of day based on the direction of the windows in your home.

What should I wear on my shoot? After you book your session, I will send you my style guide with tips to help you prepare your outfit(s). The guide includes color palettes, numerous images from sessions with me, recommendations for where you can buy or rent clothing and links to some specific recommended items.

I also encourage you to consult with me about clothing at any point between the time that you book your session and our session date. Feel free to email me photographs of clothes that you are considering for you or your family members - I love helping you to make decisions! You can either send me links to the clothing you’re considering purchasing or renting online, or photos you’ve taken on your phone of clothing you already have.

How should I prepare my home for our in-home session? To help you feel supported in preparing for in-home sessions, I have created an In-Home Session Prep Guide with six tips to help you prepare your home for in-home sessions. I will email you the guide after you book your session.

Do you offer hair and make-up services? No, these services are not included as part of your session. However, you may choose to use your own make-up and hair stylists for the shoot. MAC Cosmetics offers in-store make-up appointments for professional make-up, and Blo Dry Bar is a great option for professional hair styling. Clients may choose to schedule MAC and/or Blo appointments several hours prior to the shoot start time.

When do I pay the session fee? When we have set a date for your shoot, I will send you a link requesting that you pay the $300 session fee required to secure your session date and time. You can make the payment via credit card or Venmo. At the same time, I will send you a link to sign my standard client agreement. Both the session fee and signed agreement are required to book. There is a $200 rebooking fee for sessions that are rescheduled within less than 24 hours notice. For sessions cancelled within 24 hours, the $300 session fee is nonrefundable.

When do I pay for Collection 1 or Collection 2? When I send you your proof gallery within 2-4 weeks of your session, you will then decide whether you would like to purchase Collection 1 ($595) or Collection 2 ($795). The payment for your Collection is due within 3 days (72 hours) of receiving your gallery. If you purchase Collection 1, you must select your 25 images within 7 days. I will then apply final edits to the 25 proofs you select (Collection 1) or to the full gallery (Collection 2).

If I purchase Collection 1, do I have to choose from the color edited version and black and white version of the 25 files I am selecting? Yes. If you purchase Collection 1, you select a total of 25 files. This can be either 25 color files, 25 black and white files, or a combination of the 2. Many clients who purchase Collection 1 select approximately 15-20 color files and 5-10 black and white files for their final gallery.

If I purchase Collection 2, how do I select the 10 5x7 prints included in the Collection? I will provide instructions to you via email. You can select 10 different images, or, you can decide to print 10 copies of the same favorite image - perhaps you would like one for your home, one for your office, and the rest for gifts for family, for example.

What edits do you make? For your proof gallery, edits include color toning, cropping, and may include head swaps if I think that a composite of two images would be preferable. After you decide on the Collection you would like, I may make additional edits, including, for example, removing stray hairs on faces, removing lint, removing distractions in the background of an image (like, for example, a parking sign), and light skin retouching (ex. removing a pimple). Edits do NOT include (but may be requested for an additional fee), body shaping and removing tan lines, for example.

When will I receive my final gallery? Within one week of your selecting your Collection, I will send you your final gallery. All files can be downloaded in both a high-resolution JPG file version (best for printing) and low-resolution JPG file version (best for sharing on social media and emailing). The timeline is as follows: Within 2-4 weeks of your session date, I send you your proof gallery -> Within 1 Week after I send your proof gallery, you make your final selections -> Within 1 Week of your making your final selections, I send you your final gallery of edited images for you to download via a Shootproof.com link. Your gallery will then be live for 30 days, during which time you can download your files and purchase prints and products, if you wish. Please make sure to save and back up your images. I clean out my client files every three months and cannot guarantee that I will have your files after three months.

Will my session be cancelled for bad weather? In the event of inclement weather, the session may need to be postponed. When this happens, you and I will work together to determine a new date for the shoot.

What if I need to cancel my shoot? You may reschedule a session once without charge as long as it is no less than seven days before the shoot. In this case, your session fee will be transferred towards the new session date. If you reschedule a second time, your session fee will not be refunded, and you will need to pay a new session fee if you would still like to shoot.

Do you recommend that I print my photos? Yes! Digital files are useful for sharing images online, but they are not permanent. The quality of digital files changes over time, and they may get corrupted or hard to access (remember when digital files were on floppy disks!?). Printing images not only ensures that your legacy will be preserved for generations to come, but it allows you to enjoy the photos every day as you see them on your wall or framed on your nightstand. Even if you decide to print images and only enjoy them for a few years before replacing them with new images, the few years that you enjoyed them will be well worth it.

What is the process if I order prints through Whitney Welshimer Photography? I have partnered with one of the most well-respected printers in the country that works with professional photographers only to bring you the highest quality prints, featuring rich color tones and luxe archival paper. When I deliver to you your gallery of digital image files 2-4 weeks after our session, I will also send to you my Print Guide with mock-ups to help you visualize the photos from our session in your home.

If I order prints or other products, how long will it take for my items to ship? Free, standard shipping (5-10 days) is included with your purchase of prints. I also offer expedited (1 business day) shipping for $26.95. Please allow at least one week for the lab to print your items before shipping. For photo books, please allow additional time.

Do you offer Gift Certificates? Yes, I offer gift certificates in the amounts of $500 and $1,000. I am also happy to create a gift certificate for a custom amount of your choice.

Do you have a referral program? Yes, I have a $50/$50 referral program! When an existing client refers a new client to me who books a session, I will send you an email to let you know that you have received a $50 credit to use towards your next session, and the client will also receive $50 off of their first session. The client just needs to mention your name in the "Message" box on the Booking Inquiry Form. I am always delighted when new clients tell me that a friend referred them to my studio.