Paula Swift Photography specializes in maternity, newborn, baby, children, family. high school seniors, couples and engagement photography sessions. Paula does not offer wedding, event, or large extended family sessions at this time.

Paula will bring her love for photography and years of experience as a photojournalist to each session to capture unique portraits that will be treasured for a lifetime. Paula has been a professional photographer for 14 years. She loves to create custom images and wants you and your child to feel at ease and to have fun while she does. Some children ham it up for the camera while others become shy and reserved. Paula will capture who they are - not just what they look like. The photo session will be as unique as your family. As long as your child is having fun she will keep shooting. You will be surprised to find how relaxed and fun your session will be. Paula takes a stress-free approach to each session. Please call or email 4 weeks in advance to schedule your portrait session. Newborn sessions should be booked while you are pregnant. Paula likes to capture newborns under 2 weeks of age when they are most pliable for those beautiful newborn poses you see on my site.

Best time to schedule a session:

Mornings work well for most infants and children, but plan a time when your child will be well rested and fed beforehand. I am always happy to take a break if a baby needs to nurse or have a bottle, or if a child needs a snack.

Length of session:

Your session is scheduled for up to 1 1/2 hours, though it might be shorter depending on your child.

Location:

You name the place: your home, backyard, favorite park, lake, beach, or even an apple orchard. Keep in mind with our New England weather if we schedule an outdoor shoot we may need to have an inside location as a back-up plan. If we are shooting outdoors, the best lighting falls in early morning (before 10:00 am) and late afternoon (after 3:00 pm). I shoot using both natural and studio lighting. Paula offers a professional studio in Framingham or she can bring her studio to your home. We can have an outdoor and indoor shoot in the same portrait session, for in home sessions. Paula also offers sessions in Southern Maine in the July and August. months So if you are looking for a beach session please contact her regarding her availability.

What to wear for your portrait session

For Children and Parents:

The clothing is your choice but keep in mind that simple, timeless clothing in solid colors really photographs best. Clothing with any type of logos are distracting and take away from the essence of the portraits, you and your family. Jewelry should be minimal and please avoid wearing watches. When photographing more than one person please think of their outfits as a whole, and keep colors uniform. If your child has a special toy, blanket or stuffed animal, feel free to bring it along.

For Maternity portrait sessions:

Black pants or long black skirt with black tank top photograph best. This type of clothing puts the accent on your beautiful belly while being complimentary to your body. Please wear under-belly pants or roll the waistband of your pants down several hours before the portrait session so you don't have elastic marks on your skin. Pull out those jeans you wore before you were pregnant, you probably won't be able to zip them up but it looks great in portraits with the zipper undone to show your beautiful belly.

Spouses should try to where black pants or dark jeans with a dark shirt or even go shirtless.

For Infant portrait sessions:

They always look best in bare skin with black backgrounds and I recommend that the parents wear black so that they blend into the background and let the baby be the focus of the portrait. Please try to contact Paula while you are still pregnant to set -up a tentative newborn session. She loves to photograph newborns under the age of 2 weeks when ever possible.

Please leave your cameras at home, you are hiring Paula Swift to take your portraits and cameras other than hers are not allowed during your session.

Showing up on time: Its very important to show up on time for your sesssion. Its also helpful to have your children already dressed when you arrive. We all know clotthing changes can be very stressful on children, now add their photography session on top of that...we may lose their attention and happy demeanor before the session even starts.

Post Session:

A password protected online gallery of your proofs from the portrait session will be available within 14 days after your session for your viewing. I will email or call you with the link and password. Please feel free to share it with friends and family. You will have 7 days from that time to place your order.

Sick Children:

If your child is sick the day of the portrait session, please call and let me know.  We can reschedule at that time.

50% of session fee is due within 7 days of scheduling your portrait session to retain your appointment. The remainder is due at the start of the session. This fee is non-refundable, can be applied to a future session if your child is sick or if we have to reschedule.

Paula Swift Photography, Inc. portraitsand digital files are copyrighted and cannot be scanned, copied or downloaded from this website without purchase and /or written permission from Paula Swift.