Photographer – Guide to NICU Photography with CHP

Getting Started with CHP

• Join our online community of NICU photographers HERE to stay in the CHP photographer loop. 

• Bookmark this page for reference before and after your photo sessions, as it is not a public page.

• Please check out our FAQ's for photographers if you have questions that are not answered her. 

Initial Contact with the Family

• Contact the family within 48 hours of receiving the form information. Babies/kids grow quickly or circumstances change, and the sooner you can get the photo session set up, the better. 

• Remind the family that the hospital must allow a photographer in as your visitor and it is their responsibility to check the policies prior to you setting up their session. 

• Make sure to set up a time with the family that does not conflict with the nurses shift change time. This makes things inconvenient for the nursing staff and can cause disruption for the staff and child/baby. 

• Once you have a date set up, tell the parent to make sure the nurse for that day knows you are coming. You will go in as a visitor of the family, but giving the nurse a heads up always helps.

The Hospital Session

• IMPORTANT: Within 1 day after photographing the child, send us an email with the family's name and email address letting us know you have completed their session. We will email the family to get any sneak peek information they would like us to share on our social media along with the photo you send (within 3 days). 

• You should be listed as a visitor of the family and the parent should meet you in the waiting room and take you back to the child's incubator/bed. Text them when you arrive so they can meet you. 

• Documentary style photography is what we provide. We do not do newborn/child posing at all. Asking the family to look at the camera for some shots is absolutely encouraged, but please keep things very simple and short. Capture the child’s journey and story in that moment. If you need ideas about what types of photos we provide, please check out our Facebook fan page for inspiration. 

• Low aperture photography is what we specialize in at Capturing Hopes. An aperture of 2.8 or wider (2.0, 1.8, 1.4, etc) is required for all hospital sessions. Focus in on the beauty of the child/baby and blur out the cords, monitors, walls, background clutter, and everything else in the hospital. 

• Try to keep the session as short as possible, while at the same time accommodating any needs the child or baby has like feeding, diaper change, etc. It should take no longer than 10-15 minutes, but it depends on circumstances, as every situation is different. Be patient with the child and family and give yourself plenty of time so you do not feel rushed and do not make the family feel pressured or rushed.

• Never pick up or hold the child or baby. Let the parent or the nurse move them if needed. If you need to move a hand or anything else, make sure you ask first and ALWAYS hand sanitize right before you touch. 

• When the session ends, inform the family of the process following the session. If you will post a sneak, let them know. Tell them what date to expect their photo gallery by, which is no longer than 10 days. Be upfront with them and communicate well. Under promise and over deliver is always a good rule of thumb. *Please see the how to load galleries information included below. 

• Never take money or a tip from the family, this conflicts with the Capturing Hopes model of nonprofit work. The family should not pay anything for the session or the digital downloads that are sent to them in a high resolution format. *We usually send 5-10 max

• For lighting - use an external light if the hospital allows it. No pop up flash allowed in any Capturing Hopes photography.  

• Do not photograph the staff of the hospital unless they give you direct permission. We like to get some staff photos, but only with their permission. They are the real superheroes in the hospital. NEVER photograph other families or babies in the background for HIPAA reasons as we could be held liable if a family does not want their photo taken. 

SAMPLE Session Galleries:

 - https://www.capturinghopesphoto.org/proofing/deliliah-nicole-lee-81618

 - https://www.capturinghopesphoto.org/proofing/charlotte-112919

 - https://www.capturinghopesphoto.org/proofing/jasper-david-crews-81619

After the photo session

• When sending sneaks, include the name of the family/baby, the hospital, city/state of hospital, and your Facebook business page link. Email those to chpsessions@gmail.com

• Feel free to also post sneaks on your own page AFTER we post sneaks on the Capturing Hopes Page, or share directly from the Capturing Hopes page to your own. Either way, please make sure to tag Capturing Hopes in the post, this is a requirement for all sessions provided through Capturing Hopes. 

• Use the information below on how to load a photo gallery onto the Capturing Hopes website. 

• Once the gallery is completed, send it to family along with the link to sign up for another session. You can find that HERE. 

• Do not send more than 10 images per session. We try to provide only 3-5 per session. More than 10 can get overwhelming for the parents. The only exception to this is if there are extended family members there and you get more photos than the average 5-10 minute session. Treat the session more like a mini session, not a full session. 

• If the family would like to set up another session, please have them do it through Capturing Hopes. We will forward you their info when they submit another request. 

• If the family hires you following their stay in the NICU or hospital, they become your client and you are free to charge them your regular pricing. Their relationship with CHP ends once they are discharged from the NICU. Side note on this: If you provide a newborn session or family session after their release, feel free to let us know and we can share it from your page to ours to celebrate their graduation and progress. Updates like that are always encouraging for other NICU families who are still in the hospital with their baby. It gives them hope. This will also give you additional exposure for your work with Capturing Hopes. 

Other things to remember:

• Photos from your sessions cannot be sold to companies or organizations for use. If a company/organization/media contacts you, please give them our contact information. (CapturingHopesDirectors@gmail.com)

• If you are contacted by the media concerning your photo session with Capturing Hopes, please let us know prior to allowing use of any photos. 

Email Deneen at capturinghopesdirectors@gmail.com if you have any questions! 

Photobiz Photo Gallery Loading

1. Login: https://www.photobiz.com/login?gclid=Cj0KCQjwl9GCBhDvARIsAFunhsm8C2YJHg7JCuo_kP4-S42ohzMo4dol85rdK0Vn-ICcUu-0Mh4wpyEaAsBVEALw_wcB

Email: capturinghopesdirectors@gmail.com

Password: october25

2. On the left side of the screen, find “proofing”

3. Click on “proofing” and look for your name under the list of new categories. 

4. Click on your name, then click on “new event” to create a new gallery, one for each client. 

5. Event should be named “GuardiansNameChildsNamedate” (example: JillSmithHeidiSmith 4.1.22)

6. Do not change the expiration date

7. Change the Price lists to “Fine Arts”

8. Allow downloads “YES”

9. Choose High Resolution

10. Display watermark NO

11. Create Event at the bottom

12. Upload no more than 10 high resolution edited photos with no watermarks/logos to the gallery

13. Click on the link at the top of the gallery, then copy the url at the top of the page it pulls up and email it to both the family and chpsessions@gmail.com at the same time. 

We have an unlimited amount of space on the photobiz galleries, please never delete a photo session that has been loaded on there from you or another photographer. We may need to access them in the future for families. Also do not change any settings or page information on the website. 

If you have difficulty or questions, email Deneen at capturinghopesdirectors@gmail.com