Preparing for newborn photos: Tips & Tricks for a smooth session
Capturing the newborn season through photographs is truly magical. The images of your newborn will be something that you treasure for years and even generations to come. But getting yourself prepared for these photos can feel overwhelming and intimidating. Read on for some suggestions on ways to set yourself up for success.
Tip #1: Time your session right
Newborns are fairly unpredictable, however; in those first 1-3 weeks they sleep A LOT. Pick a time of day when you find they are usually the sleepiest. Make sure they have had a full feed, diaper change and are ready to doze off right before your session starts. To make things even easier, have them in their photo outfit when getting them down to sleep, or put them in an easy to remove, button up, onsie so that when it comes time to transfer them to their wrap or position on the bed or beanbag, they are not jostled awake by an attempt to undress them.
Tip #2: Pick your wardrobe ahead of time and keep it simple
Your post-partum body may not be the stuff dreams are made of (I know because I was the fool who brought my pre-pregnancy jeans to the hospital with my first baby only to have the crazy wake up call that I would be leaving the hospital looking just as pregnant as when I came in). I can look back and laugh now at my niaevity, but I was slightly heartbroken at just how much my body changed, nothing fit and my body felt like it had been used as a massive punching bag due to multiple hours of pushing only to end in an emergency C-section. I don’t say this to cause mass panic, but to prepare you to find something beautiful yet comfortable to take pictures in. Every woman’s body is different and the post-pregnancy body recovers at different speeds for everyone. Nice flowing dresses with breathable material are your friend. (This also comes in handy for nursing if you need to pause to feed baby during the session). I typically encourage neutrals or if you find an outfit with a beautiful pattern you love use that item as your coordinating piece. Pull colors from it to dress everyone else in and have them in solids. And for baby? I love keeping it even easier. Having baby just in diaper so you can capture all the little rolls and features of their tiny selves is precious. Of course you can have them swaddled in a coordinating color, or choose one specific outfit if you have invested in something just for this occassion.
Tip #3: Plan your location accordingly
I like to do newborn sessions either in-home or in-studio. They are climate controlled with predictable lighting and you have all the amenities nearby you may need (bathroom, place to change baby or nurse baby, snacks, beverages, etc.). Adjusting in those first few weeks that you come home with baby can feel really chaotic so having a location to do your pictures that is either home or feels like home, makes things so much more comfortable. If you choose to do your session in-home, I like to remind parents that you do not have to go crazy cleaning your whole house. All that is needed is a clean corner or a room with a couch or bed or just baby’s nursery and we are good to go. Housekeeping is literally the last thing on the list when you are learning how to keep another human being alive!
Tip #4: Be patient
Remember when I said babies can be unpredictable? Well sometimes that happens right in the middle of your photos. Baby may have trouble settling, be cluster feeding, experiencing multiple poopy diapers, colicky, etc. This can feel really stressful in the moment, but it’s okay! As a mom of three I know that every baby is different and you can’t always know how they are going to be on any given day. It’s always helpful to work through a session as efficiently as possible, but if baby requires a pivot to help them through, we will take our time and do what we need to ensure that both you and baby are doing okay and we are getting the images that are important to you.
The saying really is so true, they are only little once!
