Newborn Session Tips
I'm always excited to meet new babies during their first few weeks of life. I remember how quickly those first few weeks with your little one pass by in a blur of exhaustion, elation, joy, tears, and wonderment. Your family is forever changed when you welcome a new baby into the world and I am as passionate about the newborn photographs I create as I am about making your newborn photography session a stress-free, relaxed, and memorable experience. Clients tell me how much they appreciate knowing that no matter how tired they are or how unpredictable their little family can be, I take it all in stride, allowing them to sit back, relax, and enjoy the experience.
Booking Your Session
The best time to capture your baby as a “true” newborn is usually between 5 and 10 days, so I recommend you book your newborn photo session during your pregnancy, basing the appointment on your due date, and then call me soon after your baby is born to confirm the time.
Of course your baby won’t have much consideration for appointments, so if you give birth early or late, I will give you priority for an alternate time. If you prefer the newborn portraits to be taken while the baby is between 2 weeks and 12 weeks old, we still recommend making the appointment during pregnancy.
Timing Your Session
All stages of babyhood have their own special brand of magic.
The first stage is the true newborn from birth to about 14 days. At this stage, the baby is fragile yet miraculous and still retains its womb-like behaviour of curling tight and sleeping anywhere.
From 14 days to 12 weeks, your baby still has the distinctive newborn look but is gradually becoming more alert and aware of the world, building a connection with you through smiles, eye contact and physical bonding. In this phase, your newborn is often awake for a lot of the photo shoot although we can capture some gorgeous sleeping shots as well.
The session itself…
The newborn photography session usually goes for about 1 to 1.5 hours, allowing your newborn to set the pace, so you and your baby both stay relaxed and have fun together. There is plenty of time to take a break whenever your newborn wants a feed or needs to be settled.
To keep our time together as relaxed and comfortable for you and your family as possible, newborn sessions happen in your home.
These are always beautiful sessions built to capture the family on a more personal level. I typically shoot in the nursery, parents bedroom and maybe on a comfy couch or by a window. I use the natural lighting in your home, so it’s important to do these sessions at certain times of the day usually in the morning (starting your session between 9am - 1pm usually gives the best light and happiest babe!).
Try to have those areas tidy but please do not feel like you have to have the rest of the house clean on my account. You’ve just had a newborn and the last thing you should be doing is cleaning!
Weather allowing, I have also done newborn sessions outside. These can be an entirely different way to create beautiful images and celebrate this season in your family.
It is best for the baby to be full and sleepy for the photo shoot. I know, easier said than done! If you can, keep babe awake for an hour (ish) prior to my arrival and feed just prior to our start time. Keep the space warm. A space heater is helpful if the room is naturally cooler.
Newborns have the gift of sleeping with intense concentration regardless of their surroundings, so we can pose them in a range of natural positions – snuggled within a swaddle, on big brother’s lap, over your arm or across your chest. Throughout the shoot, we will work to capture those fleeting dream-like smiles, contentment, yawns and chuckles.
Siblings are welcome. We will try to do family shots with younger siblings at the beginning before they get bored.
Keep in mind that it is OK to take a 5-10 minutes break if needed to help children take a minute for a snack or drink and try again. That is why newborn sessions are scheduled with lots of time to have delays for situations just like this, but also for some casual playing with the baby.
These are your photos of your family. If you have ideas of poses, in a lifestyle type style, let me know. Additionally, if you have special items, like a special blanket or toy, let me know. I’m happy to try to incorporate your ideas and special memories into our session time.
What to Wear
The most important thing is that you’re comfortable. We recommend wearing simple clothes in plain colours. Avoid clothes that have bold patterns or logos as these can detract from the images or from the main focus of the photos - baby!
My recommendation is always to think of color coordination instead of matching. For example, pick one or two colors and have everyone dress in shades of those colors. I usually suggest that mom picks her outfit first and builds around that.
Have a change of clothes and some spare diapers at the ready because, well, surprise accidents can happen if you are holding your newborn during the diaper-free part of the photo shoot.
For baby, plan on two or three wardrobe changes. This can include a funny onsie, something cute or sentimental, and/or a diaper. Little headbands or cute hats can make an outfit so feel free to accessorize. Having a good swaddling blanket to assist in nearly naked photos helps us capture baby’s newness as well as get close ups of all the sweet details.
A little tip we’ve learned from experience is to loosen baby’s clothing and diapers at least half an hour before the session. This will give time for any imprint marks and redness to disappear, and the baby’s skin will look flawless.
What types of pictures will I take? I cannot emphasize enough the lifestyle nature of this session: it is super heavy on family interaction and truly just capturing your new life at home with your newest family member! We will do lots and lots of candid pics to really get some genuine smiles and laughs and all of that with babe.
Newborn sessions are meant to celebrate your baby, your family and this special, fleeting moment of newness you have together. It’s a privilege and an honour to be able to capture these special memories for you.