Tips and Tricks for a comfortable and successful newborn shoot!

Congratulations! Creating a family is one of life’s most rewarding milestones! When your little one comes you’ll be amazed at how fast they grow and change. A wonderful way to preserve and celebrate their precious weeks as a newborn is to have a newborn session. These photos look amazing on the wall of a nursery and serve as the perfect gift to parents and grandparents!

Types of Newborn Sessions

There are two ways to have a newborn shoot. Often times the city where you live will have photography studios solely dedicated to newborn photography where you take your newborn to the studio for the session. Each studio has their own guidelines for these sessions, so if you go this route, look to them for what is wanted from you for a successful shoot.

The other option is to have an in-home newborn session. This blog focuses on this type of a session, and will help you prepare your little one for the best possible experience!

An in-home session has two distinct advantages. Once, you don’t have to go anywhere! Having the session right in your own home allows the intimacy of these first few weeks to be maintained, and relives some of the pressure of traveling across town for your session. Two, these sessions tend to be more economical. A studio has to of course cover rent for the studio space, so naturally their prices have to be higher to cover this cost.

Scheduling a Newborn Session

Choosing a newborn photographer is best done earlier in your pregnancy rather than later. A true newborn session is done within the first two weeks of birth. After this two-week window, a baby’s sleep is less deep and therefore your session becomes more and more difficult, for the baby will be woken more easily and you’ll end up spending a majority of your session time soothing and feeding rather than getting photos.

Most photographers can do a combination maternity and newborn shoot as well. Maternity shoots are wonderful for birth announcements and baby showers and give you a chance to warm up to your photographer if you’ve never worked with them before.

Schedule your shoot based off your expected due date, but know that babies are on their own time-line, so ensure you book a photographer who is flexible and will work with you if the date needs to be adjusted.

Preparing for your In-Home Newborn Session

Really, all that is needed for your newborn session is one clean and distraction-free room. The best choice is a room which does not have a bunch of furniture or toys lying about. Ideally, the photographer will be looking for a room which has about a 5X5 foot area to set up their basket, newborn pillow, or crate for your shoot. Choose a room with a large window if available, as the natural light will give your images a creamy, soft feel which is perfect for newborn portraits!

Newborn Session Basics :

Pre-session Set-Up

Babies do very well for posing when they are in a very deep sleep. To encourage this, stimulate the baby at least two hours before the photographer’s scheduled arrival, and keep them awake for the whole two hours. A warm bath always does the trick! Also, refrain from feeding for 2 hours before the session. If you have a specific outfit you would like your baby to be in during the shoot, put them in this prior to the photographer’s arrival during this awake-time. If your photographer is planning on bringing wraps instead of outfits, just keep them in a diaper and wrap with a blanket until the photographer arrives for your session.

Once your photographer arrives, they will start to set up for the shoot. If the photographer has a wrap they want to have the baby in, put them in it at this time, then feed your baby. Once fed and burped, the session can begin as your little one starts to drift off!

Babies that have been asleep prior to the shoot are unfortunately the babies that are more difficult to pose because as soon as the blanket comes off, they get startled again and it’s back to trying to put them to sleep. That alone can take up to an hour, if not more, so keeping in mind the above preparation steps will help keep your baby sleepy and moldable during the session which will equate to more beautiful photos for you! 

Chances are, the shoot will last around 2- 2 1/2 hours so eat a good hearty meal before your photographer arrives. Pick out some clothes that are both comfortable and flattering. Your photographer will not only be taking portraits of your baby, but will also snap some candids while you are holding and cuddling them. This can be a very exciting and stressful time for you, especially when adding sleep deprivation in the mix, therefore prepping so that during the soot you are comfortable and at ease is just as important for you as it is for your baby!

 Newborn Session Basics :

What to Expect During a Session

It can pretty much be expected that at some point your little one will feel comfortable enough to make the photo set-up their personal bathroom! This is completely natural for babies to use blankets or props as their own personal potty. Don’t feel embarrassed, it happens more times than not. If you have a concern about sanitation, check with your photographer and ensure they wash all used props and blankets after each newborn session with non-scented detergent. 

Keeping the noise to a minimum and maintaining a calm environment during your session is key to a successful newborn shoot. You can even download a white noise app on your phone to keep close to your baby during the session which will help soothe and aid them to sleep. 

Since babies are usually photographed naked or with a light wrap, having a heating pad available and a space heater for the room will help to ensure baby is warm and comfortable. Sometimes photographers will have and bring these items, so check with them to see if purchasing these is necessary. If you do have a heater it definitely helps to set it up in the location/room you will be using. If you’re not sweating, it’s probably not warm enough for your baby!

Safety should be the top priority of any photographer when handling your baby. All eyes and hands are to be kept around your baby during posing. Some photographers are very experienced in this and will not need assistance, while others will prefer having your help as back-up while they shoot. Asking them their preference will help you work together for the best experience!