Preparing for Your Newborn Session

Preparing for your Newborn Session

There is no more precious time in your life than those first few days welcoming home your newborn baby. Those days are fleeting and momentary and will pass in a blur of emotion and sleep deprivation!

I would love to be there to capture your newborn babies features, those sleepy newborn poses and most importantly your interactions and connection with your new baby FOREVER. Your newborn session is best scheduled between 5 and 15 days after birth. Please get in touch with me during your pregnancy to book your session.

 

WHERE?
The majority of my newborn sessions take place in your home.
Worried because your house is not as tidy as it usually? Don’t even stress out! You just had a BABY!  Clutter is definitely expected! I really don’t need much space and can shoot around any problem areas as much as possible.
It might just mean moving a few things around, which is easily done.

Your bedroom or the baby’s nursery is probably best for photographs anyway, so once the bed is dressed and that one room is tidy, we are good to go!

Nothing beats crisp white linen on the bed for newborn photographs

LOVELY LIGHT!
Nothing flatters like natural light, so I prefer to use it whenever possible and I will aim to use the brightest spot in your house (you can let me know in advance where that is)
For this reason, sessions are normally done mid-morning to late-afternoon when window lighting is as its best.
So wherever there is a large widow with a big source of light is best.

CRANK THE HEAT!
We recommend that you keep your home a bit warmer than normal during the session. (Like a warm 25-28 degrees or so and we can regulate as we need to)
Newborns are used to being all bundled up,warm + cosy…and if we then remove their blanket for the session, we don’t want them to feel startled and cold. Having the room nice and warm will still keep them cosy and ready to be photographed!
Pushing up the thermostat is guaranteed to make the session flow more smoothly and help them sleep better. We may get pretty hot, but your baby will be nice and warm…and that’s really all that matters!
Crank the heat 30 minutes before our session to ensure that it’s warm enough in time, a little heater beside where we are working works well and we can adjust the temperature as we need to.
Bonus points if you’re willing to make a few back and forth trips to the dryer to keep baby’s blankets warm! They love that!

 

LOOSEN UP!
Please loosen your baby’s nappy and clothing at least 30 minutes before the session. This gives those little imprint marks time to disappear. (You baby will be naked in some of the shots, but we pose them so that all the “important bits” are not on display.)

SLEEPY?
Most of the images I will be shooting work best if the baby is in a deep sleep. To encourage this, we recommend that you do whatever it takes to make sure baby is suitably tired. Keeping your little one awake a little longer before the session will help keep them nice and sleepy for the session. Perhaps a bath before the session might do the trick!

HUNGRY?
A well fed baby is a happy baby! Please feed and burp baby right before our session to ensure a happy, sleepy (“milk drunk”) baby. I’ll also be more than happy to take as many breaks as needed to help him/her re-fuel. It’s tough work being a model! So keep this in mind the morning of the session, that you may need to alter the feeding routine a little, so that he/she is good and hungry and then fed just before I arrive.

VOLUME CONTROL!
Please do whatever you can to keep the noise level to a minimum during our session. If you have other children that might create noise, try to find a sitter or family member to take them away from the home for a few hours. If you have a noisy pet, you may want to do the same. I’ll bring a white noise machine, to drown out the noise but it can only do so much.
* If you have children and would like them to be included in some photos, we recommend bringing them in at the beginning or end of a session. Only those being photographed should be present to help maintain a calm environment.

PATIENCE IS KEY!
Newborn sessions can last anywhere from 2-4 hours. It all depends on baby’s mood and willingness to sleep. Unfortunately…this isn’t something I can predict! And if  sleep doesn’t happen, that’s okay! Wide-eyed newborn photos are beautiful too.

PROPS!
If you have any family heirlooms, toys, hats, props, etc. that you would like me to use in your session, please gather them before I arrive. We may not get the chance to use ALL of the items, but I’ll look through them with you to determine what will work best. Also if you could have a few blankets to one side as well that we can use. Neutral colours like cream, white or grey work best.
*I also STRONGLY recommend that you discuss any ideas, props or poses you have in mind at least a week prior to your session.

BUT WHAT DO *I* WEAR?
This is an exciting time in your life and we want to capture all of that…so it would be great to have you in photographs as well. 
As far as clothing? Keep it simple. Throw in a little colour if you’d like, but skip the busy patterns. 
For mums, we suggest cotton or knit tops in neutral colours.