I love shooting newborns. It takes patience, practice, and perseverance, but like all things that require this dedication the results are well worth the effort.
I often run through a list of things that might be helpful for new parents to know before a session. I thought it might be helpful to share them here for all to see.
1. If you’re interested in a session and are expecting feel free to contact me with your estimated due date. I feel strongly that it should really be an estimated due month but having a date to put on my calendar reminds me to leave some wiggle room around that time to ensure that you get your baby session.
2.Ideally newborn sessions happen between 3-10 days of age. This gives your baby a little time to settle into life but not so much time that s/he has realized that there is a big world they can stretch their body out into.
3.Every session is one-of-a-kind because newborn sessions take place in their home. (Psst! if you’re worried about the mess feel free to browse through the baby gallery… every single picture was made at the baby’s home. As you can see (or not) every other family with a newborn has an immaculately clean house.)
4.If you have items that have sentimental value that you’d like to include in your session they will add your family’s unique touch. Items that would be great to include would be hats, blankets, stuffed toys, etc. More than once a blanket or hat has become the sentimental item after I find it and ask that it be included.
5.Sessions can take as little as 45minutes or as long as 3 hours. I’m not stressing, you don’t need to stress, and that will help settle the baby.
6.Warm up the room as much as possible, ideally 80-85 degrees. We, as the adults, will be toasty but the baby will be comfortably sleepy – perfect for those curled up baby pictures.
7.A full baby is a sleepy happy baby, so try to time a feeding for right before the session. I am happy to stop for nursing/cuddling breaks as many times as we need to – I’m in no rush. I love what I do and breaks are part of the process for most babies.
8.I am more than happy to include mom, dad, and/or siblings in newborn sessions. The sweetness of a family growing and changing to include the newest addition… it’s amazing. If I don’t suggest it (I’m working on being better about this) it’s only because I don’t want to put you on the spot. Feel free to speak up to tell me you’d like to be in some pictures!
Anything else I should add to this list?
For more information about baby sessions see the maternity and newborn gallery page.
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