How to prep for your newborn session

 

General prepping

Bring some drinks and snacks for yourself and anyone else at the shoot. Even for pets if they come along! Photoshoots can run long. They are on the babies time. So being prepared for food is great. I do have water at the studio . But bring anything else you might want to drink or eat. 

If siblings are coming, bring some entertainment for them.Things like Toys, books, Ipad, Etc…

Bring at least one change of clothing in case they poo or peep on the original one between changes. 

Bring extra bottles and some formula if bottle feeding. 

A hairbrush if they have hair. 

Pack any wraps, props, outfits, headbands or blankets you want to bring yourself .

There are lots of wraps you can get online for your session. Jersey knit fabrics are great for wrapping the little ones up. For outfits long sleepers or bottom knot sleepers work great. Try to avoid super poofy bottoms or tops for girls. As well as any shirts that have poofy shoulders boys or girls. Things in theory are cute, but photographing them can be hard. Please send any photos over if you have questions about them!

Pacifier. It is not a must. If you are going to use them they can be a life saver during the session. 

Bring along any lotion or oils you have for smoothing out the babies skin. As long as you used it prior to the shoot. You don’t want to have a reaction the day of the shoot!

Bring extra clothes for yourself. Spit ups can happen !

Try to keep your baby up just a little before the shoot. This way by the time they come to the studio they are ready for a feeding (unless you did it at home) and can sleep for the posed photos. 

Loosen up your babies diapers and clothing at home before you come. It will help with not having tight imprints on the skin. 

Bring along any music, or baby shushers they like. We can play things on our phones as well.

For nursing Moms, be careful with what you eat for about a day leading up to the session. Any woman who has nursed a baby knows that any sort of spicy foods can make the baby uncomfortable or upset their tummy. And an upset tummy will always mean lots of tears and little sleep! So avoid spicy foods, or any foods the baby may have allergies to, at all costs!

The studio could  be warm for the newborn. So dress in layers in case you need to shed some clothing. You need to be comfortable as well!

Shoots can last a long time. So just in case we are waiting around for the little one to become sleepy again you can bring a book, magazine, iPad or anything to pass some time.

Babies run the show! If your newborn is fussy that is ok! This might be one of the first times you are leaving your house after their birth. So if your baby is not comfortable it can upset you. But don’t worry, Patience is key in newborn photography and we might have to wait it out. Newborns can sense their parents emotions and this can play a big role on how the session goes. As long as you are calm they are more likely to be as well.

What do I have at the studio for you to use?

You can come in with nothing (for a studio session) and your session will be handled! I have an array of wraps, bins, and blankets. 90% of what you see on my website was my own. I sometimes rotate props so if you happen to see anything on my site you really love screen capture it and ask if I still have it.  I also have some headbands and hats. If you want anything in particular for hats or bows feel free to bring your own in.

A lot of my style is geared towards a boho neutral vibe. But I do have pops of color that can be utilized as well. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out!

What do I need for an at home lifestyle session?

Newborn season at home can be a messy time. I am completely open to shooting your at home session any way you want! If you want to have it as natural as possible documenting the REAL LIFE messes and beauty of it all… I AM SO HERE FOR THAT. And you just need to just be awake when I’m there haha.  No need to clean up anything!

If you want to have a bit more polished look. The joking “make it look like no one lives here vibe” is cool as well haha. Sometimes for that its best to pick up things in the nursery, bedroom, and living room. Generally that is where we would shoot the most.

For at home lifestyle shoots I do not bring along any props. We will only use what blankets and clothes you have at home. I have no problem doing more “posed in props” photos at you lifestyle session if you have things at your home that can be utilized. Other than that everything will be more natural!

Please email or send a text over with the layout of rooms in your house around the time of day we are shooting so I can get a feel for what I will do!

Keep your home decently warm for the tiny one to be comfortable in poses. Also if you have a space heater have that pulled out in case we need it.

I love to use as much natural light as I can for in home sessions. So open up those blinds! I can bring along my own lights to help when window light is lacking too.

Try to keep the baby up before your in home session earlier in the morning. And then feed right before I am to be there. You will be able to feed as needed during the shoot too.

 

There are lots of wraps you can get online for your session. Jersey knit fabrics are great for wrapping the little ones up. For outfits long sleepers or bottom knot sleepers work great. Try to avoid super poofy bottoms or tops for girls. As well as any shirts that have poofy shoulders boys or girls. Things in theory are cute, but photographing them can be hard. Please send any photos over if you have questions about them!

What should we wear?

Everyone’s style is different. It really depends on what type of session you are going for. Please reach out and send me any photos of what you plan to wear so I can be sure to style sets for you. You can play it up and dress up fancy. Maybe you want it to be dressed down and natural and want to wear something you always wear. The possibilities are endless. 

If your outfits wrinkle a lot try to steam them before you come to your session and hang them in your car when driving.

A great idea if you’re unsure of what you want to do is to take screen shots from my site that you like and style yourself . Or you can take. Look at some ideas here on Pinterest! 

https://www.pinterest.com/CtgPhotography/newborn-shoot-outfit-ideas/

• Avoid neons!

• Solid colors can work great  for families. If you add in patterns space it out between the family.

• Neutrals seem to be classic and look great in the studio.

 

The flow of the session

I generally will start with family photos. If you have other children coming to the session we will all start together so that when they lose interest in what’s going on you can play with them and walk around the studio and/or halls while I do the newborns part of the session. 

When the baby needs a break we will take a break. These sessions are on their time. Do not get discouraged if we have crying moments. They don’t like that we are changing them between outfits and disrupting their sleep or comfortability.