Below are our recommendations for preparing for your newborn session at our studio. We have found that careful preparation and consideration of the following items ensure that your session goes smoothly and that you will have beautiful newborn portraits that you will treasure for a lifetime.
- Please try and KEEP YOUR NEWBORN AWAKE FOR 2-3 HOURS before arriving at the studio. This may mean someone will have to entertain them during the ride in the car! We understand this can be a challenge, but do your best as this will help ensure a smooth session. We promise. There is a reason we ask for this!
- When you get here, we will ask you to feed baby a FULL feeding to get him/her nice and “milk drunk,” so try to schedule accordingly. PLEASE SCHEDULE YOUR FEEDING SO BABY IS HUNGRY WHEN YOU ARRIVE. At this point, your baby will be VERY ready to sleep which is what we want. Newborns are happiest when they are well rested and have a full tummy.
- Dress your baby in a zip-up or button-up onsie, so that when we undress him/her at the studio, we won’t have to pull anything over his/her head and risk disturbing your baby too much. When you arrive we will help get baby undressed and handle your newborn when you arrive, as we are experts at moving newborns without disturbing their comfort!
- If your baby boy is not circumcised immediately after birth, please DO NOT HAVE YOUR BABY BOY CIRCUMCISED right before his session. If you must do so, please do it at least 5 days before we see you, so your baby has time to heal. Please let us know if we need to take this into consideration when scheduling your session.
- We almost always schedule newborn sessions for first thing in the morning when babies seem to be at their best and mom’s milk is the richest.
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- Newborns photograph beautifully while sleeping. In order to get those perfect sleepy newborn shots, our studio is often heated to 80 degrees during the session and we use space heaters, blankets and noise machines to get your baby into that happy, sleepy state. Please dress accordingly for this.
- Please note that sometimes it takes some time to get your baby asleep and that is okay. We will ask to take your baby from you, so that you can rest while we coax him/her to sleep. Often, especially with mom, baby smells mommy and thinks it’s time to eat!
- Please BRING A BOTTLE OF BREAST MILK OR FORMULA AND A PACIFIER WITH YOU to the session. We will ONLY use it if absolutely necessary to calm and soothe your baby in the middle of shot. We understand mothers are trying to establish good breast-feeding habits and are concerned about nipple confusion. If you are adamantly against this, please let us know and we will accommodate your needs.
- Newborns are absolute perfection when they wear nothing at all. For variety and some fun pops of color, we also like to use the swaddling blankets and wraps. We have an enormous collection of props, swaddles and backdrops and will create a set design that we are sure you will love based on the information you provide in your questionnaire. If you have color preferences, please let us know before hand and we will coordinate that for your session. We will choose which items photograph best in the color schemes you love.
- Mom and dad are always welcome and encouraged to join for pictures with baby. If you’d like to do some family/relationship portraits with baby, there are few things as stunning as skin-on-skin shots of a newborn and the proud parents. Dad can be shirtless for some shots, as can Mom, or she could wear a strapless bra or tank top. Images for this type of shot are generally closely cropped. If you prefer not to take skin-on-skin shots, we recommend that you wear neutral clothing for images with your baby.
- Parent images are included with all sessions, so for Dad please wear a long sleeved neutral toned (brown, cream, olive, tan) shirt and jeans or casual pants. Mom’s need to bring a nude colored bra. Strapless is preferred. We will be wrapping mom in fabric here at the studio for that strapless “skin-on-skin” look. Moms can also bring a neutral muted tone, snug fitting tank top if they prefer. Also, an extra set of clothes for the parents is a good idea, just in case of “accidents!”
- When doing the poses where the baby is undressed, it is normal (and okay!) for him or her to “relieve” him or herself during the session. We can assure you this happens all the time and we are not upset or offended. We have wipes and towels on hand for this purpose. After each newborn session we launder all of our backdrops and other items the baby comes in contact with with baby “safe” detergent and hot water.
- Please know that there is no rush with a newborn session. We like to give special attention to each client, especially newborn sessions. Sessions can go as long as 4 hours. Please know that we do not mind waiting for you to feed or change baby, or taking a break to soothe your baby. That’s part of what we offer as custom portrait studio … the time we can provide!
- Please only bring those who are to be photographed to the studio. If you are bringing older children to be photographed with baby, we recommend bringing someone who can watch the older children while baby is being photographed. If siblings are involved we usually photograph family and sibling images first, then move on to baby alone. At that time, it often works well if your babysitter or dad takes the older children home or on a walk while we finish the session.
We understand that this is an exciting time for your family and that you want to document everything with video and photos however, WE DO NOT ALLOW CAMERAS AND OTHER RECORDING DEVICES IN THE STUDIO. OUR IMAGES ARE PROTECTED BY FEDERAL COPYRIGHT LAWS THAT SAFEGUARD ARTIST’S WORK. Thank you for understanding.
