Newborn Shoot information and preparation
Congratulations, its such an exciting time!
Here are some tips and info to help your newborn session run as smoothly as possible.
We try and schedule newborn shoots to start between 9 and 10am as babies have deep, natural sleep around that time which we can use in our favour.
Please allow up to four hours for the session - however they usually only take 2-3 hours depending on how baby settles.
Please keep baby awake as much as humanly possible between morning wake up and when you arrive. It sounds crazy if you have a laid back baby but this gives us a much higher chance of settling baby into a deep sleep in order to pose them safely. However we do know that its impossible to keep a newborn asleep in the car, so don’t worry if they nap on the way.
If possible please delay feeding him or her until you arrive. It’s unusual for a baby this age to be in a feeding routine, but if they are let us know and we can work start times around their schedule. Likewise, if they wake much earlier or later than expected on the day of the shoot just drop us a line and we can shift the start time to fit around their next scheduled feed.
When you arrive we’ll ask you to strip baby down to his or her nappy, wrap them in a blanket and begin feeding. Once fed, if baby is happy and settled, we will take your baby and get him or her used to our touch and smell while they (hopefully) settle into a deep sleep. Your baby will be in full sight and just a couple of metres away from you at all times. You have complete control over the session.
Now you get to relax and have a well deserved drink while you watch us work.
We usually do parent and sibling shots towards the end of the session, however if you have an older child with nursery or school commitments we can flip this and shoot them first. We do suggest that we get dad or a relative to take siblings off to play during the newborn shots as it can be long, boring and fairly stressful for you to entertain your other children. - We usually photograph babies naked so the room tends to be quite hot (between 25 and 28 degrees) so please wear layers. If you really don't want your baby naked just let us know, we can cover baby with wraps and blankets.
At the beginning of the session we will go through your preferences with props - If you have a colour scheme in mind or an item or toy you would particularly like included then please let us know ahead of the shoot so we can think about the best way to include it.
Please remember to bring extra milk for bottle or mix fed babies - they often need an extra ounce or so settle, when they’re being handled.
Also please bring a blanket from home - it helps me settle them if we have something that smells of mum to hand.
Clothing wise, for you, your partner and any siblings - try and stick to plain colours. Lights and neutrals work well. Please avoid, bold colours, patterns and big logos. For you, it is most important that you are comfortable, above everything else - so wear whatever you feel best in from your, most likely limited, post natal wardrobe.
Please do try and let us know asap after baby arrives - ideally within 48 hours - a text or email is fine.
Newborn At Home or “Lifestyle” Sessions
As well as the points above, please do pop your heating on, so the house is a little warmer than usual, between 20-25 degrees.
We find the best clothing for a newborn at home session is a shortsleeved plain onsie, white works really well.
Please don’t worry about your home being show-house perfect. We will work around you and happily move anything out of shot if needs be. We’ve had babies, we know how it is!
We will bring a few blankets and posing aids to help us, but a much more limited range than you see in the studio sessions. If there is a particular item you have seen in images that you would like, please do let us know ahead of the session.