Successful Newborn Session Guide

We have provided a list of helpful information based on our experience with working newborns for many years. The goal is to have a successful session but to ensure this YOU MUST DO YOUR part and FOLLOW all of these instructions.

WATCH WHAT YOU EAT!!!

If you are nursing, NO CAFFEINE < NO COFFEE,  NO POP NO CAFFEINE !!!! be sure you’re careful with what you eat for about a day leading up to the session. Any sort of spicy foods can make the baby uncomfortable or upset his/her 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!

KEEP YOUR BABY AWAKE:

Keep your baby awake in the couple hours leading up to the session to ensure he/she is good and sleepy for the session. If the baby has slept all morning and then arrives to the session, he/she just might be ready for a long awake period, which makes the job of getting them sleepy all that much harder. Parents always think it won’t be a problem because their baby sleeps all the time, but I cannot stress enough that once they are naked and being moved around un-swaddled , they NEVER stay that way. But, if you follow these instructions, it will help tremendously! To keep your baby awake, talk and play with him/her, give him/her a bath – whatever it takes to keep him/her alert for an hour or two. So when you arrive to the my studio, baby will be ready for a long nap!

FEED YOUR BABY:

Make sure your baby has a nice, full tummy before you leave the house to come to your session. Make sure you get a good burp in too! A baby with gas is not a happy baby and can result in lots of crying. Assuming your drive isn’t too long, the baby will probably fall asleep in the car and will be ready to go when he/she gets to the studio. We can top baby off if needed.

BRING A PACIFIER AND BOTTLES:

If your baby does not currently take a pacifier, I recommend bringing one anyway to use FOR THE SESSION ONLY. The pacifier is essential to soothing the baby’s need to suck and also releases endorphins helping them to relax and allow me to ease them into poses. It is an extremely helpful tool during all my sessions and strongly recommended. If you’re breastfeeding, please pump breast milk before your session and bring bottles with breast milk, or provide extra formula just for your session. It is best to bring breast milk in a bottle or formula and a soother (pacifier) , even if it is just for the few hours of your session, it is not required but recommend, because it could make session take longer and we might not get as many photos.
I can feed baby with a bottle more quickly and it prevents the baby from smelling you and wanting to feed more than necessary. Babies always eat way more than usual during their newborn session. If you are using cloth diapers please bring disposable ones. Most cloth diapers are bulky and they do not fit under most of my outfits.

DRESS BABY IN LOOSE-FITTING CLOTHING:

Bring baby in a button-up or zip-up sleeper – preferably a loose fitting one. If the baby arrives nice and sleepy in his/her car seat and then we have to remove shoes and socks, pants, and take a shirt off over his/her head – it almost always wakes them up. It’s much simpler to zip down and slip off pajamas while the baby remains asleep! And if the pajamas are loose-fitting, then ideally there won’t be many lines left behind on the baby’s skin.

WHAT TO WEAR:

Wear something comfortable.WE rarely show anything below the waist in family portraits, so you can wear shorts, jeans, or whatever else you choose. BLACK or cream WORK best for capturing family photos, manicured hands and finger nails for both Mom and Dad, no elastics on wrists for fancy jewelry, wedding rings ON, no watches. Siblings should wear outfit to mach parents or soft timeless colors to match photos taken with baby.  Please make sure kiddos faces are free from, runny noses, hair is brushed and off their face and they are very well rested.

DRESS IN LAYERS:

The studio will be HOT we keep the studio extremely warm, so I always suggest you dress lightly or in layers.  You can always change into another outfit when it is time for you to be photographed.

BRING SNACKS:

I recommend bringing a lunch or some snacks and plenty of water.
PROVIDE pick up for Siblings:  Please arrange childcare for your other children and have them dropped off here for the beginning of the session or for the last hour of the shoot if you would like them to be involved in some photos. If it works better for you, one parent can stay home and come with the sibling(s) at the end.

AFTER YOUR SESSION:

Your finished photos from your session will be sent to you by digital download with a print release and password within 30~60 days after your session. You will download all of your photos and save them on your desktop or hard drive. Your digital gallery will expire within 30 days so remember to download all of your photos. The amount of photos depends on how well your session goes. All photos are carefully selected by the photographer and professionally edited and retouched. I show a “Sneak Peek” on my social media pages Facebook & Instagram page’s so please make sure you like and follow our social fan page’s so you don’t miss it. The remainder of balance is also due when your session is complete, you can pay with cash, check or credit card.

Please do not feel disappointed or frustrated should your baby want to be awake and visit during our session instead of sleep, they may be wiggly and not hold poses, it can sometimes take a LONG time before we even get one shot, this is OK!  It is common for newborns to be awake when out of their element.

Just remember these are tiny human beings who have only been part of our world for a very short amount of time. They require a lot of patience , TONS of training and experience you may be surprised how much work goes into creating just one stunning image. Most searching for newborn photographers do not realize, the importance of a photographer with many years of experience for newborn safety, keeping baby comfy, and parents informed on what is to be expended. Newborns can pick up on stress, so I try and keep it low key as posable and just suggest we have fun during the session.
PLEASE go back and review everything listed here!! it is very important for you to help us prepare for a successful session.