Newborn Session Prep Guide
I’m so honored to be photographing your newborn and your family in this special time of life. I wanted to take the time to give you some helpful hints and tricks to make sure this is the best newborn session for you and your family.
When your baby arrives, please text or email me when you get home to let me know he/she is here! We will then pick a day/time for the session.
My sessions are lifestyle newborn sessions. This means I do minimal posing. It is style of photography that is more focused on connection and love instead stiff posing. However, it is also not documentary style of photography. The way it is different is that it clients are guided into comfortable, flattering and sweet poses and interactions. You can read more about why I do lifestyle newborn photography here.
How to prepare for you Newborn Session
It’s such a wonderful time when you are preparing for a newborn, the last thing you should do is stress over getting ready for a newborn session. This is why I try to make it as easy as possible on new parents. My style for newborn session is lifestyle with baby-led posing.
What is baby-led posing?
Just like it sounds like, baby-led posing lets the baby show us what they are in the mood for. If they are happy lying on the bed, great! We’ll take pictures there. If they are fussy and and want to be held by Mommy, we’ll get those shots instead. I don't ever put a baby in an unnatural pose, and I don't spend countless hours calming or posing babies. I know how special this time is with your new baby and getting used to being a new family of three, four or whatever. I want to make the session be a reasonable amount of time, not hours and hours! So… we will get beautiful, natural portraits of your newborn baby while they are the most comfortable, so you can get back to bonding with your new love.
The main reason I do it this way is because I don’t want the sessions to be stressful for the baby or for the parents. A baby is most comfortable in their parents arms, so they should be that way for the majority of the session. And I never want parents to feel stress about their baby sleeping at the right time.
What about wardrobe?
I prefer families to wear soft colors for newborn sessions. Think a mixed palette of muted or pastel shades of some of the following: white, grey, blush pink, light blue, sage green, soft purple, and navy work as well. In addition to looking great, soft colors communicate a calm image. With that in mind, I recommend avoiding bright colors (such as red, hot pink or fuschia, bright teals and navys) which project a different vibe than a soothing newborn session. Light, muted colors and patterns photograph well. Think coordinating, not matching. If one person is wearing white have the others in the family wearing color. Navys, chambrays, greys and whites go well with pink or light purple. Please have someone wearing some color. It makes the pictures a little more interesting than if everyone wears the same color. I recommend laying out your clothes to see if they coordinate well together. But, wear what makes you comfortable. Cardigan with a flowy top and jeans, a flowy dress, etc. Being comfortable is the most important.
Newborns should wear something simple and timeless. A plain white, pastel blue, blush pink, green or a light checker patterned onesie or gown is ideal. A long sleeve body suit, long sleeve top and pant set, one piece knitted sleeper are also good.
Here are some ideas: www.pinterest.com/michellepanekphotos/outfits-for-newborn-session-2022/
To clean or not to clean?
Don’t worry about cleaning for me! You’ve just had a baby, so please don’t stress about organizing and “Marie Kondo-ing” before I get there! Again, I want this process to be as stress-free as possible. For the most part the sessions are done in the master bedroom, nursery or living room depending on how much light the rooms get at 9 am. (If your house gets better afternoon light, we can do it then instead.) We will do the session the room that gets the most morning light, usually near a big window.
If that room is the main bedroom, I recommend decluttering nightstands and stripping down to simple white bedding – either white sheets or a duvet without a cover. Not only does this provide a clean simple background, it reflects the light beautifully.
How long will the session last?
Newborn sessions start at 9:30 or 10 am. The baby is happiest at this time, and the morning light is best. Typically they last 1.5 hours. This is because I don’t rush you or the baby, and I don’t want you to stress about having the baby sleeping right when I get there. We let the baby get comfortable and I won’t rush or stress about the time. We will take breaks as needed for diaper changes, feedings and whatever else. My sessions are calm and relaxed. We will get the pictures, don’t worry about time or stress about anyone “behaving”. I have two hyper girls at home so I know how it goes. Even if the siblings are not into sitting still, we will just go with it and it will be fine!
Some quick tips for a stress-free session:
*Have kids well feed
*Don’t give them candy or suckers before we start. They will leave them in their mouth and you’ll just have pictures with them sucking a lollipop.
*Promise something fun later. Something to look forward to is always nice… but you know your kid, if they will be hyper focused on that ice cream trip it might not be good to start talking about it before the session.
*Prepare them ahead of time. Tell them what will be happening and tell it will be fun! I will make sure we have a little fun while we are taking pictures and we will let them take breaks! They will not have to “sit and smile” for 2 hours, I promise! I would stay away from the phrase “If you are good, then you’ll get x” Believe me, I’ve done it too, but I think psychologically it sets kids up thinking what they are going to do is not going to be fun and with that negative connotation and pressure right off the bat, it can just make them not want to cooperate for very long. I’ve seen sessions where parents are begging kids to “be good” and it just doesn’t go well. I promise of all the sessions I’ve done I have had not one kid do something to ruin the pictures, and yours won’t either. 💕
Wow, this seems like a lot of reading, so I thank you for taking the time to read through this. I hope this was helpful for planning for your newborn session. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you in any way. I look forward to meeting you and your little one(s)!
