What to expect at your newborn photoshoot

A newborn photo shoot can sometimes seem overwhelming, whether it's your first or your last. I come to your home, feel free to meet me in your pajamas, with your hair not brushed and your floors unvacuumed, you just had a baby.  

I send you a getting-ready guide beforehand, the most important task is to try to keep your little one awake. I know what you are going to say, "My baby is a newborn, all he/she does is sleep" and you are right, but keeping them up for just a little bit can help make sure that they stay asleep when I start posing them. Some babies let me move them and don't twitch an eyelid, some babies make the sweetest little sounds but stay asleep, then some babies wake up every time and we may have to try a pacifier to get them into that deep sleep. That being said, you do know your baby best, if they are super sleepy and you know they can handle some posing, then we are good to go. I do suggest a warm sponge bath about an hour before I come, this also helps wake them up, then get them sleepy. 

When I come in, I bring a whole bunch of things, a background stand, a light, a beanbag, and a rolling bin full of hats, wraps, headbands, backgrounds, and props. Typically a living room is a perfect place to set everything up. We can move the coffee table, I just need an outlet with two available plugs, one for my lights and one for my space heater.

I bring a space heater. It's going to get warm. I ask that you bump the heat a little before I get there, once I get there we can lower it again, it's just to get some warm air circulating in there. Newborns like to be warm, I also play a shushing sound. It's the app version of this  Shusher, it is the best sound machine and newborns love it!

Once I have the background stand put together and the beanbag down, we will go over backgrounds, wraps, hats, and headbands for little girls. I have a variety of colors and styles, something for everyone! I typically do about 5-6 poses in a newborn photo shoot. The poses I do naked if we are taking diapers off, and with a wrap, you will get all photos from the session.

For the shoot, we can either leave the diaper on, and I use a wrap over it to hide it, or we can take the diaper off.  Baby will have an accident on my blankets, this is absolutely okay. When I leave, my whole bin gets dumped into my washing machine, it's expected and totally fine.  If we take the diaper off, you will see a little side cheek, but that's really it, it does look a bit neater without the diaper, they can be bulky.

Not every newborn will do every pose. Baby's comfort is my top priority, if they are not liking the pose, we move on. I don't want to stress them or make them uncomfortable.

Usually, I do sibling portraits first, then family, then baby alone. This order keeps the older siblings interested because some shoots can last a few hours, they do better getting it done first, then they can go play. If big brother or big sister are a little camera shy and need some time to warm up, then we do baby first. 

It takes about 2-3 weeks to get everything to you. I edit everything and you receive it all, the only portraits you won't have in your gallery are ones that are technically wrong, or someone blinked. All digital files will be edited and ready to print!

My joy is capturing the perfect fleeting moment, the mischievous look and giggle of a child, the graceful curve of an expectant mother’s belly, the gentleness in a father’s big hands as he holds his newborn child, and the tenderness of real love.  When I look at the photos I have taken, I see not just an image of the person, but a glimpse into their true self; and I can feel that moment.  I want you to look back on your photos and feel the bliss of that moment forever.