The Anatomy of a Perfect Newborn Session

I adore shooting newborns.  It takes a lot of patience (and the acceptance that you may be peed or pooped on), but I get to spend the day with an adorable newborn baby and at the end I get to give parents beautiful photos that are the start to a whole new chapter in their family album.  I have shot so many newborns that I have learned what it takes to make a session go right and I can spot right away when a session is going to go badly.  I focus on lifestyle newborn photography, which takes place in your home and focuses on capturing those beautiful real moments of your newborn in your arms and in his or her nursery.  This is a beautiful opportunity to take some authentic photographs of everyday life with your wonderful new baby in your home.  I recommend shooting these in the first 5-12 days to capture some of the adorable curled up poses and fuzzy squishy qualities that newborns have.  I can take some of those great curled up shots in your home and some sweet moments of you all together.  Below are some tips for a great session!

• No baby nurses allowed.  If you have a baby nurse in your home please ask her to stay in a room we are not shooting in because it can get very hectic having another set of hands there and does not end in good results.  We also want to create an intimate environment to be able to capture beautiful real moments and having a baby nurse or grandparent present in the room can change the whole atmosphere. 
• Keep the space we’re shooting in clean and de-cluttered.  When I shoot in your home I am using natural light so I will look around and determine the best places to take pictures so you should have your whole home clean for the photos.  Clutter looks bad in photos and is always the #1 thing people ask me to photoshop out and it’s not always possible and can be costly when it is.  
• Warm it up!  Keep the heat on high.  We may all be a little sweaty, but I promise you your naked baby will be very happy!  Babies need heat- way more than we do- so we need to keep the space very warm to keep them comfortable and happy for the photos.
• Keep it tranquil.  All babies are different, but for the most part newborns will do best in quiet, white sound, or soft lullabies.  I will bring along white sound and lullabies so it’s important to turn off any tvs or stereos that you have on during the shoot.
• Pick the right time of day for your newborn.  Not all newborns are on schedules yet so it’s hard to know, but by the end of the second week you may have a sense of when your newborn likes to be awake and asleep so lets pick a time of a day when your newborn is sleepiest.  There’s nothing worse then when I get to your home and hear a baby nurse say “I don’t know why you scheduled now the baby is always awake this time of day.”
• Limit the number of people in your home during the shoot.  The shoot should be limited to only the people being photographed, which if you want to try and take any traditional newborn should be just the parents (and an older sibling if there is one).  Inviting grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. is distracting for the baby and especially if there are older children is a recipe for disaster.

Here are some examples of my favorite lifestyle sessions-