Newborn Guide from A to Z
First off, I'd like to thank Amber Rust of Two Color Photography for letting me use this guide that took her quite a lot of time to create. Thank you Amber!
So you’re expecting a baby?! Maybe you’ve just had a new baby. Have you booked your newborn’s first portrait session? There are so many questions surrounding that first session. Can I bring my own outfits? Can I be in the pictures with my newborn? What is expected from me during the session? The most common question of all: What if my baby poops on the photographer during the session?
I know that you are exhausted from being pregnant, or from just having a baby, and I know that any free time you may have once had may be non existent but please please take a few moments to read this guide.
A: Appointment – Book your appointment in the beginning of your 3rd trimester to ensure we can fit your newborn in! I book my pregnant moms by their due date. This gives me a good idea of how many newborns I have at a given time. Once you deliver, give us a call and we’ll finalize your appointment! If you’ve already delivered your baby don’t worry, I always leave a day open each week for last minute appointments.
B: Binky – Babies need to suck to soothe. Sometimes the difference between nailing the pose and missing it is as simple as that binky. Studies show that babies need to suck to soothe. Please consider bringing a binky to use in the off chance that my soothing technics aren’t effective.
C: Calm – Babies can sense when mom is nervous. Babies can sense when I’m nervous. It is so important to remain calm and relaxed before and during the session. Even if you’re running a few minutes late (one of the biggest causes of anxiety before a session), it’s okay. I’ve planned for a little wiggle room. It’s more important that you arrive relaxed then it is to feel anxious that you’ve arrived a few minutes late.
D: Diaper – Put baby’s diaper on loosely right before coming to the session. That will help minimize any marks on the baby’s skin from the elastic in the diaper.
E: Eat – You can diet AFTER the newborn session! It is imperative that you eat enough calories to help establish your milk if you’re nursing. Lots of milk = full tummy = happy, sleepy baby.
F: Feed – Before you arrive at your newborn session, feed your baby a full feeding plus some! The term often used is milk drunk! We’ll take as many pit stops during the session as needed to fill baby back up if they’re running on low.
G: Gassy – Make sure and burp your baby after her very full feeding. A gassy tummy can make a very sad baby. If your baby tends to be very gassy, you can look into options like gripe water. You can also try avoiding caffeinated beverages {gasp} for a few days before the session. Dairy has also been thought to be the cause of a gassy baby. Sometimes just being posed on their belly in those squishy newborn poses will help work the bubbles out on their own.
H: Heat – It’s going to be warm….very, very warm during your newborn’s session. My goal is to get the studio up to about 80 degrees.
I: Instagram – Remember when you snap a cell shot of me in action and send it on it’s way to the interweb… just remember to tag me first…and let me know when your going to snap a shot, so I can suck in and smile lol! I love it when you tell your friends what a great time you’re having – real time – during your newborn session!
J: Joy – I love newborn photography because they bring me so much joy. There is nothing in the world as soothing as holding a brand new baby as they drift off to sleep. Every single baby leaves their mark on my heart, thank you for trusting me with your little slice of joy!
K: Kids– If you want siblings in the session, please let me know in advance. I may hold the sibling shots off to the end of the session or right at the beginning. If someone is available to bring the siblings over to the studio toward the end of the session or take them home, it makes them so much happier (it’s quite boring for a 2 year old to sit in a warm, quiet environment for 2 hours), it also helps the session go smoother.
L: Location – Half of my newborn sessions are shot in my home studio and the other half are done in the comfort of the newborns home. Newborn sessions are always scheduled in the mornings or early afternoon when needed.
M: Mom – Your job during the session is to catch up on any reading, sleeping, or social media! If you opt to be in a few of the pictures, those will be done at the very beginning or towards the end of the session. At that point, I will be using you as a prop! I will show you how I want your hands positioned, then I will hand you your baby and maneuver hands, feet and head to get the perfect shot. You are my play dough!
N: Natural – My newborn sessions are natural and baby led. What I mean by baby led is you won't see me putting them in any unnatural poses like the froggy pose. I want for you to remember your baby the way they stretched, the way they yawned, the way they like to placed their hands, the way they are; after all your precious newborn is no frog.
O: Outfits – My style of newborn photography is baby focused! A newborn in a simple white onsie is beautiful and all focus is kept on baby. If you have an outfit a closet full of outfits you want to use in your session, please take inventory and pick ONE of your favorite outfits if you must. We’ll use it at the end of the session if baby is still cooperative.
P: Props – I keep things pretty prop free so the focus can be on your baby and not a busy background full of things. If you have something special you would like used in your session, let me know and we will chat about it.
Q: Questions – When you book your newborn session, please let me know if you have any additional questions.
R: Restless – You may see me rocking, and rocking your baby when they are restless. While I rock, I’m watching your baby for the signs that they are entering the deep sleep that I need for a lot of the newborn poses. On average, it takes about 20-30 minutes of swaying and rocking to get baby into a deep, deep sleep if they are fussy. I will never spend that long rocking though, if they do not settle within 5-10 minutes of rocking I will swaddle them. Not all babies will want to go to sleep and that is fine please don't fret about it a swaddled baby is usually content, calm and as perfect as can be.
S: Supplies – Please don't forget the supplies we may need: wipes, newborn diapers, burp clothes, binky wipes, blankets, binky
T: Time – Expect your newborn session to take anywhere between 1 -2 hours so please choose your session accordingly. Babies are on their own schedule with eating and sleeping, so it’s my job to just be patient with them and enjoy rocking them to sleep!
U: Unpredictable – I think we all know that babies are very unpredictable. I’m VERY good with babies. I’ve had a couple of my own. I’ve learned a lot of little tricks to soothe your newborn. I’m going to very respectfully ask you to sit back and let me do my magic, I’ll let you know when I think baby needs to be fed, otherwise, I’ve got this, I actually enjoy “dancing” your newborn to sleep, and it eliminates the hand-off when mom gets baby to sleep and hands baby to me … and …. baby ends up waking up.
V: Value – What do you receive for your investment? Your session comes with 20-25 edited images depending on the session you choose. Expect a 2 week turn around time from the day of your session to the day we deliver your gallery.
W: Wet – The one thing I can almost guarantee will happen…. I will be peed on multiple times in a newborn photography session! I am prepared for that. Towels, wipes, rags all within easy reach for a quick clean up!
X: eXcrement – Guess what, your baby will poop. Probably more than once. Sometimes once per set-up! I’m used to it, I expect it, I dress for it! I wear $5 t-shirts from Walmart that I can throw away when they get pooped on! All of my fabrics are specially made for newborns, they are all washable and get washed between each session! Everybody poops!
Y: Young – Your baby should be UNDER 14 days old for her newborn photography session. It seems that once they hit 14 days old they start to get baby acne, they aren’t as deep of sleepers, and they aren’t as flexible. This doesn’t, however, mean that if your baby is over 14 days old that we won’t do a session. No matter the age, babies are beautiful. We just might have to work a little harder to keep baby asleep!
Z: Zzzzzzz – If we follow the A-Z, hopefully we will have a lot of Zzzzs and an amazing newborn photography session! Z also stands for how many dads fall asleep during their newborn’s session!
Link to original A to Z Guide