Newborn Session: what to know.
So, you have finally met this most amazing, most wonderful, most loved person in the world – your baby. The baby surely looks a lot like your significant other, but has your eyes, and maybe smile; or perhaps, s/he looks like a bag of potatoes, but certainly, the sweetest kind of potato. You’ve been through the tears of pain, of disappointment (if ended up with c-section), of joy, and now, safely at home, you are ready for this new marvelous stage of your life.
Long before (hopefully), you have booked your newborn photographer, possibly looked through a bunch of baby photos online, and are now anticipating this peaceful quick photoshoot. Surely, your baby will sleep through the session (don’t they all look so peaceful in photos?) and you will soon be admiring your fresh new canvas in the carefully decorated nursery. As you are dosing off into this harmonious daydreaming, poignant and annoying thoughts start to creep up: what if the baby doesn’t sleep through the session? what if you are late for the studio shoot? what if you need to breastfeed? what if you are just too tired to enjoy the session? what if…?
Here are few tips that will help you relax and understand what to expect.
- Not all babies will sleep through the whole session, or sleep at all for that matter. Just accept it as a possibility ahead of time. We are all human and have our own whims, even at 7 days old. Comfortably hot temperature (80-85F), being really young (6-14 days) and milk drunk increase your chances significantly but do not guarantee it. If needed, your photographer will start the session with more genuine family shots or just pick suitable poses that look great with open eyes or those adorable yawns. Eventually, most babies will get asleep, after being tired of posing.
Baby Emma didn’t want to fall asleep in the beginning of the session, so we did beautiful gentle and genuine mom-and-baby shots to get it started. Tired out by the session, Emma soon got asleep. - Where possible, choose a photographer who will come to your house. This will make things much easier for you. Many photographers will offer to “bring the studio to you”. This way, you don’t have to worry about being late – (and if you are a punctual person you will soon discover that you are not the one dictating the rules in your house any more :)) In the comfort of your own home, you will find it easier to breastfeed, you won’t have to dress up, you and your significant other can take turns taking naps or showers, or just relax in your favorite armchair with your favorite tea (or wine? No judging here!) and watch.
This shot was done in a small nursery on a posing bean bag. - Think ahead of time about any props that you may want to use in the session (and let your photographer know of course). Maybe, you have a hat that you wore as a baby or a handmade blanket that the granny made for your precious newborn. It’s always very fulfilling to add some personal history to your photo story.
Parents wanted to use this cute hat that is memorable to them, and it’s easily one of the best shots of the session. - Trust your photographer. Once you have done your research and decided on a specific person with their style for such a serious job as taking memories for you family at one of your most vulnerable times, rely on the person to know their art. They will pose the baby, and you, and take great shots for you to treasure all your life.
PS. I would like to thank this beautiful family for letting me create their memories!
