T I P S   FO R   S U C C E S S F U L  

N E W B O R N   S E S S I O N 

 

I recommend that you schedule your newborn session prior to your baby’s birth to ensure a spot on my calendar. Contact me during your second trimester and I schedule you. Then, shoot me an email soon after you deliver so we can arrange a time for the session.

 

Newborn sessions MUST be scheduled within the first 10 days of life. However, the BEST time is between 3-7 days after their arrival. I'll be moving them around and scrunching them into those sweet sleepy newborn positions, so I want to make sure they’re sleepy enough to allow me to handle them. Babies just tend to do a lot better with the session within their first 7 days. Somewhere around day 8-10 they discover the joy that is stretching! Once that happens…they’re not about to let me get them into those curly poses without a fight! After day 10, it’s almost impossible to get baby into that deep sleep that came so easily in their first few days…so it’s unlikely that I'll be able to get them into any of the more bendy newborn poses.

 

* The majority of my newborn sessions take place in my home.  If the weather is warm enough and you’re 

comfortable with the idea, we can take the session outdoors. My newborn sessions take place mid-morning to early 

afternoon.

 

* Please loosen your baby’s diaper and clothing at least 30 minutes before the session. This gives those little imprint marks time to disappear.  

 

* Most of the images I'll be shooting work best if the baby is in a deep sleep. To encourage this, I recommend that you do whatever it takes to make sure baby is nice and exhausted.

 

* A well fed baby is a happy baby! Please feed and burp baby right before our session to ensure a happy, sleepy baby. If you have a little bit of a drive, I recommend feeding them here right before the session, if you do that please be here a few minutes earlier. I'll also be more than happy to take as many breaks as needed.  

 

* Please do whatever you can to keep the noise level to a minimum during our session. If you have children and would like them to be included in some photos, I recommend bringing them in at the beginning or end of a session and then having someone take them. Only those being photographed should be present to help maintain a relaxing environment.

 

* Newborn sessions can last anywhere from 2-3 hours. It all depends on baby’s mood and willingness to sleep. I ask that everyone remain calm, should he/she not want to sleep, since your baby will pick up on any frustration in the room.  Your baby is going to be in the buff for the majority of this shoot. Please don’t panic if your baby decides to use my blankets (or me) as his/her own personal diaper. This is natural and I expect it! Please don’t worry when this happens, because they all do it. I wash all of my baby props and blankets between each session with non-scented baby detergent. 

It would definitely be helpful if you had a stack of towels, extra wipes and blankets available for when things get out of control!

 

Remember just to relax and have fun!!!