The minute your baby arrived, you fell head over heels in love, right? You want to remember every minute of these special days for the rest of your life because they go by so quickly.
After a few days, you have adjusted to all the fresh emotions and enthusiasm. This moment is the ideal opportunity to capture some memories.
I have written this guide on how to prepare for a newborn photoshoot with information on baby clothes, how to manage your baby’s sleep and feeding for the photoshoot as well as the perfect time to schedule your newborn shoot ahead of time.
5 Ways to Prepare for a Newborn Photoshoot
Schedule Your Session Ahead Of Time
Be Organised and Prepare
For a newborn photoshoot, I will provide not just you, but your newborn with some comfy knitted clothes, so you do not need to worry about bringing outfit changes. I always advise my clients to dress their newborn in clothes that are easy to remove. So no outfits just easy to remove onsies.
My dresses are designed for women to feel comfortable and they look really flattering post partum.
I offer styling advice too, so please feel free to ask me if you book me as your newborn photographer.
Sit Back and Relax
Sit back and relax. Have faith in your newborn photographer and trust their patience. My newborn sessions are planned with plenty of time to allow for delays for instance just like needing to feed your newborn or change their nappy.
My newborn photoshoots are baby-led, this opens up their personalities in the photos and creates less tension as we follow your baby’s lead, whether they want a nap or have a feed – I’ll capture it all!
You don’t need to worry about positioning your baby in different poses or worrying about waking your baby up. I capture those raw and special moments. Everything I do is natural and in the moment; capturing your baby the way they are allowing their beautiful personalities to shine through in the pictures I take.
So, all you need to do is to watch the magic happen and relax and trust in the process and let your baby lead the way.
Sleep Management
Babies sleep a lot, which is not a mystery. But occasionally, their sleeping habits conflict with our intentions. Keep your baby up for a bit before the photographer arrives if you want them to be asleep throughout the photo shoot so you can obtain those gorgeous sleepy newborn images.
When preparing for your newborn photoshoot, if you would like your baby to be awake for the whole shoot you can try to prepare the baby’s sleep to be done before we start. As I previously mentioned, my shoots are mainly based around the baby and them taking the lead so depending on how awake you want your baby to be for the photos, it is entirely your choice how you want to prepare your baby’s sleep schedule beforehand and I will cooperate either way!
Of course, however, it is hard to determine a newborn’s sleep schedule, as it can be so random.
Baby Feeding
Feeding your baby before the newborn photoshoot session is key to a happy baby, which means a smoother experience. However, I love capturing the feeding moments between mum and baby – this shows your beautiful connection.
My newborn sessions leave plenty of time to get some photos of your baby when they are awake and sleeping if you want the best of both worlds. Also, a well-fed baby is a happy baby!
Schedule Your Session Ahead Of Time
Photographers will normally do newborn sessions when they are between 5 to 14 days old. That’s a small window of time, so you need to be thinking ahead. Scheduling your session in advance means it is less likely that I will be completely booked up.
If you wait until the last minute to book your session, it is possible that you won’t get your top choice and will have to settle for a photographer based on availability rather than one that matches your desired aesthetic.
Around the beginning of your second trimester is a wonderful time to begin the booking process. Tell the prospective newborn photographer your due date when you make contact with them. Once your baby is delivered, inform your photographer of the wonderful news so they can provide you with a precise date for your session.
Are you feeling ready to book your newborn photoshoot?
Although it can be hard to plan how your photoshoot session will look, because babies are unpredictable and probably do not have a set routine this early on in their life, you do not have to worry. Just know that as a newborn photographer, I work with newborns all the time and I love the joys and hiccups we experience during the session.
Now you know how to prepare for a newborn photoshoot, remember the real reason you are capturing these moments, to look back on precious memories that fly by so quickly. I am a Wokingham newborn photographer and you can enquire about my newborn photoshoot sessions here, whether that be in your own home or in my beautiful home studio.
0 Comments