Newborn Session Prep Guide
Boise Newborn Session Prep Guide
Whew, having a baby is A LOT. Planning a newborn session will feel so daunting.
To help, I have put together some helpful tips for preparing for your newborn session. Don’t stress
over all the details, these are just a few things that have proven to be pretty helpful in preparation.
Scheduling
Think about 2-4 weeks of the baby being born. If the baby is full-term, healthy, and mom is doing well, I prefer to photograph in the second week or so. During this this time the baby is still very sleepy and will cooperate a little better (famous last words).
However, if the baby was born under 8lbs, I will want to set a slightly later date to have a baby that will sleep better during their session (has to do with their ability to regulate body temperature). I’ve found in the 8lbs range is that happy weight.
10am-11am start times seem to work best for babies and for lighting in homes. If you have a toddler at home, we will work around the first morning’s nap.
Plan on the session taking around 2 hours. The younger the baby the less likely chance we willneed all 2 hours, but I still recommend it to avoid any stress. If we are photographing a young sibling as well, it will likely run the full 2 hours. We like to leave plenty of time for extra feedings, diaper changes, and expected bouts of crankiness.
Preparing Your Baby
A well-fed baby is a happy sleepy baby. Please plan on feeding the baby about 20 minutes before I am scheduled to arrive. One thing I have found to be helpful is to stretch that feeding a little longer than normal if the baby allows it. This can help make the baby a little more sleepy when they finally eat.
Make sure you get a good burp in. A baby with gas is not a happy baby and can result in lots of crying.
Don’t worry about baby acne or little scratches. These cosmetic things are fairly easy to eliminate or drastically minimize during the editing process. If your baby has extremely dry skin, try putting baby lotion on before coming to your session and bringing extra with you. This will help the retouching process.
Take off any clothing. With the exception of a diaper, you will want to take off any other clothing. We will use a little bloomer for the first shots and then migrate into a onesie if needed.
Preparing Your Family
Do not worry about the baby weight you haven’t lost, or any skin issues you may still have. I choose poses that will help hide that post-baby body, as well as edit out any blemishes that may have popped up. I’ve also put together a Pinterest Board with my favorite colors and outfits, feel free to use that for some inspiration: http://pinterest.com/tamarakenyon/photo-outfits/
I have also put together an Amazon storefront that has a lot of outfit and preparation suggestions:
https://www.amazon.com/shop/tamarakenyonphotography
Both parent’s hands will be shown in many of the close up photographs. Please make sure your nails look nice if that is something that concerns you.
Neutral Colors. You may want a camisole for skin on skin but if you are not ready for one yet, short sleeve is totally fine. Anything white, grey, beige etc photographs beautiful against your baby’s skin.
Neutrals are timeless. Avoid logos. Feel free to pull a few things out of your closet for me to check out. Maxi dresses, layers, and textures work great as well as anything you feel good in. Try to avoid tight clothing with the exception of camisole.
For Dad: Jeans and T-shirts, as well as button-downs. Make sure you can roll the sleeves and leave the top button unbuttoned. V-neck sweaters look great over button-ups, as well in the wintertime. Be yourself but please try to avoid khaki pants.
Below, you can look at some color swatches I have saved. Sometimes that is even better than looking at actual outfits, you can find that here: https://www.pinterest.com/tamarakenyon/color/
If you are unsure of what to wear, email or text me your outfits. I’m happy to help!
For Siblings: Bribing helps! No judging, I promise! Sometimes we have to take extreme measures to get what we need to get. If you think a sweet snack will do the trick, stick to snacks that can melt quickly and don’t require much chewing. Snacks that don’t leave any stains are great too.
Preparing Your Home
Don’t worry about going crazy with cleaning, you just had a baby! Common areas for me to shoot: living room, baby’s room, parents bedroom. We will likely be shooting in various rooms in your home. This will depend on the lighting in the home. The main thing, hide as much clutter as you can on the sides of the bed.
Simple colors. If you have white (grey or beige can work too) bedding (specifically a comforter), please put this on your bed. Most times we will be using the master bedroom and these neutral colors can help with color balance on the baby’s skin.
There is a chance we may have to move some furniture around to get the shots with the best lighting. I may also move any small items that might distract from the shot.
About 2 hours before the session, turn your heat up so that it is nice and toasty. Uncomfortably toasty. A warm baby is a happy, sleepy, and content baby. This will make the session go much more smoothly. If you have a space heater, pull that out too. I have one if you don’t.
Pets
If you’re hoping to include a furry child into the mix, I’m happy to do it. My only ask, as I’ve had some bad encounters with family pets, is that the pet is put away while a majority of the shooting is happening.
I’ve found family pets can become a little protective over their new family member. This can make the session a little more difficult for me to get the shots I need.
Once we are done with all of the most important shots, we can include pets at the end of the session. Feel free to reach out to
me with questions about this.
One Last Thing…
No matter what your baby does, please know that it is okay!
One thing I’ve learned in parenting is to adjust expectations. I do this all the time and have seen everything.
This session is supposed to be a special experience. I don’t want you stressed if the baby starts to cry, doesn’t sleep, or has to feed a few times – it happens all the time, if not every time! We have plenty of time allotted for your session. If we need to take a break to feed, walk, rock, etc. we can do that. I want you to enjoy the experience of your session and this special bonding moment for your family. We can have a basic plan going into things but ultimately baby tells us what we can do.
Get In Touch
If you’re looking for a photographer and you connect with my work, I would love to hear from you!
