You’ve had your baby. You’re home (can I just say, congratulations!!). Now you want to know how to prepare for newborn photos. As a Huntsville newborn photographer for over half a decade, I’ve learned how to help families prepare for newborn photos. And I can promise you – it’s not as intimidating as it seems!
I firmly believe that your newborn session shouldn’t be stressful. It should be filled with joy and love. Preparing beforehand can help you focus on your baby and enjoying yourself during your session. There are a few things you can do ahead of time to get ready. Upon booking a session with me, I’ll send you my Session Prep Guide, with lots of helpful ideas. But here are some that I truly will believe will help!
How to Prepare for Newborn Photos
Table of Contents
Communicate with Your Photographer
If you are having an in-home newborn session, it’s important to communicate with your photographer to prep. Things like what time of day you get the best light, which rooms you’re considering using to photograph in, any special images you want to try to capture – all of these things matter. If you have strong preferences on anything, please be sure to let me know.
That being said, trusting my vision and experience is even more important. While you may really want photos in the nursery or master bedroom, if the light isn’t good in those areas, the photos will not live up to your desires. When I arrive at your home, I’ll look around for the best lighting and we’ll go from there. I promise that if we get good light, the images will be beautiful!
Choose Wardrobe for Everyone Ahead of Time
A blog post about how to prepare for newborn photos wouldn’t be complete without mentioning wardrobe. Even I, an experienced photographer, can get overwhelmed when planning what my family will wear for photos. I don’t want you to stress about this on the day of your session. Choosing what everyone will wear ahead of time can make such a difference.
I’m more than happy to help with this! I have a few client dresses that I’m happy to bring with me for moms to borrow, and I can help you choose clothing for everyone else in the family, too. Just let me know, and I’m happy to assist! Here are some basics to keep in mind:
- For baby, keep it simple. I adore smocked outfits, frills, and bonnets, but a lot of times babies aren’t the most comfortable with these. They can also block baby’s face, which typically isn’t what parents want to do. We also don’t want to be changing baby multiple times throughout the session because it disrupts sleep. One to two outfits is plenty!
- Think lights and neutrals. Light colors are going to reflect nicely on the skin without casting colors. Neutrals are easy to mix and match, but it’s absolutely wonderful to throw some color into the mix, too. We just don’t want things to clash. Subtle patterns are also great to add in some variety!
- At home, skip the shoes. Going barefoot feels more natural at home and gives us some wiggle room with posing (i.e. putting feet on the furniture, etc). Sometimes people are self conscious of their feet – I get that, but I promise I won’t be focusing on your feet.
Tidy Lightly
When you’re considering how to prepare for newborn photos, you might think you need to clean the house from top to bottom. Hear me now: DON’T. There’s a new baby to care for. There’s sleep to be had. So feel free to do some light tidying in the areas you think we may photograph in, but please do not scrub your house because I’m coming over. I’ve got kids. I don’t expect your home to be perfect. And I’ll help tidy up once we choose exactly which spots to use, too!
Feed and Change Baby Right Before
One of the most important things to know about how to prepare for newborn photos is how to prepare the baby. Keep it simple: try to feed, change, and dress the baby in the first outfit you have in mind about 20 minutes before your session start time. Hopefully this will help baby to feel sleepy and content. Of course, we will pause for feeds and changes as needed, so don’t worry if your bundle of joy wakes!
Set Realistic Expectations
This one’s specifically for mom and dad. Managing expectations for any kind of session is key. Babies cry. Toddlers melt down sometimes. Kids wiggle and have ideas of their own. There’s no need to stress if there are hiccups along the way. In fact, it’s better to expect them. We’re going to create beautiful images. That’s a given. But keeping a good attitude and enjoying the process is the part that leaves you with sweet memories of your newborn session. So when you consider how to prepare for a newborn session, don’t forget to set realistic expectations.
If you’d like to book your newborn session, contact me so we can talk all the details!
View one of my featured newborn sessions here.
