Navigating life with a newborn can be hard. You are likely to be not getting a lot of sleep, maybe learning how to breastfeed and you could be dealing with something like colic.
It’s then that you remember you lovingly booked in to have a newborn photoshoot! You want to remember everything about your tiny baby before they grow, and your family are desperate to see some beautiful photos of your new little bundle.
Panic! ‘I’m tired, and the last thing I feel like doing is getting ready for a photoshoot!’
You feel anxious because how do you know what to expect during your newborn photoshoot?
I thought I would share a short post to help put your mind at ease, so you can be prepared and hopefully feel more confident coming in to your session.
Related post: How to choose the right newborn photographer for you
Before your session, you may have come to me for a maternity photoshoot. If so, you will have had the chance to meet with me and get familiar with how I work, and already feel a little bit more confident.
Related post: When is the best time to get maternity photos?
If not, that’s totally ok too. Not everyone wants to have a maternity photoshoot, and sometimes you don’t realise you want one, until after you’ve had the baby!
If you didn’t come in for maternity photos, then we can have a chat about who you’d like to bring along to your newborn session, anything you might be worried about, what to wear etc before you come in. We can do this via email, telephone, Skype or in person if you wish.
This will immediately make you feel more relaxed.
I photograph my newborns in the comfort of your home. My clients love this because they don’t have to worry about forgetting anything and it can feel quite daunting leaving the house not long after giving birth, especially if there is a sibling or three in tow.
When I arrive, I will ask you when your baby was last fed. Breastfed babies tend to need feeding sooner than bottle fed babies, and if baby hasn’t fed for a while, this allows me to give you time to feed and settle baby before we begin.
As for the actual workflow, I honestly prefer to go with the flow. I don’t like to make families feel rushed, but at the same time, I know you are tired and don’t want me to be there all day.
When siblings are present at the session, I usually do photos involving them at the beginning. They usually have short attention spans, so I get as much as I can with siblings done first. Unless they take a while to warm up to me. There are lots of changes when a new baby arrives. We will chat about this when I arrive and I am purely led by how the newborn is but also how any siblings might be feeling.
I really want the experience to be as pleasant for everyone as possible, so these are all things we discuss in your pre-session consultation, as mentioned above.
My style is authentic, natural and simple. The focus is entirely on your family, without the addition of props.
I offer a studio wardrobe for Mums and I also have a few blankets and rompers for newborns, however many of my clients prefer to wear their own things.
I tend to start with the ‘Grandma photos’. Looking at the camera. Full family. Mum with newborn and any siblings, Dad with newborn and any siblings and newborn alone and with their siblings. I move around to get as much as I can from each set up so I don’t have to move everyone often. I like to describe the photos I produce as ‘A Saturday morning at home’. I direct everything so that you don’t feel uncomfortable, but I let the natural moments unfold from what I have directed.
If you are worried about your home being too dark, I can use flash, which is completely safe for baby.
If baby becomes unsettled during your session, I do try first to settle baby myself. I have a long length of experience working with children, am a Mother of three, and find usually after a few minutes, they drift back to sleep. However, if I feel baby needs changing or another feed, I pass baby back to you. My style does not require baby to be asleep though and so long as they are settled we don’t need to wait hours for them to fall asleep like more posed photographers do.
I am constantly chatting to you throughout the session. I explain everything that is happening as we go along so that you feel reassured, and I also invite you to ask any questions that you need. No question is a silly one, and my ultimate goal is for everyone to feel safe, parents included.
I then do a light pre-edit on your images. This enables you to get an idea of what the final product will look like. I send these to you to view via an online gallery system. We discuss the products you would like, and therefore which package, you choose your images and then I go away to complete the final edits and order any products you might like. Families who come to me love to purchase an album. Depending on what you choose, you can expect to wait up to 4 weeks for your products, but will be given the digital files straight away, so that you can share them with your loved ones online. I know how excited you all are to see them!
I hope this gives you a little insight into a newborn photoshoot with me. If you have any other questions, please feel free to get in contact with my via my contact form, Facebook or Instagram. You can also leave a comment below.
If you are interested in booking a session with me, you can contact me here, and for pricing information, you can follow this link. You can also view my current portfolio here.
Lizzy x
