Eagle River Newborn Photography | ABCs of Newborn Photography
I love newborn photography! Snuggling sweet tiny babies is one of my favorite perks of my job. I have parents with a lot of questions about how the session will go, please feel free to read through!
A- Awake. This is not 100% necessary, but it can be helpful. If you can keep baby awake for about an hour before our session, it can help getting baby to sleep once he or she is in studio.
B- Binky. I know a lot of babies do not takes binkies (or pacifiers), but if your baby does, please bring it! It can be super helpful when soothing baby. Speaking of soothing, I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve to soothe a baby without having to hand him or her back to mom or dad. I will try them all before handing baby back to the parents to be soothed!
C- Crying. It’s going to happen. I haven’t had a baby not cry yet. It’s what they do, and please don’t stress about it! A stressed mom = a stressed baby. I’ve brought home 2 newborns myself, as well as photographed lots of newborns, nothing your baby will do will surprise or stress me.
D- Diapers. There will be a lot of shots where baby's diaper is off. I try to keep it on as much as possible, especially after a feeding, but I am completely used to messes if that happens!
E- Eating. If possible, I will ask parents to feed baby as soon as we get into the studio. A milk drunk baby makes my job much easier.
F- Family. I love family shots with newborns! If you would like to do parent, family or siblings shots with baby, that is absolutely encouraged. Please let me know in advance so I can have the proper set up. If you have young kids coming to do shots with baby, it usually works best if the kids leave after their part is over. Newborn shoots can go long!
G- Gallery. Your gallery of images will be emailed to you 2-3 weeks after your session. All images are fully edited by me!
H- Heat. My studio will get hot. The goal in studio is upward of 80 degrees to keep baby comfortable and warm, especially for those naked shots. If you become too hot or uncomfortable, PLEASE feel free to step out of the room/outside to cool off.
I- I love babies. I have two kiddos of my own, that are now toddlers and well past the newborn stage. 90% of the reason I love newborn photography is for the baby snuggling I get to do.
J- Just choose. Ok, I've really run out of ideas for J. For our shoot, I want you to choose and tell me what colors you prefer I use for wraps, blankets, backdrops, etc. Everyone has different styles and colors in their home, when you come into my studio or when you fill out my newborn questionnaire, try to think of what colors would go best in your home when your photos are displayed on your walls and let me know what would work best for you.
K- Kolors. Ok, I'm sort of running out of letters now. But, your color preferences are important! If you are planning on putting photos on your wall, keep in mind your decor when I ask what preference you have for colors for blankets and wraps etc.
L- Lighting. I use both natural light and strobe lighting for photography, but for newborns, I do tend to prefer strobe flash lighting.
M- Messes. For most of the shots, baby will have his or her diaper off. Messes are going to happen. It won’t be even near the first time it’s happened, please don’t feel bad about it. If it happens, I have lots and lots of blankets to switch, I keep an entire stack of hand towels right next to me for the whole shoot just in case, I'm prepared and ready for it to happen!
N- Naked. I tend to photograph baby mostly in his or her birthday suit. Newborn clothes tend not to photograph well, except for the clothes I purchase that are specifically made for newborn photography.
O- Other pictures. I don't mind if you take pictures during our shoot with your cell phone. I just ask that if you take any pictures of me doing my thing, that you send them along to me after the shoot. I love seeing them!
P- Patience. Newborn photography takes A LOT of patience. You’ll see me spend a lot of time making sure baby is good and settled before I take even the first shot. Some babies startle more easily than others, and I am happy just waiting them out to relax into my pose or basket for whatever sort of shot we are doing.
Q- Quiet. Just kidding, don't be quiet. I have white noise going in the studio so that baby won’t startle as easily. I tend to talk a lot to you while I’m doing this, and once baby is in a good sleep, I’ve found that talking never bothers them.
R- Relax. A stressed momma = a stressed baby. I want your newborn session to be stress free. Please feel free to bring a book, magazine, coffee, and relax.
S- Safety. Safety is my first and most important priority. I will never put your baby in any danger with any of the poses or set ups I do. This may mean that some of the poses that you may want won’t happen because not every baby will do every pose.
T- Time. I try to keep newborn sessions as close to 2 hours as possible. However, I have had newborn sessions go as long as 4 hours. I am prepared to spend as much time as possible with your baby to get those perfect shots, and I haven’t had a baby out stubborn me yet!
U- Understanding. Not all babies are going to do all the poses. An important part of my newborn flow is to go with what baby seems the most comfortable with. Some babies refuse to be naked at all, and some babies will not do the beanbag, no matter what. In those cases, I have lots of options to still be able to get lots of different photos.
V- Variety. I do try to get a lot of different poses and set ups for you, but not all babies are the same, so I may not be able to get the same set ups for every baby. Pinterest is great for ideas, but different photographers and styles means that I may not be able to get the exact photo you’ve seen on Pinterest that you love, but I will try!
W- White noise. I always have white noise going in the studio. It helps with soothing, and also helps them to not startle as much in case of unexpected noise.
X- eXcited! This is me. I'm so excited that you've chosen to come to me with your baby, and you will probably notice when I exclaim over your baby all throughout your session.
Y- Your help. From time to time I may need help in the studio. So I may need you to hold a baby in between setups, or hold a reflector, or take away a pacifier real quick while I take a shot.
Z- Zzzzzz. The environment in my studio encourages sleep for babies. But, to a very sleep deprived newborn parent, it can also put you to sleep. If that happens, it would not be the first or the last time. Sleep while you can!