Newborn Session Prep Guide!!
We LOVE photographing newborns! Newborn photography is incredibly challenging, but it’s so amazing to be a part of baby’s life when they are just days old. There’s a bit of prep and planning that needs to go into these sessions to make them more successful. We’ve compiled a few tips below to help us get the very best out of your upcoming newborn session.
Scheduling
We highly recommend that you get your spot saved at least 2 weeks in advance. Once you and baby have been given the green light to go home, please contact us right away to schedule a definite date and time for your babies newborn session. Sessions are typically scheduled 2 to 4 days, following your release. Newborns much younger tend to do very well in the studio, opposed to a baby that is 10-14 days old. The younger newborns tend to not wake up as frequently and as easily when getting them posed for the scene. We have learned after the 10 day mark, newborns have discovered the art of stretching! Once that happens…they won’t let us curl them up in the cute little newborn poses, without a fight!
Some IMPORTANT stuff
Babies do very well in the studio for posing when they are in a very deep sleep. To encourage this we highly recommend stimulating the baby at least two hours before your scheduled arrival, a warm bath always does the trick. This also means keeping them awake during the car ride here and refrain from feeding 2 hours before arrival as well. From experience, babies that have been asleep prior to arrival are unfortunately the babies that are more difficult to pose because as soon as the blanket comes off, they get startled again and it’s back to trying to put them to sleep. That alone can take up to an hour, if not more and unfortunately that could count against your session time.
SHHHH....BABY SLEEPING!!
Please do whatever you can to keep the noise to a minimum during our session. Maintaining a calm environment is also a big key to a successful newborn shoot. We have a white noise machine that will be kept close to baby during the session to help soothe him/her. Babies love strong and rhythmic sounds.
Siblings and other family members
It may be hard to believe but a newborn session is no where near as easy as it sounds! If you are planning on having young siblings jump in for a few pictures we HIGHLY recommend waiting about an hour and a half into the session before they are brought down to the studio. This is important because we have a small space with lighting equipment taking up a majority of the space and it becomes a safety hazard for your newborn baby when we have children walking/running around and tripping over cords. Trust us, it will be less stressful if there is a way to bring them in later. As for other family members, they are welcome to join in on pictures but we will have to ask that they wait in the waiting area until it is time. We wish that we had a warehouse size studio but unfortunately this is what we have to work with for now so we do what we can to make our small space work!
It's getting hot in here!!
Since babies are usually photographed naked, the studio will be set at a temperature of 78-80F to ensure baby is warm and comfortable. If we’re not sweating, it’s probably not warm enough for baby! Parent’s please make sure to wear comfortable loose clothing. We will provide you with water to replenish what you loose!
Safety, Safety, Safety
Safety is our number one top priority when handling your baby, usually we have an assistant to help but if that's not the case either mom or dad will be the spotter/assistant. All eyes and hands are to be kept around baby during posing. During the session we will be handling and posing baby, but don’t worry we have plenty of experience with newborns.
Props
We have a selection of headbands, tutus, wraps, baskets and backdrops. If there is a specific theme you would like to incorporate into your photos please let us know ahead of time so we can see if we have what you need. If you have anything with baby's name on it for the nursery , a special blanket, or a toy, please bring those items with you and we will do our best to add them in!
Parents
If you plan on being in the photos please keep in mind the wardrobe that you are wearing into the studio. We have so many parents that have sleep deprivation and believe it or not they forget about getting themselves ready! We like to keep it simple and we advise our parents to wear solid colors. Of course this is only a suggestion, you are free to be yourself and do as you please!
Announcing your newborns arrival
We offer a large variety of newborn announcements at an affordable price. If you do not plan on having prints to hand out you can request a digital announcement be added to your package for an additional $20 setup fee.
We want to thank you so much for allowing Aloha Baby Photographers to capture these once in a lifetime memories that you will be able to hold onto and cherish forever.
We LOVE photographing newborns! Newborn photography is incredibly challenging, but it’s so amazing to be a part of baby’s life when they are just days old. There’s a bit of prep and planning that needs to go into these sessions to make them more successful. We’ve compiled a few tips below to help us get the very best out of your upcoming newborn session.
Scheduling
We highly recommend that you get your spot saved at least 2 weeks in advance. Once you and baby have been given the green light to go home, please contact us right away to schedule a definite date and time for your babies newborn session. Sessions are typically scheduled 2 to 4 days, following your release. Newborns much younger tend to do very well in the studio, opposed to a baby that is 10-14 days old. The younger newborns tend to not wake up as frequently and as easily when getting them posed for the scene. We have learned after the 10 day mark, newborns have discovered the art of stretching! Once that happens…they won’t let us curl them up in the cute little newborn poses, without a fight!
Some IMPORTANT stuff
Babies do very well in the studio for posing when they are in a very deep sleep. To encourage this we highly recommend stimulating the baby at least two hours before your scheduled arrival, a warm bath always does the trick. This also means keeping them awake during the car ride here and refrain from feeding 2 hours before arrival as well. From experience, babies that have been asleep prior to arrival are unfortunately the babies that are more difficult to pose because as soon as the blanket comes off, they get startled again and it’s back to trying to put them to sleep. That alone can take up to an hour, if not more and unfortunately that could count against your session time.
SHHHH....BABY SLEEPING!!
Please do whatever you can to keep the noise to a minimum during our session. Maintaining a calm environment is also a big key to a successful newborn shoot. We have a white noise machine that will be kept close to baby during the session to help soothe him/her. Babies love strong and rhythmic sounds.
Siblings and other family members
It may be hard to believe but a newborn session is no where near as easy as it sounds! If you are planning on having young siblings jump in for a few pictures we HIGHLY recommend waiting about an hour and a half into the session before they are brought down to the studio. This is important because we have a small space with lighting equipment taking up a majority of the space and it becomes a safety hazard for your newborn baby when we have children walking/running around and tripping over cords. Trust us, it will be less stressful if there is a way to bring them in later. As for other family members, they are welcome to join in on pictures but we will have to ask that they wait in the waiting area until it is time. We wish that we had a warehouse size studio but unfortunately this is what we have to work with for now so we do what we can to make our small space work!
It's getting hot in here!!
Since babies are usually photographed naked, the studio will be set at a temperature of 78-80F to ensure baby is warm and comfortable. If we’re not sweating, it’s probably not warm enough for baby! Parent’s please make sure to wear comfortable loose clothing. We will provide you with water to replenish what you loose!
Safety, Safety, Safety
Safety is our number one top priority when handling your baby, usually we have an assistant to help but if that's not the case either mom or dad will be the spotter/assistant. All eyes and hands are to be kept around baby during posing. During the session we will be handling and posing baby, but don’t worry we have plenty of experience with newborns.
Props
We have a selection of headbands, tutus, wraps, baskets and backdrops. If there is a specific theme you would like to incorporate into your photos please let us know ahead of time so we can see if we have what you need. If you have anything with baby's name on it for the nursery , a special blanket, or a toy, please bring those items with you and we will do our best to add them in!
Parents
If you plan on being in the photos please keep in mind the wardrobe that you are wearing into the studio. We have so many parents that have sleep deprivation and believe it or not they forget about getting themselves ready! We like to keep it simple and we advise our parents to wear solid colors. Of course this is only a suggestion, you are free to be yourself and do as you please!
Announcing your newborns arrival
We offer a large variety of newborn announcements at an affordable price. If you do not plan on having prints to hand out you can request a digital announcement be added to your package for an additional $20 setup fee.
We want to thank you so much for allowing Aloha Baby Photographers to capture these once in a lifetime memories that you will be able to hold onto and cherish forever.