How to Prepare for Your Newborn Photoshoot

SO! You’ve booked in, your date is in the diary, time set. I am beyond thrilled that you have decided to trust in me to create memories of one of the most precious times of your life.

You can now feel great in the knowledge that you ticked this off your to do list. However, I know how daunting it can be to have a photoshoot. There’s an overwhelming amount of information on the internet about what makes a perfect photoshoot, you can go blurry eyed from reading all the tips and tricks. This blog post is a way of me putting all of your worries and concerns at ease.

The Perfect Newborn Photoshoot

The truth is that there is no such thing as the right way to do a ‘perfect’ photoshoot. Because your photoshoot, should be personal to you. My sessions are run in a way that feels authentic, comfortable and most of all - creates beautiful unforced galleries at the end of it. In my eyes, from the very moment you book in with me, the journey begins of us beginning to tell your family’s story.

I encourage lots of communication from even before the point of booking, so it is likely that we have already had a phone call to discuss the details of the photoshoot and answer any questions you may have.

I love to leave an open line of communication between us both even after our first phone call. Any stories you wish to tell me, to allow me to learn about your family, any updates on your journey between the time of booking and the photoshoot itself. I want to know it all! These are all brilliant pieces of knowledge on my end that allow me to understand who your family is just a little bit better and therefore cater the photoshoot to your exact needs and wishes.

Time is of the Essence

Your newborn’s early days are fleeting. They blow by in a cloud of joy, milk, yawns, visitors and the new found love that you didn’t even imagine was possible. You’ll spend your days (when you’re not catching up on sleep!) gazing at this perfectly tiny being, amazed that your body could think of creating something so powerful. Then, blink, you’ll find that one day as you’re gazing down at them, they’re suddenly not quite as tiny as they maybe once were.

Purpose

The purpose of having a newborn photoshoot is so that further down the line, when that milk cloud memory of the first few weeks is barely tangible, you’ll have physical proof of what it was like. I aim to create a gallery filled with immense love, the kind that makes your eyes well because it is just so hard to hold, but also the kind that makes you laugh out loud. The photographs we create will sit in-between a style that is beautifully composed, so as to get the most gorgeous representation of yourself, and an authentic documentation of what life was like for you all.

Your photoshoot will allow you to be who you are, in all your family’s true delights, but I won’t ever leave you feeling at a loss for how to hold yourself of what to do next. My directions are clear, gentle and only come out if I can see a potential photograph in something.

For a couple of hours we will just simply exist together, we will chat, we will laugh, and we will create art worthy of being framed. The delicate features, tiny details and bond between your family will materialise into photographs.

My 5 Tips for Preparing for Your Newborn Photos

1. Book in Advance

My first top tip (which doesn’t actually apply if you are reading this as an already booked client!) is to book in advance. It means that you won’t be left disappointed because there are no slots left in my diary, and it also means you can relax as it is a job ticket off your to do list way in advance. Later you will thank earlier you for doing it, I promise! If you book in whilst still in the early to middle months of pregnancy, it means we have a really nice long time to get to know one another over the phone and also chat through anything that might pop into your head as a query during that time. We are able to plan the photoshoot itself properly, and also it leaves more time to get excited!

There is no time limit on my photoshoots, I photograph all ages. The earliest I have had a newborn in for is 3 days old (!) and I have still been photographing them as newborns up until 1.5 months old. The older you leave it, obviously the less newborn their features start to look. This is by no means a bad thing it just means that you will end up with a gallery of photographs of your little one that look more ‘older baby’ than ‘newborn’. For typically newborn photographs I advise booking somewhere between 1-4 weeks. They’re more likely to be sleepy at this point which can make for a simpler photoshoot.

2. Preparation

As preparation for the day itself, my main tip is to relax. It sounds simple, and is perhaps one of the hardest things to do if you don’t feel it. But truly, your photographs are going to be better immediately by approaching them with a more relaxed outlook. With newborns, their mood is unpredictable, their sleep pattern yet to be established. I am so aware that we aren’t able to plan what their state will be for the duration of the photoshoot.

The only thing we have control over is our own selves. Therefore, if we are able to relax into the couple of hours we spend together, the photographs will follow. This is advice I give to all my clients, newborn or otherwise.

Make sure to have a range of really soft blankets on hand. I do bring a couple of my own, but it is lovely to be able to use ones that actually belong to you, and mean something to you. Textures are really important as are colours. These are all things we can discuss between booking and the photoshoot itself, but some basic pointers would be:

1. Choose something that is soft and nice to touch. I’m thinking a gorgeous knitted blanket, a sheepskin throw, a cheesecloth blanket. If it feels nice to touch, it will look nice to photographs.

2. Neutral colours and tones. The blanket should simply act as a backdrop for any photographs it appears in. It should not be a main focus point and should simply highlight the beauty of the subjects. Aim for blankets that are cream, white, nude, brown, fawn, grey.

3. Environment

Thirdly. Make sure the environment we’re photographing in is warm and comfortable. If it is a cooler day, try use the heating to maintain a temperature that the baby would be comfortable in were we to do any photographs without their baby grow.

If it is a warmer day, it’s useful to be able to open a window to allow a little breeze in to calm things down. This keeps your little one content in their own skin and that makes for nicer images.

4. Space

Fourthly: arranging the space. We are photographing in your home for a reason, it’s your home. Your space. Your things. These will all allow for photographs that feel authentically you. Therefore I don’t want you to feel pressure to create a ‘studio feel’ in your home for the photographs. If I walk into a room and feel like the shot will be perfect were we to simply move something, I will suggest to do this. Otherwise, it should look and feel like your space.

The one thing I will advise is that it is as decluttered as possible. I am so understanding that a family home is messy, it is part of the beauty of family life. I also understand the anguish of cleaning a space only to turn your back for an hour and have it instantly cluttered up again! Try not to stress too much, but by having a semi cleared space we will be able to create clean, pure looking images that focus on your family’s intimacy rather than those greeting cards on the mantlepiece, or the alarm clock by the side of the bed.

I may arrive at your house and request to move things, I have been known to drag an armchair from one corner of the room to another, please do not be alarmed! Any decision I make will have the beauty of your photographs in mind. It goes without saying that you will ultimately always have complete control, I will only suggest and advise and any final decisions or agreement comes from you.

5. Feeding

It is advisable that you give your newborn a feed just before the photoshoot is about to begin. This allows a start that is hopefully a bit more sleepy and calm. Often with newborn photoshoots, further feeding is required which is completely fine but it allows for a good start if the baby is well fed to begin with.

At the beginning of the photoshoot I will discuss with you whether or not you feel comfortable being photographed whilst feeding, which if you do, can utilise the feeding time as further photographing time! If you do not however, that is totally fine and I will put my camera down during these moments and simply chat away about what we might capture next.

So there you have it, five top tips for how to prepare for your newborn photoshoot. But overall, just revel in the joy that you are putting the responsibility in someone else’s hands to pocket this tiny portion of time, where everything is new. It will be an investment you make that you never regret. It will be one that is handed down from your hands, to your child’s, to their child’s. A photograph is a way of keeping something alive, and by allowing me in to capture your love, you are creating a story ready to be told for generations to come.

Photos by Ruby

I’m Ruby: Buckinghamshire-based photographer, artist, lover of people, adorer of light, searching for those quiet, golden moments in life. Want to chat about a newborn photoshoot? Get in touch over on my contact page, I'd love to hear from you!

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