The minute you saw your baby and even before they are born, you fell head over heels in love!
Those wrinkly hands, cherub like cheeks, and their tiny little feet filled your heart with joy. Their sweet smell, and soft skin, their little expressions, and noises as they sleep, you will want to remember every minute.
As a new parent, you will understand why other parents tell you to cherish these first weeks, and if you are welcoming another little one into your family you only know too well that your baby will only be a baby for such a short period of time, it won’t be long, and you will have a toddler on your hands.
You’ll struggle to remember how little they were, and that’s why capturing beautiful images of your newborn is so precious.
Newborn sessions are best scheduled in the first 5-12 days, while your baby is sleeping soundly and curling up into those adorable womblike poses.
For babies that are born early and spend time in the hospital, we recommend scheduling a session within the first week of being sent home.
We encourage families to book their newborn photography session as early as possible to ensure availability, a good time to start booking would be at the beginning of your trimester. Your due date will be placed on our calendar, and we’ll look forward to hearing from you once your baby is born to schedule your newborn session.
We only book a limited number of newborns each month to allow flexibility in our calendar for last-minute appointments. If you’ve already had your little one, we will try our very best to accommodate you.
Newborn sessions can be up to 3 hours in the studio this allows time for feeding, nappy changes and cuddles to keep your baby content, the studio is kept warm for your baby’s comfort and all blankets and outfits are cleaned before your session. We will capture a variety of poses, capturing all the details that make your baby unique, our props and set ups are aimed to be timeless so neutral colours are always incorporated in each session. We have our own outfits, wraps, hats and headbands to use during the session, however if you have something special please feel free to bring it along on the day.
We work with each baby and every baby is unique, so while we will do our best to obtain a variety of poses in each session no pose is guaranteed, not all babies are able to be posed in typical newborn poses/positions and we are guided by your baby.
Your baby’s safety comes first!
It’s no secret Newborn’s sleep a lot which is ideal for capturing those adorable sleepy newborn poses, but sometimes it doesn’t always go with our plans, so here are a couple of tips to help you prepare for your session.
Keeping your baby up before your session can help to be able to capture peaceful images, instead of ones where they are not happy and unsettled.
Newborns are some of the hungriest creatures on this Earth. You don’t want their photo session disrupted by their frantic cries for milk. Feeding and burping your infant right before your session begins means less crying, better sleep, and relaxed parents (and photographer!).
Avoid them having a full belly in the one to two hours before your session. If they seem hungry, try to give them a small snack to get them through. Then, slightly before your session, you can feed them a full meal and expect a happy, tired baby in return.
Most photo sessions last around 2-3 hours, which leaves plenty of time to refuel if your child wakes up expecting a snack. Just make sure to have an extra bottle on hand if you use formula.
About 30 minutes before the session, change your baby’s nappy into a loose (but not too loose), clean nappy, if possible, please don’t use a singlet as that will disrupt their sleep cycle by trying to get it off. A loose nappy is best because it will avoid creating nappy marks around their waist.
A great way to do this without waking them up once they’ve fallen asleep is to change their nappy, swaddle, and then feed them. You’ll be taking care of everything at once. By breastfeeding (or bottle-feeding), they’ll be able to calm down quickly, and most likely fall asleep immediately after (if not during) their eating time. This can be done in the studio where it is nice and warm.
What you need to know:
To prepare for fussy moments throughout your session, you‘ll want to have a few things ready – a pacifier (if you use one), a bottle of formula/breastmilk, a swaddling blanket and a few clean nappies.
Make sure you come prepared to be in a few of the photos, you may not feel like you are at your best, but it is very important to be getting in the photos with your baby, these will create lasting memories.
Wear neutral tones, avoid patterns and logos and if we are capturing other members of your family think about co-ordinating outfits, this doesn’t mean matching it is just better that the colours complement each other.
“ Absolutely fantastic experience and very happy with both the time Jackie spent with Ella and myself and her patience that she had working with my newborn. Would 100% recommend her services”
_Aimee Bowman.