What to Expect from an In-home Studio-Style Newborn Session

Forewarning, these sessions take patience! They can last anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on how baby is doing. We do not want to rush these sessions, so I ask that you block out the whole day for the session. These sessions take place on a weekday, I’ll arrive by mid-morning, and we do them within 2-3 weeks after baby has arrived. The younger baby is, the easier the session, as they are super sleepy and more easily posed.

To prepare for your session, I ask that you try to keep baby awake for 1-2 hours before our session to ensure they are super sleepy during the session. I also ask that you try not to feed baby 1-2 hours before the session as well (of course I understand when baby is hungry, they are hungry! So don’t feel worried if this isn’t possible, we can make do!) Once I arrive, I’ll ask for you to feed baby as I’m setting up. By the time I’m fully set up, baby should be full, sleepy and content for our session. If possible, I ask that you increase the temperature in your home to about 78-80 degrees for our session. Since there are a number of poses where baby is unwrapped, this helps keep them nice and comfortable. I do utilize a number of techniques to comfort baby, including a heating pad on the coolest setting under all the layers of the backdrop, a shush machine, noise machine and a small vibrating mattress pad to place near baby’s bottom. 

I have a portable set-up that includes a PVC backdrop, a light, reflector, a stool for myself to sit on, and props. The PVC pipe set up is about 4ft x 4ft, so please ensure you have an area that is large enough for that. If possible, I ask that it’s on the first floor to avoid having to lug all my stuff up the stairs, but of course, completely understand if this is not possible. 

I highly recommend a pacifier to help soothe baby during the session, but fully understand if baby either doesn’t like the pacifier or you want to avoid using it as to not cause nipple confusion. If you have special tricks to soothe your baby, they are always fully welcome 🙂

I bring a variety of props with me, including different colored backdrops, outfits, hats, bows, teddy bear’s and swaddles for our session. I will give suggestions based on the answers to your questionnaire but you are always more than welcome to look through my stash and pick combinations you desire. The session will be limited to about 3-5 different backdrops and props. If you have a specific item (wedding rings, uniform, hat, etc) you want featured in the photos, we can use that as well. 

We will do a variety of poses, usually the flow starts with the sleeping unwrapped poses on the beanbag. Once we capture those, we will move to the swaddled poses. I use a skin-colored stretch wrap and a “puffy” wrap that makes those cute little, perfectly round baby burrito poses, and on top of that, a second wrap which is what you’ll see in the photos. While doing this, I’ll be careful to make sure your baby is comfortable and that the feet and hands are positioned as I’d like them. The safety of your newborn is my number one priority, so everything I do during the session will be done with this in mind. For each setup that I do, I’ll take a lot of photographs so that you have a variety of images to choose from. I’ll include detailed close-up shots – capturing the baby’s fingers and toes and, if I’m lucky, I may catch an adorable smile or yawn. I’ll also take photographs from a wider angle. You’ll notice that I keep my setups and color schemes simple. With newborn babies, it’s best to keep the styling like this so that the focus is on the baby. I use gorgeous colors and soft fabrics that are soft to touch and cozy for my newborns. Usually, parents and sibling shots are done at the end of the session as your baby may be awake by then, and they don’t need to be asleep if they are being cuddled by mommy and daddy. I have a tan/beige or a cool gray color backdrop for theses shots. There is plenty of time built in to the session for feeding breaks. The main goal is to keep baby happy and content! 

Once the session is over and I pack up and head home, I’ll start the editing process. I do a very rough edit on the photos and within seven days, you’ll receive watermarked photos in a gallery where you’ll favorite the ones you’d like. I will fully edit your favorites and have them delivered to you within two weeks. They will be delivered via an online gallery available for download with printing rights.