Preparation for a newborn session

As a parent of a newborn baby, everything is dominated by him / her. You are very grateful for your baby and of course you want to capture those first moments on photos. That way you can always recall those special memories later.

I want our photo session to be a joyful experience, without stress. Because I know how stressful a photo shoot can be, especially if you have had little or no sleep, I have put together some tips to help you get through the preparation quickly.

If something is not clear and / or you still have questions, you can of course always contact me. I will be happy to help you! I would be more then happy to help you!

Feed your baby 3 hours before the scheduled time of the photo shoot. Then try not to feed until just before the photo shoot. Do you live far? Then you can of course also feed your baby in my studio. We try to plan the session so that it roughly coincides with the baby’s existing drinking schedule.

With a full belly, a baby will calm down on its own and he / she will sleep quickly. This ensures a good start to the photo shoot. If your baby still gets hungry between the feed before the shoot and during the shoot, you must of course feed him / her. In this case, try to appease the baby and not offer complete nutrition.

Are you breastfeeding? Check out the nutrition tips on my blog . There I list several foods that you should avoid 48 hours before your session. Every baby is different, but I have found from personal experience that certain foods really have an effect on the baby.

There is a chance that the baby will become restless during a photo shoot. When working in the middle of a pose, it is easier to have a bottle ready to calm the anxiety. If we breastfeed the baby, he / she is completely taken out of the “flow” of the photo shoot.

Are you breastfeeding? Then try pumping some milk and bringing it with you. Would you rather not have your baby drink from a bottle? That is of course no problem, we will of course let your baby breastfeed when he / she is hungry.

Do you bottle feed? Then bring some extra bottles. Babies often get extra hungry during newborn photo shoots.

Even if you don’t want your baby to get used to it, make sure you have one there. It will make the photo shoot run a lot smoother. Some babies have a huge sucking reflex and then a pacifier is the only way to calm him / her. Other babies are not interested in a teat at all. But it is better to err on the side of caution and bring one with you.

Change your baby with a fresh, clean diaper for the last feed before the shoot. Put it on loosely so that no pressure spots on the skin are visible. With a posed photo shoot, it is not necessary to dress your baby completely again. Just put on your baby a diaper and wrap him / her in a blanket or put your baby on comfortable clothes (which are easy to take off). Suppose the baby falls asleep during feeding or during the car ride, then we can still easily take off the clothes, without having to wake the baby.

Newborns are used to being in a small, warm place. They’ve been there for the past nine months and they don’t feel comfortable when they are cold. That is also the reason why I make it extra warm in my studio. Of course I also provide enough blankets that we can use between the photos.

Also bring photogenic clothes for yourself and your partner and preferably extra. Very often a baby finds it necessary to wet 1 of you during the photo shoot. Then you are at least prepared for that.

After your baby has fed his / her tummy, he / she may not immediately fall into that deep sleep we need for taking pictures (at the Cuteness Overload & Sweetly Swaddled photo shoot). Don’t worry though, I have several techniques that can help a baby sleep faster. The most important thing, however, is that the environment radiates tranquility. A baby has invisible antennae and feels everything exactly, as soon as you get stressed for whatever reason, your baby will feel it and it will be a tricky photo shoot. I take all the time it takes to take the best photos, without time pressure.

This is probably the most important tip: be at peace with the fact that you may have to take a picture with you and be prepared for this (even if you have booked a photo shoot of just your baby). If I notice that the baby is only calming down with you, I can ask you to calm him / her down by holding him / her, rocking and possibly feeding him / her. This way the baby feels that everything is okay. Some babies just need to be held.

I know a lot of new mothers are not eager to be on camera because you are exhausted, have a belly … I understand that completely of course. First and foremost I want to say, you do deserve to be photographed, this is a new phase of life for you and these photos will become the most cherished photos. Do you absolutely not want to be photographed? Then we can of course bypass this and I will, for example, only use your loving arms around the baby …