What To Expect When Booking a Newborn Photography Session
If you’re a first time parent, or just new to the world of newborn photography, the process of getting everything organized and ready to go to capture high-quality photos of the most precious new person in your life can too often be a source of stress and confusion.
At Carrie Lynne Photography, what motivates us to do our best work is the immense joy that can come from the photos we capture. We know that we create treasured lifetime memories every day, so we try to prevent process that creates those treasured photos from being stressful as much as we possibly can.
If you have a little one on the way and are curious about booking a session, consider this your “cheat sheet”.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the ideal timeline for a successful newborn photography session, from our first contact to your final photos, and include our most useful tips to help ensure a session runs as smoothly as possible.
Two to Four Months Before Your Child Is Born: Booking Your Session
Typically, we recommend that clients book their newborn photography session between two to four months in advance of your child’s birth.
Why so early? Imagine the first days and weeks of your child’s life: your life will suddenly be overwhelmingly full of joy, excitement, nervousness, and a ton of new experiences. Managing photography logistics will probably not be particularly high on your list of priorities during this exciting and busy time — nor should it be!
Booking a few months in advance not only gives us time to manage any logistical hurdles we might need to on our end, but also ensures that our plans are solidified long and a rough date is established long before the joy and stress of being a new parent takes over your personal priority list.
When booking, you have plenty of options to select from, including our Baby’s First Year packages which include multiple sessions to create comprehensive memories of your child’s precious first moments. If you’re just looking for a one-off session, that works for us as well!
We’re also happy to work flexibly with parents regarding due dates. During our initial discussions, we’ll put together a rough timeline based on your most recent due date estimates. When your bundle of joy is born, just let us know and we’ll work with you to finalize the date for our session!
Right Before Your First Shoot: Coming Prepared
Taking the time to make a few minor preparations once the day of your shoot comes around is probably the most significant thing that parents can do to ensure their photography session runs smoothly. Fortunately, most of these preparations are pretty straightforward!
If you’re hoping to include any specific outfits or items like precious blankets or toys in your photos, make sure that they’re set aside and organized for quick access on the day of the shoot.
We recognize that your newborn’s sleeping and eating schedule can be a little unpredictable in the first few weeks of their life, but ideally, your newborn should be changed, fed and sleepy on the day of the shoot.
Sleeping newborns tend to take the best quality photos, so keep this in mind when preparing your little one for the shoot. One way to encourage sleepiness is to turn up the heat — if you’re running into problems ensuring your newborn is ready to sleep, this can be a quick way to get them to doze off!
Additionally, avoid applying any new creams or lotions to your newborn before you bring them in for your session in case of an unknown allergic reaction.
During The Shoot: Relax, Be Patient, and Have Fun
The shoot itself can be stressful for even the most experienced of parents. Watching someone else handle your baby can bring out your parenting instincts, and an uncooperative baby may bring up concerns that the session won’t turn out well.
During the shoot, we may also ask parents to leave the room if the baby is distracted by their presence. This can also be a potential source of stress.
Our biggest recommendations for parents on a shoot is to try and relax and be patient.
We book three-hour sessions for our studio to ensure that we have plenty of time to work around any potential issues, and our experienced team puts your child’s safety above all else.
During the shoot, we’ll follow your child’s lead and take as much time as necessary to ensure safety, comfort, and of course, quality. If you’re tense, your child will feel that energy and it will become harder for them to relax and fall asleep. By setting the precedent of calm peacefulness, you’ll be helping ensure that everything goes as planned.
After The Shoot: Enjoying your Forever Memories
Once the shoot is completed, we’ll take some time to make any corrections or edits that are necessary, and then reach out with your finalized photos!
This is the moment that makes everything else worth it: we know you’ll be so excited to enjoy such amazing photos for a lifetime.
We offer a variety of print options depending on the plan you select to ensure that you can enjoy your photos in whatever manner you prefer. Of course, full-resolution digital options are also available. However, if you have a special print option in mind that isn’t covered on the plan you select, we’re happy to work with parents to ensure your satisfaction!
Ultimately, with a little preparation and mindfulness, your newborn photography session will be low-stress and result in stunning family heirlooms to treasure for a lifetime.
Ready to book your session? Drop us a line and we’ll be happy to help get you ready to take some gorgeous photos.
