Maybe you just don’t feel good about going out right now. Maybe professional photography isn’t in your budget. For whatever the reason, many people document the first week at home.
Newborn photography at home might sound great, but you have some concerns. Here’s a few things to consider as you’re deciding whether to do your newborn photo session at home or in the studio.
After culling the photos and adjusting the color in Lightroom, I re-touch all my photos in Photoshop.
You would think newborns have perfect skin, but that’s only partially true! By the time I see a newborn (in the first 2 weeks of life) they could still have some bruising from birth. The newborn acne might have set in. They could also have scratches on their face from tiny newborn fingernails that haven’t been trimmed yet.
When a client asks about my covid procedures, it feels good to say…they’ve been in place for years, before covid even existed!
My favorite way to photograph a newborn with older siblings is in a very candid and natural way. I start with letting the oldest children take turns holding the newborn, then get the younger siblings close by.
Part of my job as a newborn photographer is ensuring a baby stays asleep during their photo session. Babies are best photographed sleeping because they don’t have the startle reflex that often happens while babies are awake.
Mar
04
Annie had gorgeous long lashes and cheeks for days. She slept like a champ and her big sister was the sweetest thing ever.
I love when newborn sessions flow perfectly and this one was one for the books. I was able to wrap Annie and photograph her in such a natural way because she was so relaxed.
Orange County Lifestyle Newborn Photographer
I loved my time with Baby Charlotte and her mom and dad a few weeks ago. There was lots of snuggling and just enjoying this sweet little girl. She was easy as can be and slept through her whole session. She even gifted us with a few sleepy smiles!
Click here to see other newborn sessions! Kristin Eldridge is a newborn / baby photographer in Long Beach, Orange County and Los Angeles.
I absolutely loved spending the morning with these three girls and their parents. We basically had a pink explosion in the studio. All the soft baby pink was perfect for brand new Baby AJ. Her sisters told me all about their favorite princesses. It won’t be long before AJ will have her favorite princess too!
What a beautiful family!
How Does a Newborn Session Flow
Anyone that’s new to newborn photography can tell you it’s harder than it looks. Babies sleep a lot, so it’s assumed that taking photos of them would be easy. All you have to do is search #pinterestfail on the subject to see how things can go wrong. Undressing a baby is a room that’s anything less than VERY WARM is the first thing that can make them mad. Not being held by an adult is a close second. Start moving them around and you’re asking for it!
So, how does a newborn session flow? How do we get the baby to cooperate and make it all happen in 90 minutes or less.
7 Tips for a Great Newborn Session
- Warm the room. I can’t stress how important this is. In your clothing, you should be sweating a little. Remember the baby won’t be dressed (or minimally dressed) so make sure they are comfortable.
- Use white noise. Even small things like talking or the sound of the shutter can stir them. So, make sure you have a good white noise machine.
- I start with the baby wrapped. I instruct parents to dress the baby in front snap or zip outfit that’s easy to remove. As I’m removing clothing, I’m wrapping them, so they’re never left with arms and legs moving around.
- Once I have the baby securely wrapped and soothed, I’ll take photos shooting straight down. I might move the wrap slightly to create different looks or add a hat. This is the point where I’ll shoot details of the hands, ears and hair.
- If parents want any basket props, I transfer the baby in the wrap to the basket and take close up and pulled out shots there.
- When I move the baby back to the bean bag, I’ll place them on their tummy start slowing removing the blanket and diaper. I’ll photograph the curled up on the tummy poses and do some slight variations in poses, plus adding hats/wraps.
- Lastly, I put the diaper back on, add a wrap and do some additional photos looking down. The baby might be awake by this time. Since the baby is wrapped, I also use the blanket to wrap around the feet and do those close-ups.
