Happy Valentines Day Everyone!
Today I wanted to add to my photography and photoshoot tips area of the blog by adding in some tips for newborn shoots.
Our little guy is now 5 weeks old and I have to say I’ve taken my fair share of photos of him. During this process I have learned a lot that I would like to share.
1. Make sure the rooms the shoot will be taking place in are nice and warm. A portable heater works great. This will guarantee a happier baby. If I am doing your photos I will be bringing one with me.
Do you want naked baby photos? If you want the sleepy naked photos there are several things to do to make this go smoothly.
2. Feed them so that they can get into a deep sleep. The deep sleep is what works best for posing their cute little bodies. So try and figure out what works best to get your baby to this point so you’ll be prepared the day of the shoot. You can tell when they are in this deep sleep, since their arms will become pretty limp.
3. Take off their clothes before they fall asleep and wrap them in a blanket. This way we won’t disturb their sleep to take their clothes off.
4. The sleepy photos work best in the first three weeks of their life, so plan your shoot accordingly.
5. Think about things that you own that you would like to incorporate. These could be special blankets, baskets, wooden bowls, etc…
6. Have a few outfits picked out for the rest if the photoshoot.
7. Be prepared that a newborn shoot will take a while due to feedings, diaper changes, etc.. I would allow 2-3 hours.
8. Scout out the rooms in your house for lots of light, I shoot natural light, so once I arrive I will help determine the best places to shoot the photos.
9. Make sure you pick up clutter. I not only like to do photos of the baby but photos with the family as well. These could be dad feeding the baby a bottle, everyone hanging out on the bed, mom holding the baby, etc… So remove anything that you would not want in the background of your photos, i.e the pile of laundry sitting in the corner of the bedroom.
10. As a parent, be prepared to work some. You may need to soothe the baby from time to time or help get their attention.