If your little one hasn’t already arrived
If your little one hasn’t already arrived, then the first step is to book your newborn session in advance to ensure that we’re available. Contact us during your second trimester and we’ll pencil you in. You can then shoot us an email or give us a call once you deliver and we can confirm a time.
The first two weeks
Newborn sessions must be done before the baby is two weeks old, preferably between 4–10 days old, but up to 14 days, while they still spend most of their time sleeping and are easy to work with. After two weeks of age, they tend to be disturbed more easily while sleeping and it is not as easy to capture those calm, relaxed newborn looks. While we’ll always be able to capture beautiful photos whatever the age, once your little one is beyond this “new” stage, we may not be able to get those sleepy, curly poses.
Location
We’re happy to make it more convenient for you by having your newborn session take place in your home. No need to worry if things are a bit messy, if there are dishes in the sink or things are a bit disorganized, we understand that taking care of a newborn is a lot of work!
On shoot day
Interact with and keep baby awake for 1–2 hours before your session to ensure they are nice and sleepy for the entire shoot. Just before we begin we’ll ask you to feed your little one, as a full baby is a sleepy baby, and we need a very sleepy and calm baby to capture those sweet, flexible poses you see in our portfolio. Without this preparation it will be challenging to capture those peaceful, relaxed photos. We use natural light as much as possible, so if you have an open window or sliding glass door we’d be happy to make use of it. Having said that, most indoor locations tend to not have enough light, especially during the winter, so we’ll always be prepared with supplmental light. We use a flash that shoots into a white umbrealla, diffusing the light so that it’s not too bright for baby, and giving a very natural look that’s very similar to a well-lit window. We’ll be bringing our “mini studio” with us and will need a small, open area to set up. If you have a spot already picked out for us, that’s great. If there are a few options available and you’d like us to help you choose what works best, we’d be happy to as well.
Keeping baby comfortable
Babies sleep best when the room is nice and warm. If possible, please turn up your heater to approximately 26 degrees celsius (80 degrees farenheit) in that area about half an hour before our sessions starts. We’ll probably be sweating the entire time, but baby will definitely enjoy it! We will also bring a small space heater to help keep the room/space warm and your little one comfortable. If your baby takes a pacifier, be sure to keep it handy. It is often convenient during the shoot to keep baby calm and soothed for the one to two hours they we’ll be taking photos. This is much easier than moving baby each time they need soothing. Dress your baby in loose fitting clothes to minimize any lines on your baby’s skin and to also avoid having to disturb baby when getting undressed. A simple sleeper is best. If possible, please avoid clothing that needs to be pulled over your baby’s head. We’ll also have our phone ready with a white noise generator to help soothe your little one during the shoot.
Sit back, relax and enjoy
During the session, feel free to sit back, relax, read a book or even take a nap – take advantage of this time to rest! We’re comfortable holding and posing newborns, having done many newborn shoots, and Danielle is also a registered nurse so your baby is in safe hands.
Ready to book? Reserve your session
