In Home Natural Newborn Session
Congratulations on your newest member to the family. I cannot wait to capture your newborn bubble!
I understand first hand that these times can often come with nerves and anxiety which is why I want to make this session as relaxed and comfortable for you as I can. Throughout this guide I will provide you with some helpful tips and discuss how I usually run through these sessions. However, please note that all newborns are different and as much as we all love those sleepy newborn images, sometimes they just don't want to sleep, and thats totally ok! We just work around them to ensure I make the most out of the time I spend with you.
What to know before your session:
When you book a newborn session with me,I will generally book you in under your due date and once your baby arrives I will get you to make contact with me asap and from there I will provide you with a few different date options, usually within the first 2weeks as well as a later option. I do this for a couple reasons, firstly we are unable to predict the date your baby arrives and secondly you may feel like waiting a few extra weeks before having your session. This is different for everyone, some clients wish to capture those super early days while others may want to wait or find themselves needing longer to recover/settle in before having there session done. I highly recommend booking a session within the first 2 weeks if your after the super fresh/sleepy images, however all ages are worth capturing and sometimes waiting a little longer may feel better for your family and we will make anything work.
Session Day:
I like to run my newborn sessions as relaxed as possible which is why I don’t like to put too much pressure on you/the parents to have to get ready to prepare for the session, however a few helpful things I can suggest are:
- Having your baby wearing a nappy & wrapped up in a blanket to keep them warm or an outfit thats easy to take off so that when I arrive we can easily get them changed.
- If they do use a dummy please let me know and have it on hand as this can be super helpful when resettling your baby without having to move them too much
- Having a couple areas in your home you would like to use for your session. A space with nice natural soft light is perfect. I genuinely use a window with sheer curtains (I have some in my newborn kit to hang up if you don’t have any in your home). I also tend to use other spaces like your living area, bedroom, nursery and front door.
- If you have other young children, I tend to run majority of the session led by them, this means they may wish to come an go from being in the photos and we may change things around a little more. However at some point during the session we may spend some time focusing on capturing your newborn by themself, during this time it can be helpful if (mum/dad) takes your other children/child outside for a play or to another room so we can spend some time getting bubs asleep.
- Your are more than welcome to stop and feed, change, re settle your baby at any time during our session. I always allow extra time for newborn sessions. They roughly take anywhere between 1.5-2.5hrs, but every session is different and I have done newborn sessions in under an hour.
- If you are bottle feeding, it's always helpful to have a bottle pre made on stand by for top up feeds if need be.
Session Day Cont
When I arrive at your home, I will bring along with me my newborn kit which includes, knitted newborn rompers/bloomers/outfits, wraps, blankets, sheer curtains, pillows and a few other bits and pieces. I will usually start by sussing out the spots we will use, then change your baby into one of my newborn outfits (if you wish to use them, you can also use your own). Then I'll wrap baby up, then give them to you to feed. From here I'm more than happy to rock your baby to sleep while you relax, even grab a cuppa. Then we will start our session. I capture a mixture of naturally posed images capturing all the details as well as some more relaxed lifestyle images. I also love to capture the more intimate moments too, so if time allows and you would like to spend some time at the end of our session capturing some intimate moments, I'd love to do this for you. For example, skin on skin (mum or dad) or you may wish to capture skin on skin moments in the shower or bath. These can be so beautiful and as much as this may be out of your comfort zone, you will not regret it. If this sounds like something you would like to do during your session please let me know in your questionnaire I send out to you.
I cannot wait to capture your newborn bubble, these are such precious moments to have documented.
Please let me know if you have any questions or just wish to chat/discuss our session in more detail.
Looking forward to it!
Ash x