I’ve photographed in-home newborn sessions for years now, and though every home is different and every family unique, most parents have the same questions as they prepare for their newborn session. So I’ve put together this prep guide to help answer a lot of those FAQs!

Prepping Your Home

-If you plan to keep baby swaddled or clothed in a cozy outfit the whole session, this part can be skipped. However, if you’d like some pictures of baby in just a simple onesy or even without clothes or a swaddle, I recommend keeping your home a bit warmer than you may be used to. A lot of babies cry when they are changed or being bathed not because they hate being naked, but because they’re cold. It’s quite warm in their mother’s womb (like 80 degrees!) and they are used to those cozy temps!

-I absolutely don’t care if you have dishes in the sink, spots on your bathroom mirror, and diaper boxes in the entryway. However, you may want to tidy up a few specific places in your home. I mostly use baby’s nursery, the family room, and the master bedroom when it comes to sessions. So if you’d like to clear nightstands, make your bed, and do a light pick-up of those common areas, that may be helpful so we don’t have to do that during the session.

-I mostly use natural light or my own lighting, so if you can open the blinds and curtains in areas we may be using for pictures, that can be helpful!

Prepping Baby

-If possible, try keeping baby awake for 30 minutes or so before I arrive, and plan to feed baby when I get there. I usually have a bit of lighting equipment and props to carry in, so the pictures won’t start as soon as I walk in. This way baby will hopefully be sleepy and have a full belly when we do get started for pictures and be happy and content for a while!
*But please don’t stress over this part. If baby needs more time to settle or eat throughout the session, we can absolutely pause at any point!

-I have lots of swaddle wraps and even some tiny outfits for newborns, so you don’t have to have anything prepared for them to wear unless you just want to! I don’t recommend newborn outfits with wording, unless it’s an outfit you absolutely adore, because it can be tough to read those letters in more than one or two specific poses. Also, babies are usually tiny when born, and sometimes newborn sized clothes are still too big, so I recommend trying outfits on baby before the session to see if they fit. The less we have to change them during the session, the better! :)

-If you can have baby in a fresh diaper when I arrive and either in a zip up outfit or just wrapped in a blanket, we can easily change them when we get started!

Prepping parents & siblings

As far as parent outfits go, I love anything soft and cozy, as textures like sweaters can add more visual interest without being distracting like a busy pattern. I’m not against patterns, but I recommend breaking up a pattern with lots of solids to keep it from being overwhelming. Neutrals and pastel tones always look great with a sweet new baby!

Siblings are absolutely welcome at newborn sessions! I recommend one outfit for siblings, maybe two if you’d like a different option for sibling shots than family photos. I don’t love clothing with wording, like “Big Sister”, because it can be tough to get those shirts to be readable in different positions, and especially with any squirmy toddlers, this adds a lot of extra time to those shots to make sure there aren’t wrinkles in the clothing. Soft colors photograph great with baby, and simple, non-distracting patterns are best to keep the focus on those sweet faces.

I always recommend coordinating vs. matching. Dressing identically can be a little dated and draw more attention to the clothes than the people in them. :)