Tips for your newborn session at your home

If you choose a home session there are two parts to this session - natural and posed. I take documentary style images of you with your newborn (and husband and sibling(s)) where I will show you naturally with your newborn in your environment. Some of my favourite images from these sessions are the unexpected moments rather than the posed images, especially if you have a sibling involved. I will also take posed images, with your newborn and on their own.

Here are some tips to prepare for your newborn session with me.

Before the session:

Please contact me during your second trimester so I can mark you down in the calendar and keep some space clear around 7 days after your due date. Even though most babies don’t arrive on that date it helps to know before the time!
Please send me some photos of the lounge area and bedroom area in your home and let me know what direction your apartment faces.
As soon as baby is born, please contact me to confirm date and time. It is best to have the sessions within 2 weeks of the birth as this is when babies are most sleepy but for home sessions where the session is much more natural we can do anytime up to 3 weeks. But keep in mind that flaky skin and acne can appear around 14 days and babies start to

Your home and props:

I will work with the space you have and have experienced doing sessions in many small HK apartments so understand how to work with small spaces and light. It would help if you could minimise clutter in your room, nursery and lounge. It doesn’t need to be perfect as I know you will be so very tired but if you could get hubby to help a little that would be great, otherwise I will work around everything with no problem. If you could invest in a nice plain duvet cover for the bed in advance that would be awesome. We want the attention to be on you and the baby.
Whilst most of the shots will be very natural, please let me know if there are specific colors you would like to use in the images. I have a collection of blankets, wraps, baskets, knit hats and headbands available for parents to use. You are also welcome to use any of your own props. Items with color and texture help make unique images. If you have toys, hats, props or family heirlooms you would like to use in the session, please let me know.

What to wear:

Please feel free to get your hair, nails and makeup done so you feel good for the session. If you don’t have time no problem, we are looking for natural images and you may not feel the need to get too much styling done.
Parents are the most important “props” the baby has. Please wear simple and neutral colours.
Siblings should be in solid, neutral colors (cream, white, grey) to keep focus on the baby.
Baby will be naked for some of the images but I mainly use wraps as most babies love to be swaddled and this will help with settling if they are taking time to go to sleep. Keeping everyone else in neutral colors will keep the focus on baby when they are swaddled in a wrap. I do recommend using newborn outfits because they tend to be too big and cover their face when parents hold them.

On the day:

Before I arrive, please have all your curtains and blinds open. Once I arrive I will do a quick walk through of your home looking for the best natural light for the baby only shoot. Sometimes the best location is in the kitchen or by a deck door; usually wherever there is a large window.
It is recommended that you keep your home a little warmer than usual for the session. Newborns are used to being in a very warm womb. We want them to be comfortable and heat also helps them sleep better. If you need me to bring a heater, please let me know.

About 30 minutes before the session, please loosen up your baby’s nappy so that any imprints from the nappy will be gone when I arrive and have the baby in loose fitting clothes.
I recommend that you try to keep your baby awake for a while before the session so they are sleepy for the session. If you can give the baby a bath and massage with lotion before the session this helps with reducing dry skin.
Please feed and burp the baby right before the session to ensure baby is happy and sleepy. You may need to feed again during the session if they get cranky. We will always take time out if baby is unsettled and we have 2.5 hours for this reason.
Have any props you would like to use ready.

During the session:

During the session I will focus on the shots of the baby on its own first normally (unless you have another child and their schedule means we need to include a sibling at beginning). So this is why having a sleepy baby is very important and for a calm quiet environment. I will literally take the baby from you and settle her/him and you can sit down, relax, have a cup of tea. Only those being photographed should be at the session.
The baby may get fussy but I will still get the shots. In some cases, it can take some time to settle the baby, whilst in other cases they can zonk out for a long time. It really just depends on the baby and the day. We will let the baby take the lead. Sometimes the baby will need to eat, get a new nappy and just need to cuddle with Mom. Babies know when the parents are stressed, so keeping the environment mellow and calm helps to keep the baby calm. Because my style is also documentary, I will not need baby to be asleep for all images anyway and I like to capture some images when baby is awake and you are interacting with baby when awake as well as nice and asleep.
It can get messy with wee or poo so it would be helpful if you had a stack of old towels, extra wipes and blankets on hand just in case things get messy.
I will not put the baby in unsafe positions. I like to keep my newborn photography natural and simple. Whilst I use blankets and some basket props, for home sessions the positions are simple as I want to also make sure we focus on the images of your family together interacting as I feel this is what makes sessions at home special. To see babies in their environment.

If you have any questions, please let me know!