What do we wear for our Newborn Family Portraits?
What do I wear for my Newborn family session?
As a women, I 100% understand that trying to figure out outfits for your whole family can be extremely overwhelming at times! Do I have to buy all new outfits? What will my kids wear? What looks good? Should we match? I’ll answer all your questions below!
Wardrobes Guidelines:
First and foremost…Coordinate, do not match. Wear colors that go together, but don't all wear the same color. This makes everyone blend together in images.
Avoid patterns at all costs. Patterns are distracting in images. When you look at an image of someone with a polka dot dress, the first thing you see is their dress, not their beautiful face! We want your family to be the main focus of these images, so solid colors are the way to go!
Neutrals, neutrals, neutrals. I ALWAYS recommend neutral or earth tone colors. Brown, Tan, Cream, White, Maroon, Earthy Greens, etc (see color chart below for examples). When photographing neutrals and earth tones, this makes your portraits look clean, crisp, and helps everything flow together without bright popping colors that can also be distracting, just like patterns.
Be COMFY. Wear something that you and your family are comfortable in. If everyone is uncomfortable, you will see that in your images.
For the ladies and little girls, I always recommend flowy, long dresses. Flowy dresses add character and texture to your images, without being distracting. I know for some momma's who have just had babies, we can be self conscious sometimes(I know I was), flowy dresses help hide most insecurities we may have. If you don't like your arms, wear long sleeves! Again, I just want you guys to be comfortable and love your final images, and wardrobes and the way we feel about how we look, can make a huge difference! (Even though we are all beautiful for who we are!) You could even wear a nice, soft sweater with jeans, if that's what you're comfortable in!
For the guys and little boys, I recommend a long sleeve comfy shirt. There is no need to wear button ups! (I know most men and little boys are happy to hear this haha). Then just comfy khakis or dark, white-washed jeans.
Guess what? You don't have to worry about shoes! Let the kids and everyone go barefoot or with socks for their session. Afterall, we are inside and I won't be aiming for your feet when capturing your family!
Of course this is just a general guideline. I want these images to portray you and YOUR family! Be comfy and confident in what you wear, that alone will make your images a beautiful representation and memory for your family!
*I do have select sizes and styles of outfits for kiddos and momma's in the studio for client use. If you're interested in seeing these, just let me know what sizes everyone is and I can let you know what I have. You can also go to visit the studio and see what I have listed at the moment for clothing options.
What should I expect at my newborn session?
What should I expect from a newborn session?
Baby Luke
Knowing what to expect before your little one’s session or before you even book your session, can take a load of stress and questions off your shoulders and make you feel much more comfortable when you arrive!
I’ll go through, timing, what to bring, and how long your session should take so you can plan accordingly!
LOCATION
My in-home studio is location in Summerville, SC behind the Azalea Square shopping center. I am only about 30 minutes from Charleston!
In my studio, I provide seating for parents and siblings and everything that we will need for your little one’s session. When you arrive, I will have white noise or a shusher playing and the studio will be warm to keep your little one happy and cozy! My studio is located upstairs, so please let me know if you have any restrictions. I would be more than happy to help you carry your little one or any personal belongings, up stairs for you!
TIMING
Your baby is growing by the minute, and if you want those sleepy, curled up images when your precious little one is at their tiniest, time is limited. I like to schedule newborn sessions within the first 2 weeks of baby’s birthdate, usually between 3-14 days old. Getting your baby in quickly after birth is one of the main reasons that its important to book your newborn session in advance.
Don’t worry if you were so busy, caught up and forgot to book a session before hand. We can do your baby’s session up to 2 months old! There are different expectations when your little one is older though. Such as, they may be swaddled the entire session. Older babies tend to be more wiggly, harder to settle, and more sensitive to touch, so they may not sleep for their session. That said, we can still get beautiful images of your little one, but we may not be able to do everything you may have envisioned, but I promise I will still deliver sweet, detail images of your precious pumpkin!
WHAT TO BRING
This list is pretty short. You’ll need:
Your baby dressed in a zip or button up sleeper
Your diaper bag with standard contents (diapers, wipes, burp cloth, formula, etc)
A pacifier ,even if your baby hasn’t shown an interest
SESSION LENGTH
You should expect to be at the studio 1.5-3 hours for your session. Why so long? Babies have opinions and sometimes they need some extra time to settle before they are ready for their photo session . I know how exhausting having a newborn is though, so I promise you’ll be with me no later than 3 hours!
Timeline and Process for Newborn Sessions with Family Portraits
How can I prepare for my family portraits and newborn session?
Planning a Newborn session and trying to prepare your family can be a daunting task! What do we wear? How long is this going to take? What if I have other kids and they get messy or bored? What if I forget something? How am I going to make sure we’re all ready on time?
It doesn’t have to be an anxious day! Let me help you with a timeline to give you a better idea of how the session will go so you can prepare ahead of time and just focus on the fact that you’re capturing a beautiful moment in time when you’re little one is still so small and brand new!
Baby Malorie and her gorgeous momma, Cassie.
Newborn Session Timeline:
1. The first thing we will do is feed your little one and do any diaper changes that would need to be done, burping, etc and any wardrobe changes you guys would need to do.
I usually recommend bringing the outfits you plan to put the older kiddos in and changing them right as the session starts so no one gets snacks on their outfits on the way.
We all know that kids will ALWAYS get their goldfish and Cheetoh fingers on their fresh clothes, just because they're about to take photos haha. Happens every. single. time! Every mother knows this feeling!
You can also bring yours and your partners clothes to change into at the session to avoid any accidental spit ups! I will hold and comfort your little one while you change! I also have a private bathroom right next to my studio room where everyone can change, or you can kick me out the studio and all change in there. I really don’t mind! What do we wear though? I cover this in another blog here —> https://www.whiteivyphotographyllc.com/blog-faqs/whatdowewear
2. After that, I will get your little one all swaddled up and ready for family images so they are cozy and sleepy. We will do family images with baby not swaddled too, but we start with a swaddle to get baby sleepy.
Then we will start with all the family portraits. Of course that will include, images of each member of your immediate family with your new addition, all the siblings together, you and your partner with your little one, and then images of the whole family together. If there are any other specific combinations of family members you would like together, please let me know so I can be prepared for you guys! I keep a detailed checklist for sessions to make sure we do not miss anything, so I want to make sure to put anything down that you would like!
This portion can take between 30 minutes to 1 hour
3. Once family portraits are done, then we will move on to individual images of your little one.
During this time, it is best if the studio is quiet and calm to keep baby comfy and cozy so they don't get startled. There is a park right down the road from my in-home studio (walking distance) that your partner or accompanying family member would be more than welcome to take the bigger kiddos to while we complete the individual images of your little one or you all could drive separately and someone could take the kiddos home. Whichever would work for you! I just know in the past, it did not go well with older babies having to sit for so long and stay quiet, which we all know they usually can't haha. After all, they are kids and they just want to play. (P.S. I do have toys in the studio for the kids to play with while we're doing family images to help keep them entertained in between different poses).
This portion can take anywhere between 1.5-3 hours just depending on baby's demeanor, how often they get hungry, and how often they need diaper changes.
4. After we're all done, you can take your time feeding, changing, etc, anything you need to do. Please do not feel like you need to rush out! I only do 1 newborn session per day so that no one ever feels rushed! I want these to be the most perfect, precious memories of this amazing journey for your family, and that takes time! I will never rush you, your little one, or your family.
I hope this helps ease any anxiety you may have had about how you’re going to prepare for your beautiful family portraits and newborn session!
