Timeline and Process for Newborn Sessions with Family Portraits
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!
