In the studio with baby Stevie

Baby girl Stevie in the bucket pose

I often meet a lot of parents for the first time at their newborn photography session that take place in my studio just outside of Chatham.
Of course we chat before hand, I get an idea of what mom and dad are like before they arrive and the temperament of their new little family member. BUT… it is always hard to tell how baby will behave in my studio, being in a different environment and repositioned frequently.

I met April and Scott and their newborn Stevie this morning, and what a pleasure it was. I could tell mom had read over my prep instructions and baby Stevie was fast asleep when they arrived.

One of the main things I tell parents in my newborn prep, is to feed their newborn a full feed just before they leave the house. This means they have a full belly and a nice car ride just before they get to me so they are usually out cold when I take them out of their car seat. I also make sure to tell mom and dad to put baby in an easy to remove outfit that does not go over the head, a button up onesie or something with a zipper.

There a plenty of other small details I inform parents of before they come for their newborn session, but once they arrive I have to play my cards right and have the studio environment set just right to make most babies happy. The room is at a slightly uncomfortably warm temperature to adults, as newborns loose heat very easily when they are undressed. I also have multiple kinds of sound machines going, and a small vibrating pad for the extra fussy baby. With a few extra tricks up my sleeve, todays session flew by and I was saying my farewells and congratulations before I knew it.

It’s always so fun to meet new parents, learn a little bit more about them and their experience in the past week or two of becoming a new parent, and hopefully they can leave knowing they not only got some amazing shots of their baby, but maybe a small piece of motherly advice I can impart on them too.