there are SO many things on your brain when you bring a new baby home — stressing about your newborn session shouldn’t be one of them!  i love to simplify this for parents – go neutral.  babies in white onesies, parents in comfortable neutral clothes and siblings in anything except brilliant highlighter colored shirts with graphics and big writing!  if you have something super special that you want baby to wear, or have some little embellishments leave them out the night before so all you have to worry about is getting everyone cleaned up that morning and snuggling!  i suggest to families to keep it simple – put aside a special family blanket, a dainty headband for your little lady or a hat for your newest little dude.  thats all you’ll need!  the important part of the images created is YOU.  new moms, dads, big brothers and sisters and this perfect little one who just entered your lives and changed everything!

the last thing i want you to do is stress about your house.  i KNOW what its like to have a newborn, whether its your first or fifth – we can move anything we need to… and i can make it work with ONE room if needed!  take a snapshot of the potential rooms for the session (usually master bedroom, nursery, guest bedroom) at the best lit time of day and I can give you some guidance as to where I think we’ll use the most.  Any place in the house can be used if it is well lit – regardless of whats in the room!  Sometimes a staircase is our best option!

so it boils down to this:

*pick some neutral clothes for baby – and a blanket/hat/headband with meaning

*stick to neutrals for the rest of the fam – simple shirts (try to stay away from black for moms!)

*make sure siblings are fed before the session, and prepare them for a friend coming over to take pictures

*don’t stress about a clean house – i will take care of anything that needs to move when i’m there

*try to feed the baby pretty close to before the session – but don’t worry – newborn sessions take breaks for feeding… (and its just another opportunity for some super special, intimate photographs!)

*its ok for siblings to need breaks – their lives have been turned upside down with the entrance of a baby – let them do their thing and we’ll get them involved when they are ready.

Remember, I want you to RELAX… your newborn session should be a time when you get to breathe in your little ones, your husband.. the family you have created together.   its a time to reflect on an amazing experience, all while letting someone else do the hard work documenting this moments.  I want you to experience them, while I capture it… so it can be relived forever and ever through beautiful artwork in your home.  My children love to look at their newborn albums and our family albums and tell stories saying “remember when I was a baby…”.  it is absolutely unbelievable how fleeting this time is – leave the stress up to me and love on your little family <3

ultimately this session is about you and your family.  freezing a moment in time and keeping it forever.  looking at a statement piece in your living room and being brought back to the moment when your little one was small enough to fit in the nook of your arm.  i want you to look at your baby’s newborn album and feel all the feelings you felt bringing him or her home for the first time.  let it be just that – feel all the feelings – don’t stress about the rest.