Newborns are best photographed when they are sleepy and within the first two weeks (or so) of their lives.
Newborn photography is definitely challenging but the most rewarding! Here are a few tips in planning preparation to make it an even more successful newborn session.
Sleepy Babies take great photos
In the first few weeks of their life, newborns need 16-20 hours of sleep. That’s why it’s essential to capture that window of opportunity when they sleep so much and so well. I strongly recommend that babies are photographed within the first 10 days of their lives due to how drastic they change from the first 10 days to the 2nd or 3rd week.
There are 3 ways to achieve the best levels of sleepy for your newborn session:
1. Well-fed
I advise my clients to feed their newborns a large meal right before the start of their newborn photography session.
Babies with full tummies sleep very well! Think back to a Thanksgiving dinner where you stuffed yourself and how sleepy you became. Newborns that are well-fed will not only sleep better but sleep in longer stretches since it’s important that they get sufficient nutrients. It’s natural that their bodies wake them when they need something, such as food. The goal here is to aim for the longest stretch of uninterrupted sleep.
Newborns grow well when they sleep and eat well – it goes hand-in-hand. I’ve found tremendous success in the early months by taking that to heart. Babies see significant changes within the first few years of their lives¹ and they need the nutrients and the sleep to keep up. The pattern that I’ve aimed for is to increase the feeding per session to increase the amount it sleeps in each cycle (allowing me, the mother, to sleep in longer stretches too!)
2. Awake Prior to Session
Try your best (and I know it’s hard) to keep your newborn awake 30 minutes prior to the session so that baby can be in deep sleep for the session. A well-fed and tired baby will sleep deeper and longer. In the days prior to your session, you will have sensed a pattern for your baby in the timing for their feeding and sleeping. By leveraging that knowledge through your experience, you can aim to have your baby ready for a deep sleep during the session.
3. Comfortable
Newborns have spent over 9 months in their mother’s womb where they’ve found themselves to be comfortable. Their comfort comes from their sense of their mother, their cozy feeling of security while wrapped in the womb, and the physical warmth. What that means for your newborn photography sessions is to stay relaxed and to emulate a warm environment during the session to keep your baby as comfortable as possible.
- Relaxed Parent – Your baby can sense that you’re tense so just take a deep breath and relax!
- Feed, Burp, and Change – These are three of the most basic things that a baby will need in every cycle before it falls asleep. Hungry babies, gassy babies, and wet babies will always wake up from discomfort.
- Warm – Newborns like it nice and toasty. I ensure that my studio has the proper temperatures for your baby. If you plan to do an in-home session in your own home, I will require you to turn up the thermostat between 75-80 degrees for the room(s) that we will have our session in.
- Noise – Acute noises wake up babies. To keep our newborn sound asleep I try to always have a sound machine on to provide ambient noises that will drown out sudden sharp noises. If there are siblings please have things for them to do so they can assist in keeping a calm environment.
- Patience – Every baby is different in their patterns and their behaviors – and that’s a wonderful thing. Sometimes some babies can be fussy. We’ll just be patient and do our best to work with the baby.
