How To Prepare for Your Newborn Session
As a San Francisco newborn photographer who has photographed babies in homes and hospital rooms big and small throughout the Bay Area, I have honed in on a few must-dos before your newborn session. These apply to every type of San Francisco newborn photo session, whether that be a Fresh 48 at one of the three Bay Area hospitals I service (CPMP, UCSF or Marin General), or in my Sausalito studio, or at your home in San Francisco or Marin County.
Newborn Photo Prep Tips
Prepare the space- Knowing what space you are photographing, and how your photographer works is so important.
Fresh 48 hospital newborn sessions- I like them to feel real and raw, and recommend leaving everything that sets the scene out. You’ll still want to tuck away big bags to free up space and not have a big blob of color in the corner of photos that is distracting, but all of those hospital elements make these kind of sessions for me!
Studio newborn sessions- These are easy peasy, because you just show up and we prep the space for you!
In-Home newborn sessions- Knowing how to prep for these really comes down to your photographer. I specialize in lifestyle photography (if you don’t know what that is, you can read all about it here). I always tell my families that their rooms, the baby’s room (if they have one, shoutout San Francisco closet nurseries!), and any main living spaces should be free of clutter. Anything in the room has potential to be photographed so tuck away anything you don’t want in the pictures that doesn’t fit your vibe. My portfolio photos are clean without clutter so if you want to replicate what you see on my website, that’s a good rule of thumb. No need to deep clean, just shoving some stuff in a closet will do!
Prepare your outfits- I always recommend simple tops or dresses for newborn photos in light/neutral colors. The baby will be close to your body the entire time and bright or deep colors can cast shadows and colors on the baby’s face. I would also recommend steering clear of button down shirts because they tend to gape when sitting and there will be lots of sitting with the baby. If you are stumped for what to wear, take a look at this post with all of my best photoshoot outfit advice. If you’ve just had the baby, you are likely going to want to skip tight fitting clothes around your mid-section, and should probably expect to still be wearing maternity pants if you go the pant route.
Prepare your special touches- I do not pose or use props in my work, as you can see here, but I do absolutely include sentimental items like a monogrammed blanket, the baby’s ultrasound or a special swaddle. If you have any of those, please have them handy. If not, have a simple muslin swaddle ready to go in coordinating colors to what you are wearing, or just plain white. If I photograph your newborn in studio, I’ll have white swaddles clean and ready for you!
Once you are all prepped and ready to go, it’s time to relax! Your newborn session with me will involve a lot of snuggling with your newborn, and playing with any older kids you have.
You don’t have to worry about feeling awkward in front of the camera because I will be there to direct you and make sure everything looks great!
If you are about to have, or have already had your baby and are ready for a newborn shoot, you can book one with me here!
