You've got a newborn session booked with me and you've finally given birth to a beautiful baby(ies) and you've reached out to let me know.  Now what?  

I'm going to give you a rundown of how my newborn sessions go as a mobile newborn photographer.  When you booked your session with me you should have received a questionnaire to go through and answer so I can customize your session for you.  Based off of your answers I go through my dozens of luxury tiebacks, wraps, bonnets, backdrops, props, etc.. to curate your dream session.  I plan out the different poses I will do so I can come up with a good workflow so as to not wake the baby as much as possible.  I pack up my van with a suitcase filled with my posing aides, backdrops, wraps and layers and all of the other little things I might possibly need (which I'll go into detail in another blog of course).  I will usually bring a flooring of some sort, my light, heater, posing bed, light stand, camera, etc.... and I pack everything the night before (minus the lighting and camera of course).  

I show up to your home and swoon over your baby for a minute, make sure your baby is only wearing a diaper and is either eating or just finished eating. Once the room I will be shooting in has been decided I will turn my heater on to make sure the room gets nice and toasty.  It might take me 2-3 trips to bring everything in but once I have all I need I will setup as quickly as I can.  I have some parents who want to be in the room with me and others who prefer to either watch from the baby monitor or go do something they've been dying to do without baby in hand like eat or throw some clothes to wash.  I occasionally get parents who start out watching what I'm doing and then wind up taking a cat nap too!  

Once I'm setup I will decide how I will start and get the show on the road.  I will take pictures of your little one in specific poses and I'll be sure to capture that pose at different angles.  I'll switch up the look by swapping out headbands, hats, and layers so you get a variety of images to go through in your proofing gallery.  

Whenever your baby gets a little fussy I will see if they just need to settle or use a Paci but if I feel he/she needs to eat or possibly has tummy trouble I will interrupt the posing/photographing and do all I can to settle your little one.  At no point do I ever want you to feel stressed by your baby being upset-that's not fun for anyone.  During the session I will let your baby be my boss and lead the way the entire time.

Every baby is different and sometimes they are cluster feeding or are gassy or keep pooping or peeing or just need an extra snuggle with Mom.  That's OK.  I just ask that you as a parent understand that a newborn session can sometimes last longer than you think.  I know I've had people tell me before how newborns must be so easy and they just sleep the whole time but I can assure you it is not easy and they don't always sleep the whole time.

Talking about pooping and peeing I do want to let you know that if I pose your baby without a diaper, and many times I do, you should expect poop and pee at some point.  This is completely normal and I fully expect this.  No need to apologize or feel bad that your little one pooped all over a blanket or spit up on a wrap.  I will wash and sanitize whatever they get a mess on so everything is clean and not stained for my next session.  

When I'm done photographing your little one I will enjoy one last little snuggle and then I will hand him/her back over to you.  I'll pack up everything I brought and get it back out to my van.  I'll let you know how you'll receive your proofing gallery, say my goodbyes and leave you to snuggle and cuddle your little miracle.  

And that, my friends, is how I run my newborn sessions.  Feel free to ask any questions in the comments below!