Kimberly Jarman Photography

Baby Love: What To Bring To Your Newborn Session
Written by: Elise, Associate and Newborn photographer for Kimberly Jarman Photography 

One of the first questions new moms ask us right before they come in for their newborn pictures is: ‘What should I bring to my newborn session?. So we figured we’d write this blog post to answer that burning question!

There are several things you can bring to your session to help it go a bit more smoothly. First, be sure to bring PLENTY of wipes and diapers, because we’ve heard that famous line from so many of our parents – ‘he hasn’t had an accident yet – isn’t that awesome?!’ and chances are that your friend ‘karma’ will kick in, and that will be the day that you get peed on by that sweet little bundle of joy. Just you watch 😉 Not that we wish that on anyone, but we’re just warning you!

Second, while we’re on the subject of getting pee’d on, if you’re taking family pictures as well, be sure to bring an extra set of clothes for that very reason – just in case there is an accident!

Third, bring a few burp clothes, swaddling wraps, and items to feed or pacify the baby if needed. Basically pack a fully stocked diaper bag for all of the “in case moments”. We do have some of these items in the studio, but so many babies have specific items that they need, so it’s good to be prepared.

Next, we love adding a personal touch to any session, to please feel free to bring any props that you would like to see in the pictures…bring what means the most to you! Now don’t go overboard, we unfortunately cannot base an entire photo shoot around every little hair bow or cute hat, but we’ll try to incorporate a few of them as much as we can for as long as they work! If you tell us the ones that are your ‘must haves’ in pictures, we’ll make that a priority! We also do have some of these items in the studio, as well as colorful wraps and furs for the baby to use.

It seems like a lot of new moms come into sessions with cute hair pieces or giant tutus from all-too-addicting Etsy. We love all the cutesy, often frilly and vintage stuff accessories, but sometimes it might just not work. The headband you bought might be a little too big or the tutu could be just a little too much for your tiny newborn. Stuff like that is actually great to purchase for their 6 month-old session- when they’re able to sit up, interact, and show it off a little more than a sleeping newborn might. So, in conclusion: Props… good. Too many props? Not so good. Will we get to them all? Probably not. Will we try? You bet’cha. Etsy? Go for it. Just be prepared that for some reason or another it might not work at that particular time.

Would you like to know what the most important and vital thing to bring your newborns session though? A calm demeanor and a go-with-the-flow attitude. If your baby does have that accident we were talking about, don’t panic – feel free to laugh and chalk it up to one of those memories you’ll be telling their teenage friends in 15 years to embarrass them! We understand that babies have to go too, so please don’t be embarrassed or worried if they go all over our props or even us; we are ready and know it will probably happen. We have a washing machine and extra clothes, so we can clean that all up! It’s mostly important that we get those great pictures and because most sessions are done with a nakey baby, we know that there is a chance it could get a little messy! In Winston Churchill’s words… ‘Keep calm and carry on’!

Before you actually come into the studio, be sure to get your baby nice and milk-drunk! At this age, the only things that should wake them up a during the session is if they’re hungry, so right before you hop in the car, feed your baby as much as possible to ensure they’re full for a good, long time. Between that and the ride over to our home studio, that baby should be OUT! Also, make sure you loosen their diaper about 30 minutes before we start the shoot. A tight diaper can leave imprints on their legs and bums, which causes more editing for us later. So just do us a quick favor loosen that diaper just a bit 🙂

When you get to us, we’ll go over different options of which props you would like to use, and make sure we’ve got a game plan for the next few hours. At that point we’ll have the house nice and warm, if it’s the winter we’ll crank up that heater, and if it’s the summer we’ll turn that A/C down way low, so be prepared to be VERY hot yourself! Because your newborn will be naked for most of the session, we want to make sure that they’re extremely warm and comfortable.

After we’ve discussed the overall look and feel of the session, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the experience! If your baby starts to cry (and don’t worry, most babies do at least a little bit), we’ll try to take care of them ourselves first, but if at first we don’t succeed… we’ll hand them over to Mom and Dad! Each session lasts between 1.5-2 hours, and in that time we try to 3 different ‘looks’ (like different backdrops or props) and anything else we get after that is a bonus! By the time that 2 hours is up we will have captured one the most precious and irreplaceable time in your child’s life, something we treasure.