What to Expect during a newborn photoshoot – we’ve got you covered

For those who missed it the first time, it’s important to repost if you have a newbie at home: How to Prepare and What Really Happens during a newborn portrait session.So, what really happens during newborn photo sessions?
Well, for starters, the sessions don’t flow from pose to pose and set to set, as I’m sure you’ve already imagined. We’re dealing with fresh little beings who have been breathing on their own for only about 10 days. They don’t know about lighting, where to look or to remain still, because they are little tubes. Breast milk or formula goes in and poop comes out. In the middle they stare, cry and sleep.

A newborn session can take up to four hours. During that span, our camera is not up with the shutter clicking away, because, as mentioned, newborns babies are entirely unpredictable. We never know when or how often they will cry, sleep, eat or need a diaper change and all those things tend to take the most amount of time during our session. A fraction of the 4 hours is spent capturing images, but don’t worry, we tend to get the magic because we know what to look for and when to seize a moment.

Here’s a little guide that helps moms who are breastfeeding and planning the photo shoot day.

Here are a few tips and suggestions that I email our clients prior to the session:
  • Give your baby a bath and lather him or her in lotion and bring the lotion with you. This will help condition any peeling skin.
  • Keep your baby awake before the session if possible. We know this can often be tricky during the car ride, but do your best.
  • We want you to bring us a hungry baby! When you arrive he/she will be ready for food and a nap. Those sleeping angels make the best portraits. Try not to feed for a few hours before arrival. Feeding when you arrive at the studio will ensure that he/she will drift off to sleep and be most cooperative to being posed and photographed.
  • If you are nursing, there is a list of foods that we recommend you avoid for 48 hours before your session that will help keep your baby from being gassy or fussy during the session.

Read the entire blog and be in touch! We understand what it takes from behind the camera and in front of it! We’ve got your back.


We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddingsbrides, and special events and portraits  of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.

88x31 lucy & glens valle crucis wedding photography | pixels on paper boone wedding photographers

All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.

Comments are Disabled