Prep Guide

Newborn Preparation Guide

The first few days of a baby’s life are so magical and incredible!
Being able to freeze those moments for you is such an honor. It takes all of us to make the session a success. I thought it might be helpful to write down how the parents play an important role to a successful, pleasant and enjoyable experience.

So...lets get started

Let's Pencil You in

I highly recommend booking your newborn session at least 4 weeks prior to your approximate delivery date. This ensures your newborn is on my calendar. I understand that the baby is usually in full control of when they decide to make their appearance. I only take a limited amount of newborn shoots a week so that every parent is given my full creativity and attention to there little bundle of joy.

Birth Day

Yay!! I know you are just excited as I am to capture those little tiny fingers and toes! Once you and baby have been giving the green light to go home, please contact me right away to schedule the date and time for your newborn session. Typically newborn sessions have to be done within the first 12 days of birth. After the 12 day mark, newborns have discovered the art of stretching! Once that happens…they won’t let us curl them up in the cute little newborn poses, without a fight! But even after 7 days there are some newborns reach that milestone a little to early, than we have expected (as my little boy did) so I would recommend the earlier, the better!

Sleepy, Hungry

Babies do very well in the studio for posing when they are in deep sleep. To encourage this I highly recommend, stimulating the baby at least two hours before your scheduled arrival, a warm bath always does the trick. We need your bundle of joy to be exhausted, tired and a bit hungry. I know it will be hard, atop of your own sleep deprivation but I promise you, it will be well worth the effort!

Once you arrive, you will feed/nurse right away and now we have a (“milk drunk”) baby!! A well feed baby is a happy baby! Also please feel free to take as many breaks as needed for baby to refuel. It’s tough being a model!

Poo Whisperer

That I have been called many times (no lie) but no worries, it happens! This is completely natural for babies to use blankets or props as there own personal potty. Please don’t feel embarrassed, I reassure you it happens more times that I can remember. Know, I have three young children on my own so not long ago, it was there never ending mission to make mommy there own personal potty! Have a concern about sanitation? Don’t worry I wash all used props and blankets after each newborn session with baby safe detergent.

Soother

While it is not mandatory and I know that nursing mommy's are often directed to stay away from pacifiers for the first few weeks. To have one at the session can really make a difference in soothing the baby into poses .

Shhh

Please do whatever you can to keep the noise to a minimum during our session. Maintaining a calm environment is also a big key to a successful newborn shoot. I do have a white noise maker that I will keep close to baby during the session to help soothe him or her. Babies love strong and rhythmic sound. Amazingly! that’s the sound they heard 24/7 in the uterus!

Regulate the Temp

Since babies are usually photographed naked, the studio will be set at a temperature of 80F to ensure baby is warm and comfortable. If we’re not sweating, it’s probably not warm enough for baby! Parent’s please make sure to wear comfortable loose clothing, even layers so you can shed them if it gets too warm for you. I will provide water and some snacks. If you have special dietary needs know that you are more than welcome to bring your own snacks.

What to Wear

We want to have the focus on baby for the family photos. That being said, stay with neutral colors with no logos, patterns or designs. Plain white, cream, light brown cotton shirts are best. I typically only photograph parents from the waist up.

Mommy's, we will also wrap you in fabric. There is a reason the majority of wedding dresses are strapless, it's because it looks fantastic & very flattering to all body types. We are also after that skin on skin beauty you see in newborn photography. Please wear a spaghetti strap white, ivory or cream shirt with a bra that can have the straps tucked down.

If daddy's are comfortable removing their shirt we will ask for that, if not don't worry it's not mandatory;)

Please bring an extra shirt as you may experience being used as a personal potty, that I mentioned before, while holding baby for family photos.

Siblings can wear simple outfits that follow the same guidelines mentioned above.

Safety

Safety is my utmost number one top priority when handling your baby, so either mom or dad will be my spotter/assistant. All eyes and hands are to be kept around baby during posing. During the session I will be handling and posing baby, but don’t worry I have plenty of experience handling a newborn (don’t know if I mentioned I have three kids of my own!) I will hold and care for him or her as if they were my own, I promise!

A special note for you...

Mom, Dad I know this can be a very exciting and stressful time for you, especially when adding sleep deprivation in the mix! As much as my goal is for baby to be comfortable, I also want you to be comfortable and at ease! Having me photograph this precious moments for you, means a lot to me so anything I can do to make it a smooth journey for you, please don’t hesitate to let me know!

Again thank you for giving Southern California based Newborn Photographer, Amanda DeMay…the opportunity to capture these unforgettable memories for a long time to come!