Tips for the cutest newborn pictures

If you are planning to focus your career on taking newborn photos, it is important to bear in mind that this speciality is not like any other. In this type of reportage with newborns, the extreme care you have to take when positioning the babies and the time you have to dedicate to the preparation of the photo sessions are two very important aspects when it comes to offering a quality service to your clients, but these are not the only factors you have to take into account to be a great children’s photographer.

In today’s post we are going to give you 10+1 recommendations that will make your newborn photos professional and the service itself will be 100% to the liking of the new parents.

A must-have guide with 10+1 steps to offer unique newborn photos to families.

Find out all about newborn photos

As a general rule, newborn photos are taken a few days after a baby is born, usually in its first week of life. This short space of time from the time the baby is born until it goes to a photography studio for the first time, means that the poses can resemble the positions that the babies adopted in their mothers’ wombs.

In addition, in this type of reportage, the most common thing is to create a series of very colourful and elaborate sets so that together with the props used with the newborns, the results are true works of art.

This idea of newborn photography is beautiful and mums and dads are delighted when they discover that this type of session exists. But in order to be able to offer such adorable images, photographers have to do some very specific training and practice with specially designed articulated dolls.

So much work and effort on the part of the photographers has to be rewarded when families are encouraged to hire a report of this style, but sometimes, it can happen that the lack of information makes many mums and dads think about whether or not to carry out this first photo session of their children.

10+1 tips for successful newborn sessions

For all those mums and dads who are currently considering doing this kind of photo shoot to have the peace of mind and the desire to do a session of this type, it is important that: you have the right training, you can offer a series of newborn packs, they have the necessary information about how to do this type of photo shoot, etc. So if you want to add newborn photos to your children’s photo shoots, in the following guide we are going to give you a series of recommendations that will help you to start this process.

1# Ensures 200% safety for newborns

This is the most important aspect and the one on which you have to focus all your efforts, especially until you acquire a certain fluency when it comes to positioning the newborns. Remember that you will be holding babies who are only a few days old in your arms and you have to be totally sure of the poses you are going to do with them.

That is why training is essential to be able to start offering this type of reportage. Nowadays you can find an infinite number of courses on positioning babies where they will teach you how to hold them if you are not very fluent, how to position them and how to create a plan for the session so that these poses are as fluid as possible. At the beginning you can practice with specific articulated dolls with which you can simulate the different positions with newborn babies.

2# Take care of the lighting for newborn sessions

In photo shoots with babies just a few days old, it is important that you take the utmost care with the lighting that you are going to use during the shoot so that it is not aggressive and at the same time, you can create an atmosphere in the studio that is as soft and relaxed as possible. The idea is that the baby remains asleep or, at least, as calm as possible while you take the photographs and if you are focusing powerful spotlights on the baby, you won’t be able to achieve the calm that newborn sessions need.

If you are lucky enough to have natural light in the studio, make the most of it. This, together with the fact that babies will be much more relaxed in the mornings than in the afternoons, is one of the two reasons why it is highly recommended to plan this type of session in the morning.

It is also a good idea because, in most cases, the parents will be on leave a few days after the birth of their baby and for them, having the studio to themselves will be much more attractive than organising a session in the afternoon when you may already have a larger flow of clients.

3# Make sure that the studio environment is always relaxed and welcoming

In addition to doing everything possible to create a calm atmosphere in the studio so that the babies do not get upset, parents, especially if it is the first time they attend a session of this type, may often be a little nervous. Think about the fact that this is the first time they are going to leave their baby in the hands of a non-family member (with the exception of paediatricians, of course).

To reassure the parents, the first thing you should do, before they come to the session, is to send them a script of how the photo shoot is going to take place.

And for when they are in your studio on the day of the shoot, you can create a little corner for the parents with a comfortable chair, magazines, water, biscuits or even an instant coffee machine to make the hours they have to stay in your studio more pleasant.

4# Make the studio baby-friendly, too

In the newborn photos we have already mentioned that babies are placed in different poses to make the images more spectacular. These poses can be done on different elements, such as: drap, bucket, cradle, bowl and many more options. All these elements, together with the props both in the studio and on the baby, will make the photographs much more varied and the parents will love it.

So that the session does not take too long, it is important that you plan in advance, not only the sequence and order of the poses you are going to do that day, but also the elements, sets and props you are going to use.

All this previous work will help you to reduce the time of the reportage and to have more security during the time you are doing the photo shoot, since having everything under control, the workflow will be much more dynamic and effective.

5# Inform the parents in detail about the session

In point 3 we already told you about it and now we are going to go into a little more detail and it is about leaving all the doubts that the parents may have answered before the day of the photo session.

The first thing you have to convey to the parents is safety. Organise a chat with them beforehand and tell them how you work, what kind of precautions you take when positioning the babies and the experience and training you have. This will give them more confidence and encourage them to take on this type of very special photo shoot.

Once everything is more or less clear and they decide to do the photo shoot, you can send them a guide explaining how the day of the shoot will go. We are going to give you some examples of topics that you can deal with so that everything goes more smoothly on the day of the shoot:

• Indicates the number of hours the session will last.
• Explain what precautions they need to take before coming to the examination, such as: that the baby has finished feeding just before the examination, that the baby comes in comfortable clothes, etc.
• Ask them to bring a change of clothes in case the baby stains during feedings, extra nappies and several bottles.
• If parents are going to participate in the session, inform them about the costumes they can bring.
• Warn mums to avoid too much bright nail polish or flashy make-up on the day to avoid clashing with the pastel tones of your decorations.
• Etc.

These are just a few ideas but think that the more information your clients have beforehand, the more determined and relaxed they will be during the shoot.

6# Plan different packages or a service tailored to your customers’ needs

When organising the different packages, we always advise you to create at least 3 options so that you can reach a larger number of customers. The idea is to create a slightly cheaper package, an intermediate package and a premium package with all possible options.

Keep in mind that it is not the same to organize the studio for a photo book as for a newborn session, so it is important that you calculate very well the minimum price for which you are going to offer this kind of sessions.

Another idea that works very well is to inform interested families of all the options you realise and then organise a tailor-made budget.

And so that the parents are very aware of the value of this type of reportage, it is important that they have some prior information about everything you are going to prepare, the length of the session, your experience, etc. In this way it will be much easier for them to hire you for a photo shoot of this type.

7# Engage your clients in your pregnancy photos

Another very good option when it comes to attracting clients is to inform them about this type of photo sessions with newborn babies at the stage where the mothers-to-be have not yet given birth. Especially if you do maternity sessions, this method will be very effective because the mums will already know you and how you work and, if they are satisfied, you will have many more options for them to choose you to take the first photographs of their newborn baby.

And to make the offer even more attractive, you can create a special pack that includes a pregnancy session and a newborn baby photo shoot. Or you can even offer an exclusive discount on the newborn photos to all those mums who have had a pregnancy session in your studio.

8# Prepare different poses and transitions ahead of time

Although we have already mentioned it in other sections, we would like to dedicate a special section just to this topic, as we believe it is essential that you include in your work routine a detailed planning of how the reportage will be. In this way you will achieve greater fluidity when positioning the baby, your confidence, especially in the first photo sessions, will be reinforced and you will save time in each newborn photo session.

Ideally, you should create a routine of poses and transitions so that both you and the baby feel as comfortable as possible during the shoot. Then, for each family, you can adapt different settings or themes so that there is variety in your newborn photography portfolio.

9# During the photo session, be patient

Another essential requirement for a newborn photographer is patience. As a general rule, this type of session can last up to 4 hours and can be tiring for the baby, the parents and also for the photographer.

Ideally, you should plan a session that is not too long and organise the poses in such a way that they are a concatenation of scenes.

As they are very young babies and in many cases the parents are first-time parents, reserving a whole morning for a single newborn photo shoot will allow you to take as many breaks as necessary for the baby to feed, change the nappy or wait for the baby to fall asleep.

10# Continue to do business after the photo shoot

Once the parents have left your studio and even if you already have a series of photographs agreed with them, if you use a private client gallery for the delivery of the photographs where your clients also have the option to continue buying photos and other products, you will increase the profitability of each newborn photo session you carry out.

In the following help article we will discuss this topic in more detail.

>> Increase your sales through customer image delivery

10+1# Take care of your technique when taking newborn photos

Although this is the last recommendation we give you today, it does not mean that it is the least important, on the contrary. None of the above would make sense if you don’t learn to define your own technique when taking newborn photos. To do this, go back to training, renew your knowledge from time to time, look at your references and don’t neglect the editing of the images. In this type of reportage it is very important to give that final touch to the photos in the editing process.

Create a newborn session that dads will love

As you can see, in order to take newborn photos it is important that you are well trained beforehand in how to position the babies, in the composition of sets, photographic techniques and editing.

And once you have enough knowledge and experience, organise your sessions beforehand, inform your clients before they come to your studio and create a warm and friendly atmosphere to welcome these little angels that have just been born.

At Arcadina we offer you a series of business solutions that will help you to show your work on the Internet and continue doing business even when your studio is closed. Try them all for free for 14 days.

Today we are going to share with you an interview with Rebeca Canalda, a children’s photographer who does a different kind of photography for newborns.

>> What is the day-to-day life of a children’s photographer like? Rebeca Canalda tells us about it

And finally, here’s our question. Tell us why are you interested in newborn photos? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.

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