Preparing for inHome Newborn Session with Ann Coles Photography

Congratulations on your new family addition. This is such a special time for your family and I feel honored to be asked to capture this time.
I have complied the following to help make your session go as smooth as possible and we capture some very special moments.

What can you expect from your session

With an inhome newborn session - there is a few requirements I will need. I will cover that later on in this post.

I am a natural posing newborn photographer, this means that newborn sets the pace and poses. I do however encourage certain poses styles - Please take the time to look over my newborn portfolio to see what type of images I capture, Should you want more over posed photos (froggy, completely naked) depending on what they are I may not be the right photographer for you -please discuss this with me.

My Full Newborn sessions I allocate 2 hours for. Sometimes we may go over this time if baby is close to being settled (to max of 2 and half hours) sometimes your session is completed within an hour. All depends on baby as they rule to shoot. If you follow the following suggestions on how to prepare hopefully we will be able to capture all images in the allocated time. I unfortunately can not be responcible for unsettled babies or images not capture though I will try my utmost to capture them. Don’t worry if your baby is awake during the session, wide eyed newborn photos are beautiful too! So long as baby is happy and content, I will keep working away

How do I prepare my Home for the session?

To create the beautiful images that you see on my website and Facebook page, I require a spot in your house that lets in a large amount of natural light. Usually a lounge or similar area with a big floor to ceiling window or ranchslider/french doors. Usually not too much space is needed, but I may need to slightly move a lounge suite chair if possible, For family images I use a plain wall in your home, preferably white, cream or grey. If you only have walls that are an alternative colour, please let me know in advance I may need to bring a temporary back drop.

If you feel your house is quite dark, or you do not have a large window I can get close to for the session, please let me know as we may need to make other arrangements to ensure you receive high quality images. This may mean we need to do the newborn session in my home studio.

There is no need to tidy JUST for me, I realise you’ve just had a baby, and things may be a bit chaotic in your household. I only need a small area to work, and I completely understand the chaos !

Crank the heating up! I recommend that the room is kept at a warmer than normal temperature just prior to the session, so your baby is comfortable for portraits with very little clothes on. Us adults may feel hot, but your baby will love it and will sleep a lot more comfortably. You may think it is warm enough, but it needs to be fairly warm to ensure your baby sleeps as soundly as they can with little on.

If you have pets please ensure they are put away for the photo session. A lot of my props and items I bring are very delicate and hand wash only. Dog/cat hair in particular can get into all sorts of places, and for hygiene reasons of my sessions & other babies, I’d like to minimise this where possible. If we are including your dog in the session, we’ll bring them out when needed.

When do I feed my baby?

Please feed baby and have a clean nappy on just before my arrival time for your session. Babies sleep best when they have a full tummy or are ‘milk drunk’. If your baby will take a dummy, it would be great to have that available as well. It’s great for settling and we can take it out for photos

Also be prepared for top up feeds during the session. If you are bottle feeding, have a bottle on hand ready if needed. If baby wakes, or is unsettled, I allow time for resettling and we can take a break whenever is needed.

Can Siblings be in the photosession?

You sure can! I love to reserve some shots at the beginning of the session to document the bond between the older children and the new baby. If sibling are to be included I will capture sibling and family photo's at the beginning of the session. Then they can go off and play in another area. If they are happy to play quietly, I have no problem with them staying around, but loud noises should be avoided if possible, just to ensure we get the best out of your session and baby isn't startled.

PLEASE ENSURE OTHER CHILDREN AND TODDLERS ARE SUPERVISED AT ALL TIMES AROUND MY EQUIPMENT & SETUP. They must be kept with you always. My attention and focus is on your baby, as I work, and I would hate for something to get damaged or someone hurt by climbing in or around my setup.

I include immediate family only in your newborn session. I encourage both parents to have photos with your new baby, together and individually, Those precious moments when they are so little and the bond between new parents is amazing. These photos will be treasured in the future.

The exception to other family members being included is if you have purchased NEWBORN ONLY

We have a family dog - can they be included in the session?

Once again, Sure can! I have 2 dog's myself, so I understand how they are a member of the family. I’m more than happy to include them in the photo session with your baby, provided they can be relatively calm and sit/stay on command or with treats. Your baby’s safety is the highest priority. If your dog is too hyperactive, there is a risk they may jump or accidently stand somewhere they shouldn't. Please make a sensible decision when choosing to include your pet or not, you know best what they are like. They will typically be in with a family photo so baby is held and dog can be controlled by other person.

What should we wear?

Baby: Please dress baby into their onsie vest and nappy. Less layers to remove will mean less disturbance. If you have a natural/plain coloured onsies and works well in the family photos we will leave them in what they arrived in. For sibling images I normally will wrap baby.

I do have studio outfits for newborns only including flower crowns that I will bring a selection with me. Your baby’s nappy is left on for the session and they are wrapped in such a way that this is not visible. My style is more wrapped/partially wrapped rather than completely naked. This helps the flow & length of my newborn sessions & ensures a settled baby.

Parents: Simple is typically best. Wear clothing that flatters your figure. I recommend light neutral colours such as cream, beige, white, light grey etc. Darker colours are ok too – but not so much black and more along the lines of dark navy blue or dark grey.

Ensure both mum and dad are wearing similar colours that compliment each other. ie both wearing light or both wearing dark. Plain without distracting patterns, logos is best, clashing patterns or character clothing. Please have a look at my newborn gallery https://www.anncolesphotography.com/newborn .

Please ask if you would like me to send you some sample images

Older siblings: dress them in something also plain coloured, in a similar colour palette, and I will match baby’s wrap to what they are wearing. I usually photograph these lying down depending the age of the children involved. Older siblings we can also do a sitting photo against a background.

What if one of us are sick?

Your baby’s safety and health is my number one priority during the session. These things happen, so if you or someone who is due to be at the session is unwell, please let me know in advance as we may need to reschedule the session or make other arrangements.

In the current climate I can’t stress this enough. PLEASE if anyone is sick even with a snotty nose, please let me know. I have other clients with newborn babies that I need to be mindful of also and if I myself fall sick, I then have to reschedule a lot of other sessions.

I am looking forward to capturing your newborn session for memories that last.
Any questions please do not hesitate to contact me to clearify