What to Expect During Your Newborn Session

If you are reading this, you are probably running on very little sleep, holding a brand new baby, and wondering if it is really worth leaving the house for newborn photos right now. I get it. After eleven years and more than a thousand families, I can tell you exactly what happens during a session, how to prepare for it, and why so many parents tell me afterward that it was the easiest part of their newborn weeks.

Here is the honest, behind-the-scenes version of what to expect when you bring your baby to my Leander studio.

First, plan for a slow morning

A newborn session in my studio runs anywhere from two to four hours, and the length depends entirely on the baby. This is not a fifteen-minute portrait appointment. Newborn photography is baby led, which means we move at your little one’s pace, with breaks for feeding, soothing, and sometimes a full reset. The slow pace is the whole point. It is what allows me to get those calm, perfectly posed images you came for.

So before you arrive, give yourself permission to settle in. You are not on the clock. You get to relax.

How to prepare your baby

The way you prep at home makes a real difference in how the session goes. Here is what I ask every family to do.

Feed your baby fully right before you leave for the studio. A full, sleepy baby is a happy baby. Babies also tend to eat more than usual during a session, so bring an extra bottle or two. Trust me on that one.

Dress your baby the morning of in a loose outfit that zips or snaps up the front, with a loose diaper and no tight socks. Tight clothing and snug diaper elastic leave marks on that soft new skin, and those marks can take a while to fade. The looser, the better.

Bring a soft pacifier even if your baby does not normally take one. I recommend the Soothie style without the stuffed animal attached. Pacifiers are one of my best tools during a session because babies can really only focus on one thing at a time, and a paci gives them something to settle into while I move them from pose to pose. Please skip the hard-shelled pacifiers, since those can leave marks on the baby’s face.

A couple of small things that matter more than you would think. Clean off any diaper ointment before you come, since it shows up on skin in close up images, and remove any Band-Aids ahead of time.

What actually happens when you arrive

When you walk in, the first thing I do is get baby cozy. I lay your little one down on a soft blanket with warm air gently blowing over them to keep them comfortable, and then I change their diaper. That diaper change is not just housekeeping. It is the moment I start reading your baby. I can feel right away whether they are touchy, sleepy, gassy, or wide awake, and that tells me how to shape the next few hours.

If baby is awake when we start, we begin with wrapped shots. I will pose your little one on a flokati rug or wrapped and tucked into a tiny bed, and we work through a series where I swap out the top wrap for different colors, textures, props, and wrapping styles. Most babies drift off to sleep during this part, which is exactly what we want before we move on to prop shots and table posing.

Here is the part that surprises most parents. I am the one changing your baby, feeding your baby a bottle, and soothing your baby throughout the session. You do not have to do a thing. There is a comfy couch right there for you to set up camp, plus light snacks and drinks, and you are welcome to watch every minute or close your eyes and nap. Plenty of parents nap. You earned it.

The soothing never really stops

There is a lot going on behind the scenes to keep your baby calm. I am shushing, I am rubbing softly between their eyebrows, and I am keeping the studio warm and cozy with a light space heater running the whole time. My hands are near your baby at all times, and I always have one hand ready before I ever pick up my camera. Safety and security come first, always, and then the photo.

Transitions are slow and gentle. I move one piece at a time, one limb at a time, keeping a hand on baby so they continue to feel snug and secure. When a baby does not feel secure, when their arms or legs are allowed to startle away from their body, they wake up grouchy. So a firm, warm hold is not just about the look of the pose. It is about keeping your baby calm enough to stay asleep.

A real session that did not start out easy

Let me tell you about a recent little one. He came in around twelve days old, very gassy and very touchy, and he did not love being undressed for photos. His parents were already worried we would not get many images.

This is where patience earns its keep. I calmly wrapped him so he felt snug, and we started with some of the more unique prop setups while he settled. Then I moved him to the table for posing, and I slowly and carefully unwrapped him there, keeping him snug with my hands the entire time and easing his body into position bit by bit. When a baby is fussy, I get the most out of every single pose by photographing it from different angles and adding different accessories, a hat here, a lovie there, an extra layer, so that one pose becomes many beautiful images.

His parents were floored when they saw their proofing gallery. They ended up choosing more images than what was included in their package. That is the thing I want nervous parents to hear. A rocky start does not mean a disappointing gallery. It just means we slow down and work the way your baby needs us to.

About those impossible looking poses

If you have spent any time on Pinterest, you have seen the froggy pose, babies in little hammocks, the chin resting on tiny hands. I want you to know the truth about how those are made, because it matters for your baby’s safety.

Those poses are optical illusions. They are not done in a single shot with an unsupported baby. Each one is created from several different photographs, with my hands on baby providing full support the entire time, and then those images are carefully composited together in Photoshop afterward. Your baby is never left balancing on their own. Never.

Here is something most parents do not realize. There is no official safety certification for newborn photography. There is no posing license anyone is required to hold. That is exactly why it matters so much that you choose a photographer who has been specifically trained in how to handle and pose newborns, and who has the experience to know what each baby can and cannot do safely. Not every baby goes into every pose, and a good photographer reads that and moves on without forcing it.

A dad said something to me recently that has stuck with me. He realized that I was the first person to hold his baby besides him, his wife, and the hospital staff. He is right. That is not a small thing, and it is not something you want to trust to just anyone.

Why this is worth it, even now

I know how hard it feels to pack up a newborn and leave the house when you are this tired. Here is why I believe it is worth every bit of effort.

These babies grow so fast. Those tiny fingers and toes will not be tiny for long, and this exact stage, the curled up, scrunched, brand new version of your baby, disappears within a few short weeks. The images we make are the ones you will treasure for a lifetime, the ones you will look back on in a year, in five years, in ten.

I have been doing this long enough that I am now photographing some of my clients’ third babies. Watching these families grow, seeing their older kids who were once newborns in my studio, is one of the great joys of this work. I will be honest, I always get a little sad when a family tells me this is their last baby, because I love working with them and I love watching their kids grow up.

So if you are on the fence, here is my hope. Book your session because you trust me to keep your baby safe, to read your baby’s cues, and to hand you photographs you will cherish forever. The rest, the soothing, the posing, the patience, the long cozy morning, I will take care of all of it. You just get to be there.

When you are ready, I would love to meet your little one.

-Jen

Hello Photography Austin

310 Sendero Ln, Leander, TX