So you’ve booked your child’s session – but now what? To prepare for a sitting with your little one, keep in mind these tips for success:

1. If you want your newborn to be asleep for his or her session, scheduling your session near their sleep time is usually best.  Perhaps their best “sleepy” time is feeding time, or after a car ride.  If feeding time is the best, you can arrive a bit earlier for your session to allow for feeding; typically this can mean a half hour before the scheduled session.

2. Happy babies make great images – so bring along any favorite toys or possessions to help coax a laugh or a smile if needed.

3. If there are specific images you know you want, like hands and feet shots or following a particular theme, make sure to share your thoughts when scheduling your session so the photographer can plan accordingly.  We’d hate to not include the things you really want… and children have been known to have a short attention span, so we will try to keep things moving in a positive direction no matter what happens!

4. Children are incredibly influenced by those around them!  Try to stay calm if the child isn’t doing exactly what you want him or her to do. When you get upset, they will too. We’ll roll with the punches, so don’t fret when little things have to change during the session to get the perfect shot, or if you need some quiet time to feed or just plain soothe your child.

5.  Clothing changes can mean a lot to the child!  Some children will tell you immediately that they aren’t happy about it!  If this sounds like your little angel, we suggest arriving in the first outfit.  If your goal is the “naked baby” images consider arriving with the baby wrapped in a warm blanket.  The less you need to disrupt them, the better!