Behind the Scenes: A Pink and White Newborn Shoot

When it comes to newborn shoots, I’m a firm believer in being prepared.  When I get your options form the day before your session, I go through it and give it some serious thought as to the best pathway to set up and achieve all the images that you want in the most stress-free way possible.

I’ve kind of debated about sharing some of this behind the scenes content with you really as it does look a bit messy and chaotic and there was definitely part of me that was tempted to tidy it all up and pose it a bit better before I took the BTS photos but then I figure you deserve the truth and if you ever visit for a session, you’ll see it anyway and I’ll be busted!

I have quite set places that I put everything during a session so I don’t have to waste brainspace that I could be using to soothe and pose your newborn on wondering where things are and I do like everything I might need to be in easy reach and exactly where I’d expect it to be.

So let me start by telling you about what the client briefed me with and then I’ll show you around this little set up today which was all designed to get everything that the wanted.  They had a 9 day old baby girl and a two year old (who I also did the newborn photos for) and they’d opted for a mainly neutral palette but with some light pops of pink.  For props, they’d selected my miniature white bed and the white lace tent (which we’d also used for her big sister and it’s really nice to have a little similarity between the two galleries).

Extra Large, Extra Comfortable Sofa

This arguably the most important thing of all.  When I’m working with newborns, I’m mostly sitting (and sometimes scooting) around the floor but for new parents, it’s really important that you have a great place to relax.  So this is my chaise – it is supremely cosy and a great place to enjoy the process of watching your images be created. Or napping. You wouldn’t be the first!

Kindle – for Admin and Entertainment

Where we are, we don’t always get very good mobile phone signal so you’ll have a Kindle on the sofa waiting for you when you arrive which is on our WiFi.  When you switch it on, it will preload my Consent Form so it’s easy for you to fill in and submit.  After that, you’re free to use it for whatever you want to entertain yourselves (or your other children) while you’re in the studio and save yourself a whole lot of buffering.  So it is both for boring things and more interesting ones.

Very Unglamorous but Useful Stack of Stuff

So we’re getting off the sofa and into the studio now and I’m going to get all the glamorous stuff out of the way straight away.  It’s a bin, a laundry hamper, my crate of ‘things that come in handy’ plus the all important sanitiser.  They’re not terribly inspiring to look at I freely admit but I do need to have easy access to some things and so I just stack them all in the corner and hope you’ll be distracted by the real action going on with your baby.

My Giant Newborn Posing Beanbag

So this is where we’re going to be starting your session and probably working for a good proportion of it.  It’s basically a frame with a giant squishy beanbag inside it that allows me to stretch fabric in the colour of your choosing across it.  It’s a supremely comfortable place for your baby to relax and so many of the shots you can see in my Newborn Gallery are going to be created in there.  It’s both a blank canvas and quite a versatile space oddly enough.

Newborn Accessories

So I have drawers of newborn accessories that make their way into each newborn photo shoot.  I’m a real freak for organisation by category and so they’re divided into ‘boys’, ‘girls’ and ‘gender neutral’ so you’re always going to see two of them at your session (and three if you have twins of different genders).   They contain little outfits, hats and headbands so I have a great range to pull from while I’m working.

Wraps, Blankets and Swaddles

Now this was definitely an image that gave me pause about sharing because it is just basically a messy pile of fabric when you look at it and I very nearly folded it all and made it look pretty before taking the image.  Then, like I say, decided that honesty is the best policy.  I like to gather up all that I might need that matches a clients prop, digital backdrop and colour choices and dump them right by the beanbag so they’re directly next to me when I’m working.  Then I just fish out what I want with the least possible fuss. Not pretty, but I promise you, it’s an effective system!

Wicker Basket Newborn Prop

This wasn’t a prop that the clients selected directly but I knew that they wanted to create pictures of their newborn and her two year old sibling and this is the best way that I’ve found of doing it and so I had it prepped and ready to go.  Basically, we settle the newborn first asleep into the basket which is padded out with blankets and fluff and then the sibling can just sit behind it.  This removes any need for a brother or sister who is still small themselves having to provide support to a newborn and let’s them just focus on perfecting their camera smile.

Miniature White Bed Prop

This was one of the props that the clients picked out (I recommend two for a newborn session) and it’s a popular one – my miniature white wooden bed.  Here you can see it dressed up with my handmade patchwork quilt and a little bit of fur for texture as that always look great in photos.  Once it’s made up, it’s the easiest thing to just slide it into place when we need it so I decided to just move it off to the side so it was ready to go and we’d be tackling it as the second of the two props.

White Lace Tent Prop

And finally in our tour of the newborn set up, is my white lace tent decorated with delicate blush flowers to add a little hint of pink to the finished image.  This is going to be the first of the props that we work with so it’s already in position against my dark wood background which provides a great contrast to the tent and adorable sleeping newborn of course.

Every newborn session is unique, just like the little ones I photograph. Whether you have a specific colour scheme in mind or need a little inspiration, I’m here to create a session that’s personal and meaningful to you. If you’re expecting and would like to start planning your baby’s first photos, get in touch—I’d love to hear your ideas!

Want to Take a Look at More Newborn Photography Info?

Take a look at this other articles you might enjoy…

• Top Five Questions I get Asked about Newborn Photography
• Why do I need to Choose Props in Advance?
• Traditional V Lifestyle Newborn Photography