One of the questions I get asked fairly often is how many props you can include in a newborn session. The honest answer is: one, with a possible second if the session goes well.
I know that might sound limiting when you look at the prop gallery, but here’s why it works that way.
Every session starts on the beanbag. It’s the easiest place to get your baby settled and sleepy, and we work through a series of poses there first. Once your baby is deeply relaxed and easy to move, that’s the point where we transition to the prop. If things are going well and there’s time and energy left in the tank, we can try a second one. If you have your heart set on a particular backup option, just note it on your pre-session form and I’ll have it ready to go.
What I want to avoid is rushing through props at the expense of your baby’s comfort, or worse, burning through your baby’s patience before we’ve got the best shots. Most newborns will have at least one unsettled phase during a session. That’s completely normal and I plan for it. We settle them, we feed if needed, and then we pick back up when they’re ready. If sibling or family photos are going in at the end, we want to make sure there’s something left for those too.
The finished images look calm and effortless, but there’s a lot of reading the room that goes into getting there. One prop chosen well will give you a better gallery than three props rushed.
