Photographing Babys Can Be a Challenge
Having spent so much time with mothers and their newborns in our Charlotte studio, I have realized that there are some simple things we do to settle our babies to get them ready for their photo session. I want to share our soothing techniques that may help some of our first time parents get the same results in their home and child’s nursery.
Many of these suggestions may seem like simple things and really, they are. I think when we are deprived of sleep and are trying to find our way in our new parenting roles we tend to overlook some of the more simpler things.
How we soothe newborns to sleep in our portrait studio
1- Turn up the heat. When you think about it your baby has been at a comfortable 98.6′ degrees for nine months. A house set a 68′ degrees doesn’t feel great when your in a onesie. We photograph our babies sometimes nude and it must be extremely warm in the studio. We ask parents to dress in layers so that they can remove clothing if need be. We wear breathable clothing and short sleeves in the studio on days we are photographing newborn babies.
2- Wraps. Most of our newborn clients are around five to fourteen days old. They have been in the womb curled up and snug for months. Being wrapped snuggly tight is comforting to them. We wrap our babies snuggly in our photography wraps. Sometimes, we have babies wrapped in two studio wraps. In this case we will turn down the thermostat to make sure baby isn’t to warm. Being to warm can also cause a baby to not be settled.
We love these swaddlers for parents. SwaddleMe Original Swaddler at Target $30. We love these Summer Preemie wraps $14.99.
3- White noise is a must.I think before there were apps and other devices parents would run the vacuum cleaner or hair dryer. In the loft we have a couple of things we use. We use this White Noise app from the App Store and we also use the Baby Shusher Sleep Miracle Soother $34.95 available on amazon. Don’t be afraid to turn up the volume. Baby has been listening to lots of noise from the womb and very loudly.
4- Make sure their tummy is full. A warm well fed baby is a sleepy baby. We have moms arrive early to have a few quiet moments with their newborn to nurse or feed. Starting our sessions with a well fed baby is always a great starting place.
5- Heating pads. I say this with caution. NEVER leave a baby on a heating pad! We use heating pads to warm our props prior to putting baby in them. I kinda compare it to me getting in a cold bed or a bed that has been warmed by a heating blanket. I prefer the warm bed. We set the heating pad on the prop and cover it with a blanket. Once we are ready we remove the heating pad and place baby in the warmed prop.
Parents can warm a baby crib or bassinet prior to laying baby down. Always test that the area isn’t to hot.
We love this xxl heating pad from amazon $36.99.
6- Vibrating Mattress Pad. We use this under our babies when we are using the posing pod. It is sold to go under baby’s mattress. I gives a gentle vibration similar to a car ride. We use Munchikin Lulla-Vibe $15.99
Leave us a comment below if you have tips that have worked for getting your baby soothed. I am sure other moms are all ears.
In Christ,
~Brandy NicCole
