Newborn photography sessions are in a category all their own.
I. Love. Newborns.
That being said… they are challenging, messy, sometimes frustrating, they can be funny, exhausting, and AMAZING all at the same time! I don’t have it down to an exact science – I can totally admit that, but I do think I have a pretty good handle on things – especially since I’m not a mom yet and don’t have any prior “newborn” tactics! I love how every baby is just a little different from the next – some like to be swaddled, some like to be held, some don’t like to be messed with once they’re sleeping, some like it warm & toasty – some are little heaters themselves and don’t need to quite so warm… every little one is so different from the next. I truly love photographing newborns.
At Creative Bent Photography we like to photograph our newborns before they are 10 days old for a few important reasons :: they generally don’t fight sleep yet, when you do get them to sleep – they sleep much more soundly, they generally don’t have tummy problems yet (even if they are going to develop after a week or so), they are still “mold-able” at this age, and the list goes on. Anywhere past 10 days & things can get a little more difficult! 🙂 Siblings can also be a tricky addition to a newborn session – at Creative Bent I do LOVE creating a family’s “first family portrait” with their new addition… but this can end up being a challenge all on its own depending on the age of the sibling! 🙂 For example: 
Lets say your 16 month old really couldn’t care less about his new baby brother or getting his picture taken!! (PS, I actually LOVE this image – not only is this one of the most BEAUTIFUL families I have had the pleasure of photographing, but this perfectly captures their life with the new addition! It just melts my heart!)
For sibling photography at a newborn session we usually set up our appointment so that the brother/sister(s) will be with us for about a 20 minute window – this is plenty of time for us to capture everything we want in family/sibling photographs & then they can be rewarded with a treat 🙂 and off they go. Most newborn sessions last a few hours and that is MUCH too long for brothers and sisters to wait patiently. This also gives our parents some much-needed time to “soak in” this new baby and really be in the moment and relax at our session! It ends up being a very stress free and relaxing day for mom & dad (and I know that the newborn can sense that!!)
So, with all of this being said, I have to share an image from a recent session we! Big brother brought his camera along to help capture some images of his new baby brother – it was the sweetest thing EVER! (I told him he was hired! He thought that was hilarious!)
I mean seriously… isn’t that just precious!
And that right there is why I love photogrpahing newborns. *sigh*
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