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How Do You Get Your Newborns to Cooperate

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is,  “how do you get your newborns to cooperate.”

And the answer is super simple: Parents being prepared.

I love meeting my clients way before the photoshoot every happens. I want people to get to know the person who is going to be handling their precious new baby.

Not only is a chance to get to know me, but people can also see how adorable my studio is and feel and touch the amazing product I offer.

We also, go over what to expect at the session.

But most importantly it’s the time when I educate clients /parents on how to prepare for the upcoming session!!

The sleepy, peaceful babies shown throughout my work all have one common quality, their parents followed (as close as possible) my very simple parent prep before their session.

I have photographed many babies and have formulated the perfect sleep recipe.

To ensure this I ask for a little bit of help from parents.

This super simple tips can make the session go so much more smoothly!!

Bath + Full Feeding + Car Ride to the Studio = Sleepy Baby & Amazing Session!

It’s that SIMPLE!!!

I do have a few other tips and suggestions for the session!

1. Try to keep baby awake for 45 min. to an hour prior to coming to me. One of the best ways is with a bath/sponge bath. Take your time with the bath… it’s relaxing and completely tuckers them out. Applying lotion after the bath will help with flakey skin. Feed baby a full feeding right before you leave the house. Once you arrive at the studio hopefully baby will be ready to get started! I ask parents to allow me to get baby out of the car seat and get them undressed. I do this very meticulously and I am very gentle.

2. Dress the baby in loose clothes to avoid any lines on their skin (including diaper) – a simple sleeper is best. Avoid “onesies” or anything else that must be pulled off over the baby’s head. Having something that we can slip off easily will be less disruptive while getting baby undressed.

3. Bringing a pacifier, even if a baby doesn’t take it well, it could save the day… sucking distracts from my constant moving them. The short amount of time we will be using one should not affect any habit-forming behaviors for your baby. My goal is to help keep the baby happy and calm during our session.

4. Please be prepared to feed the baby at the studio. Some babies tend to eat more than usual during their photo sessions. It’s best to be prepared!

5. If sibling/family portraits are wanted during the newborn session I will take these first. After sibling portraits are finished, I ask the spouse/helper to take the older sibling out of the studio for the remainder of the session. Having an antsy toddler in the room can make it difficult to finish up the individual newborn portraits. If they need suggestions to pass the time, Build a Burger is very close for lunch, a treat or ice cream. Or visit our new Khoury’s grocery store, it has an amazing deli for lunch. We do have a nice park (weather permitting) or some parents choose to bring 2 cars so they are free after family images to go home.

My studio is kept at 75+ degrees in order to keep the baby warm. You may want to dress in layers so that you are comfortable as well. Please know that babies pee and poo on everything and you don’t need to worry. I have plenty of wipes and pads on hand and everything is washed after each session. During the session, sit back, relax and take advantage of this time to rest. I suggest bringing your laptop to catch up on some work, write thank-you notes … or just take a NAP!

how to get your baby to cooperatesimplistic newborn image

Learn More

If you would like to learn more about a session, please feel out the Kandi Anderson Photography contact page, I’d love to hear from you.

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