Dear new parents,
Congrats to you! Being a parent is one of life's greatest gifts! Below are just some quick and easy things that you can do before I arrive for our session to make sure baby is comfy and relaxed and yourselves and your home have been given slight mindfulness! Remember this is a laid back session to capture “a day in the life” of your new growing family and we will go at the pace that baby sets, so don’t stress if they gets hungry or needs a diaper change, those make for great shots - it will be very go with the flow!
Very little is needed to prepare your home, so do not stress about it being spotless, you just had a baby! I DO suggest some simple decluttering and putting things in their place or a quick toss into a closet and out of sight as an easy way to prep a head of time. Areas where we will be focusing most of our time will be the master bedroom, nursery and living room. We will try and time the shoot around when your home is at its brightest with natural light - so please pay attention to that for a day or two and let me know the ideal time for our main areas of your home!
Readying your home:
— Set your heat/ AC to a little warmer than what you normally find comfortable. If it feels a little warm to you, then you nailed it! This will help baby feel cozy and relaxed.
— Open Curtains - please have your curtains and blinds all the way open in the Master, Living and Nursery. This will help me see the natural light of your home when I arrive and do an initial walk through of these areas and plan out the best areas for photos.
— Nursery: we will do some photos including the crib. So be mindful of the sheets! Cute repeating patterns or a plain neutral color works great! Please have any bumpers removed. And minimal clutter in and around the crib.
— Master Bedroom: Shots in here will be snuggly on your bed, so a made bed with a light neutral colored blanket or comforter works great! Colored bedding can cast/reflect the color onto you and the baby, so that is why a light neutral or white looks really good. Light colors also help tremendously to reflect light up onto your faces. Please no dark colored bedding! Also, a small pattern is okay on your bedding but no loud prints so that it doesn’t distract from you and the baby in the photographs. Also declutter your end tables of any cups or miscellaneous items. If you have a big digital clock on your end table, maybe hide it in your closet for the session. Stage with some favorite simple covered books if you are a reader, or take everything off and just have your lamps is always super safe!
— Living room (or wherever you spend most of your time as a family) just needs to be decluttered and all blinds/curtains open. Fluff the throw pillows, remove any pet hair on your furniture. All baby bouncers etc please put away in a closet or the garage. A little staging with a neutral throw blanket over the back of the couch also looks really good and homey while bringing in textures. And making sure you are mindful of decor on your coffee table, mantles etc. If we can see your kitchen from your living room, especially looking towards your couch, please make sure to have your counters decluttered! Bare counters are better than cluttered with dishes, appliances etc! Simply hide in your cabinets, pantry, etc!
Readying baby:
— Warm House! - check!
— 30 minutes before I arrive/ before baby naps there are a few things I'd like you to do: Please have them in a fresh diaper and have done a feeding and a burp - the usual routine before you are trying to get them to sleep. If this includes using a simple swaddle to keep them cozy and relaxed then go for it. Swaddles are great and provide wonderful photo ops at the start of the session if they are still napping when I arrive. (Yay baby-burritos!) If they are alert then feel free to have them in one of the outfits you have selected with your selected swaddle handy for during the session. I hope to start shooting as soon as I arrive, so having the change/feed/burp routine done right before I get there helps tremendously in being able to get started.
— If baby’s skin is dry, a little baby lotion or natural oils can fix that right up before I arrive!
— Other great clothing options are neutral and simple well fitting onesies, just a diaper or diaper with diaper cover or britches (amazon or Etsy!). It can be tempting to bring out all kinds of fancy baby outfits, but unless they are a perfect fit and coordinate with the casual style of the session they usually are not the best idea - they will often slouch and wrinkle and take away from the beautiful essence of a newborn. We don't want their cute form to be lost, we want to see their adorable shape and features - so please nothing that is a bad fit! Less is more, and keep it casual.
For the parents and family:
— The idea of the session is for me to document a day in your life, so keep it real by wearing what your are most comfortable in and by being yourself. I still suggest coordinating the colors of your clothing with your spouse, and even your decor so there is a cohesive look. Please visit Pinterest for inspo by searching "documentary in home photos." Casual jeans for both of you or canvas pants for the dad's look really nice yet casual. Number one thing is to make sure you clothing fits well, is of lighter neutral colors and is flattering to your body and casual style.. You can of course still primp and put make up on to photograph well, but still be yourself and casual. Neutral eyeshadow and mascara, not big dark smoky eyes like you are going to a Gala. Less is more! (Theme of the day, ha)
— Solid neutral colors (whites, creams, greys, etc) are a great starting point when choosing what to wear. It is a good idea to stay away from really busy patterns (especially for both spouses at the same time), bright colors (they will cast onto your skin!) or shirts with lettering/wording on them (this can be really distracting in photos). Bringing in pops of color with your jewelry and accessories is a great way to add some extra textures and colors to your neutrals if you feel it's absolutely necessary. Layering textures like with sweaters or dusters do great to add a bit of interest! But keep it casual. What does a typical Sunday morning look like in your home? Now just coordinate it a touch to add a little style and it should be perfect! Bare feet are excellent. A lot of moms will choose to wear a flowy shirt or sweater, or soft maxi dress with a cardigan. Remember your home will be set at a pretty warm temperature so dress so that you are comfortable as well, but still reflect the season that your baby was born in.
— Please have any items you want used in the session collected together beforehand. Things like blankets, swaddles, or any sentimental items. We will go through the items when I arrive and see how we can work each one in appropriately and naturally.
Remember,
Don’t stress, this is an adjustment period for your entire family, Baby included. If you stay relaxed then so will baby and everything will go nice and smooth. We will go at baby’s pace so if they need to eat or needs a diaper change or gets fussy, no sweat, we will go with the flow! Typically these sessions last about 2-2.5 hours, but it all depends on the pace baby sets, so we will go at their tempo and not rush. These are documentary style, so if baby fusses and you need to console, those make for great sweet moments in front of the camera.
I will mostly be using the natural light in your home, but I will also be bringing a flash just in case we need a little extra light for your larger rooms. The flash gives off soft light and helps to fill in some darker shadows in a room and gives directional light, instead of just constant over head lighting from your ceiling. Also, the first thing I will do as soon as I arrive is ask to wash my hands so that I do not bring my germs into your home with a newborn, I just like to give a heads up on this as sometimes parents look at me funny when I ask for the sink shortly after saying “hello!"
Please let me know if you have any other ideas, questions or wish list shots for our session and remember I am always here for you for anything! Even if it’s “does his shirt match my dress?” :) I am always happy to help in any way I can! And would rather us get those things taken care of before my arrival!
I am very much looking forward to our shoot! These are such special moments for you guys and it is really exciting and meaningful to me to get to photograph them for you! Congrats again!
Much love,
Christian Leigh Sagherian