NEWBORN SESSIONS
PREPERATION GUIDE

I'm so excited that you are coming to Elizabeth Jenkins Photography to celebrate and document your newest little arrival.

This guide is designed to help you get the most out of your session. Please read this thoroughly, it’s in your best interests, I promise! Feel free to let me know if something is not clear or you have any questions.

My small home-based studio is located at 60 Runbrake Street, Palmerston. There should be parking on the street outside. Unless planned otherwise, aim to arrive at 10am. You can text Lizzy on 021 189 7902 if you’re running late, but don’t stress over 5-10 minutes. If you are running more than 30 minutes late, we may have to reschedule.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING

I’m going to ask you to keep your baby awake for at least two hours before your session. I know that this doesn’t sound easy for many babes. In-fact, it may sound like downright torture. However, this is the single most important thing you can do to ensure a successful session. Even babies who ‘sleep all the time’ still need this extra wakeful period to sleep soundly through their session. I will be touching them constantly and moving them around, so it takes a little extra magic to make it happen, and the wakeful period IS that magic. Ideally, your morning looks like this: wake up (7- 8) - feed - wakeful period.

Then it is important that baby has a nice big feed just before you leave home. Once you arrive and I have baby wrapped up, there will be time to give them a top up feed, so they are then nice and full when we begin taking photos.

My tips for keeping baby awake prior to session.
Bath time! Babies are exhausted by bathing, even sponge baths.
No pacifiers
Walking, talking, stimulation
Tummy time and other “floor exercise”

If you are having a really hard time and baby is over tired and screaming, don’t stress, let them sleep if you really need to

HOW TO PREPARE

Dress your baby in loose, easy to remove clothing.
This makes it easy to undress them on arrival if they are asleep as they’re likely to fall asleep in the car journey. This allows me to dive right into posing until they need their next top up feed.
Dress yourself in cool, comfortable clothing.
I keep the studio very hot during the session, so make sure you dress appropriately. You will also be asked to remove your shoes at the door.
Bring a spare bottle or two of breast milk or formula if you are expressing too.
This means that I can give baby a quick feed while they’re in a pose or set up if necessary.
Bring along some snacks or money for lunch.
I provide cold water and coffee, but you’ll need to bring something along for you to snack on especially if you are doing a larger shoot. There are also some food options including a bakery and four-square supermarket on the main street of Palmerston.
Please don’t bring any extra family members/friends to watch/take part in the session.
The newborn sessions are for immediate family members only (this means only parents and siblings of the newborn baby). As I move around the studio set up to capture a wide variety of angles of your family and newborn baby, I simply do not have the space to accommodate extra family members (grandparents/aunts+uncles/cousins) coming to watch. Please be assured that we will capture beautiful images that you will soon be able to share with friends and family.
Any requests to include additional family members during a newborn session (i.e. if you have your heart set on getting a photo of your new baby with grandparents) needs to be discussed with Lizzy prior to your session and we will arrange a time during your session for them to pop in and then back out of the studio for these photos. There will be an additional charge for this.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Ideal newborn age
Newborn sessions are specifically created for newborns 7 to 21 days old. Older babies up to 3 months are also welcome, the session will just be much more baby led with no posing.
Let me know if baby is having a tongue-tie fixed close to their session date.
Please advise so that we can reschedule, as I like to give them a few days to recover before the photo shoot.
Sessions last for about 1-4 hours depending on the session you have booked.
Sometimes longer if your baby is cluster feeding or just a light sleeper! If your newborn doesn’t want to sleep or is a bit unsettle and you need to tend to their needs, that is more than ok. I am completely prepared to take my time with capturing their portraits if needed.
When you arrive
We want baby to have a big feed before leaving home. After you get here, we’ll strip baby down in the nice warm room and have a top up feed. Whether this is by breast or bottle does not matter one bit, just be sure that there’s plenty of it. If your shoot is scheduled before you feel you’ve got a good handle on breastfeeding, some pumped milk or supplemental formula can help immensely. it’s essential that your baby is getting a full tummy.
You’ll need to feed your baby throughout the session.
The easiest way to ensure a sleepy, happy baby is to feed them on and off during the session. I have a pillow available and a kitchen to prepare formula.
You will have full access to my props and accessories.
My in-home studio contains a wide range of internationally sourced high-quality props for your session. We’re talking knitted bonnets, headbands, wraps, etc. It’s part of what you’re paying me for! So, don’t stress about bringing or buying anything for your time here. Keeping in mind I don’t dress babies “up” in themed costumes (e.g. Disney characters/miniature sports uniforms/unicorns), my style is more classic and timeless, so your images will reflect this. I do all of the styling of the session while you relax and enjoy it!
Your baby may cry or need a little extra time to soothe.
This is expected and completely normal. I take my time and there is no pressure when your baby needs to feed and settle again with you.
I sometimes need to use pacifier during my session to get the most out of baby.
Don’t worry if you haven’t used one before or don’t plan on using one, this is just for the few hours that I am posing your baby if they need a bit of distraction. They will not pick up a ‘habit’ from the session alone, but if you’d prefer I didn’t just let me know at the start of the session.
My sessions are ‘baby led’.
Some babies love being naked and, on their tummies, while others may not enjoy it. Let me know at the start or the session if there are any specific poses or set ups that you’d love to capture and I’ll do my best to get them for you, but I of course won’t force your baby into anything that causes them too much distress.
After your session
Approximately one week after the session you will receive an online link to your proofing gallery to view the unedited images from your session. From here you will be able to choose your favourite images to be edited for your chosen package, and from those, which images will be matted and/or framed (package dependant).
Approximately four weeks after you have made your final selections, your digital images will be emailed to you via a private online gallery (password protected) and your print products (matted prints, frames, albums) will be delivered by myself once they arrive to me from my partnered professional print lab/framer (timeframe varies).

SIBLINGS

Sibling shots will be the first thing we do.
This is simply because it’s often the most important photo for you, and we like to take advantage of their shyness (aka stillness) when they first arrive. Be prepared that these can sometimes take up to an hour, so try not to stress if it’s not working out straight away as the kids can sometimes pick up on this and start to feel pressured. If needed, we will pause and get started on the newborn photos while your partner takes the child down to the small park near the studio.

Snacks and a treat
Please keep these snacks non-messy and small, something you can feed to them slowly if needed. Also bring along some kind of small reward/treat in case we need to employ a bribe.

Individual portraits.
Let me know if you interested in one or two of these as they only take a few extra minutes to do between the sibling and family shots, and it’s nice for them to have their own photos.

Family photos will follow if you are doing a large family session.
Straight after we have done sibling and individual shot, we will start on the family photos. Again, keep in mind that it’s completely normal for these to take a while, so be prepared to be patient and understanding with your little ones. If you (parents) also want some nice individual with your new baby, we will return to these at the end of the session

It is beneficial to have someone take them away after they have had their photos.
If your little one has toddler or preschool aged siblings, a session can feel very long to them! The space we’re working in is very warm and needs to remain pretty peaceful. I find it really helpful to have a friend, grandparent, etc., come to the studio approx. 1 hour after our starting time and we will do sibling and family photos first thing, and then your helper, or your partner can take the older siblings home or away for a few hours so that no one gets flustered during the long session. Ross Park (green reserve with walking paths) and Centennial Park (green space with a playground and bike pump track) are both within 10 minutes’ walk from my in-home studio. Please let Lizzy know if you plan on arranging a family member to pick older siblings up so I can expect a door knock during our session.

Older sisters.
I have a large range of beautiful dresses in the studio for girls up to size 10. If older sisters wear sizes larger than 10, bring her along in a nice plain, white dress in case we can’t fit her into one of our bigger dresses. Keep her hair natural or in braids, free of any bows or headbands as we have our own selection to match our styling.

Older brothers.
We can dress boys around 1-7 years, but I don’t have anything matching for two boys the same size, so you may want to bring them along photo ready. Dress them in a snug pair of brown pants or tan shorts with a nice, well-fitting white top/cotton knit jumper (think Jamie Kay style). I can also do them topless, but make sure to have a chat to your little guy about it before so that he feels prepared.

PARENTS

Be prepared to get close.
It may feel a bit strange being so close at first, but it photographs beautifully when you’re all connected. I’ll often simply move your heads and arms to where I want them, so just let me know beforehand if you’re not comfortable with being touched. We will likely shoot these towards the end of the session.
For the Mums.
White dresses or blouses with lace/rouching detail look lovely in your portraits. If you don’t have anything, I have a few white tops/dresses here in the studio you are welcome to use but please bring a back up outfit in case you’re not a fan of my client wardrobe items or the fit of them isn’t quite right.
For the Dads.
Wear plain white T-shirts. Ideally with a v-neck and some sleeves. I also love cream or brown woolen tops. Avoid wearing any logos or loud patterns/text as these will stick out in the photo. You can both bring along a couple shirts along if you aren’t sure, as there is a bathroom to change in.
Wear some nice, neutral jeans or pants.
They may appear in the photo, especially if we are getting a larger family photo. You can also bring along an extra pair if you need to wear something more comfortable for the session. Tan chinos pants or shorts, or lighter coloured jeans work much better than black pants.
Clean and trim your nails.
Please ensure that both of you have clean nails as they will make their way into the photos, and I may also use them for newborn poses on the beanbag. If you paint your nails, apply a solid, fresh coat a day or two before to avoid chips.
Avoid fake tanning.
The undertones of fake tan doesn’t photograph well, especially next to the skin of your baby/children.

NEWBORN SESSIONS PREPERATION GUIDE