Preparing for your Newborn Session!

Yay! You’ve booked a session with Phoenix Productions ATL! We’re super excited to meet you and capture your special moments!

If you’re now thinking to yourself “What now?!”, let us guide you in the right direction!

Preparing for a Newborn Session

If at all possible, try keeping baby stimulated and awake an hour or so before the session; a bath usually helps in keeping them awake. We will need the baby to be asleep for a majority of the session to achieve the squishy, dreamy poses you see on our site.

It’s best to start on a full belly so feeding him/her right before you put them in the car seat to head my way is best (about 30 minutes before the session).

Please dress him/her in a button down (or zipper) outfit so I’m not having to pull anything over their head while undressing them. Try not put them in anything tight that will leave marks (like socks, mittens, etc.).

If your baby has jaundice or is still yellow from jaundice it is best we wait until it is out of his/her system. Jaundice is very hard to edit out of skin due to the yellow/red blotchiness it causes as it is leaving their system. Jaundice is typically gone by week 2.

Wondering what to bring to your session? A paci without an animal attached can help us get through a pose before eating, or pacify a baby that doesn’t want to settle. It’s also nice to bring a bottle of formula or expressed breast milk so we can feed baby during the session if necessary. Once baby has that connection with mommy in the middle of the session, it’s sometimes hard for them to get back into a deep sleep or if mommy’s milk is not in all the way baby may want to use mommy to snack and pacify frequently. If you’re exclusively breastfeeding, that’s perfectly fine. We will take breaks as we need to as the baby is always the boss in the studio. I will play a white noise machine during the session to mimic the sounds of the womb.

You can also bring small props if you would like. We have plenty of newborn props but if you have something special that you would like us to try and incorporate (like baby’s ultrasound picture, a special blanket, etc) you’re more than welcome to bring it along and we will try to incorporate it during your session.

And here are a few tips to help you look your best for poses involving the family:

Please try to coordinate your outfits and avoid clothing with large logos, super bright or neon colors, or wording. This will distract from the subject(s) in the photograph.
Solid colors always photograph well. There’s no risk of distracting from faces, joyful interactions or even the beautiful scenery.
Choose muted tones so that you are the subject and not your outfits. Neutrals such as beige, soft pinks, cream, muted blues, soft greens + grey and white all photograph extremely beautiful.
Choose similar tones for your top and bottom. If you choose a lighter top and darker bottoms, it will make your top look larger and vice versa.
Select a few colors with similar tones when there will be multiple people in your session or you can choose the matching look, but that is up to you.
Choose tops with sleeves or at least to your elbow. Your arms take up more skin area than your face and have a tendency of making your arms look larger.
Women, look for flow, natural soft fabrics that drape. These make for beautiful portraits and give a sense of motion.
When in doubt select one patterned outfit for a single person in the family and then pull colors from that pattern to dress everyone else in solid colors to coordinate.
Wear comfortable shoes and clothes you can move in. If your dress gets suddenly too short when you bend over, or your pants are too tight to sit down in, opt for more breathable pieces. Be prepared to move!
Layers are your friend – adding a light sweater or loose top can never go wrong. Think tights, cardigans, blazers, jewelry, and/or scarves. Accessories can take an average outfit and make it feel more complete.
Do opt for accessories! Bowties, suspenders, hats, flower headbands, chunky scarves, beautiful flowing dresses and skirts—these create visual interest and movement in your photos, and really help the images stand apart. Photos are a special occasion; take advantage of this fun opportunity to dress up a little more.
Don’t forget the shoes. Photos are taken from many different angles. Yours don’t need to be the best or brand new, but make sure they are clean and in good appearance.
Plan your outfit days before your session so you can get plenty of rest the night before your session and are not rushing the day of your session to pull everything together.
You could hire a professional makeup artist or stylist, set a hair and makeup appointment for the same day of your shoot, or you can do your hair or makeup yourself or with the help of your friends and family. However you do it, just make sure that you feel beautiful. When you feel beautiful, you look beautiful!
We’ve created a Pinterest Board and an Amazon Storefront with more specific color schemes and outfits, feel free to check those out as well!

Other than that, just prep yourself mentally. Relax. You focus on healing and adjusting to life with your little, and let us focus on the pictures. We’re going to do our best to capture moments and present images that you will want to hang up on your walls and present to the world! We’re so excited to work with you 🌻 if you have any other questions feel free to shoot us an email at ContactPhoenixProd@gmail.com or you can reach us by text at 404-721-1081!