5 Props I Use in Every Newborn Session

As a studio newborn photographer, my style is all about minimalistic setups and focusing on your baby! Your baby is perfect just as they are, and I don't want to distract from that in your portraits.  I use neutral colors and natural textures to create a clean, timeless, organic look in your baby's first portraits. To create these natrual setups, I do use a few props. Today, I’m sharing 5 props I use in (almost) every newborn session. Many of these props blend right in and you don't notice them at first glance (like the wooden crate and the bowl) because your eye is drawn right to the newborn baby.

Swaddle.  

This is a must-have for every newborn photographer, and the first thing you learn when posing newborns is how to wrap the baby snugly so that their arms and legs don't wiggle out of the wrap.  The swaddle keeps them calm and happy, and it helps them feel secure.  This plus heat and white noise or a shusher app all come together to lull the baby to sleep and make it easy to pose the little one.  I like to use what I call "baby spanx" underneath the swaddle to keep baby extra snug, plus it makes it easy for me to change out the top layer for a new look while baby stays calm and happy while all tucked in.

White crate.

I start all my individual portraits with this one prop!  I like to layer it with whites and creams for neutral portraits, and then as the session goes on, I will add in colors through additional wraps, bump blankets, and layers.  I typically begin with the baby fully swaddled, and then I bring out their arms and flip them to their bellies once they're settled into a deep sleep.

Wooden bowl.

From there we move to the wooden bowl!  I love the round shape of it for overhead shots, and these always look so beautiful printed on our round wooden wall art pieces.  I also like surrounding the bowl with greenery or florals to accentuate the shape, plus it works well for posing babies on their bellies and capturing the head-on-hands pose.  

Bed or cradle.

I love these wooden props for sleepy poses!  We make sure to capture a few overhead shots, full body, and close-up.  Plus, I always enjoy backlit a profile view of the baby, too!

White or cream blanket.

I have so many different white blankets with different textures, and I love using them in a variety of ways in my portraits.   Sometimes I use it on the posing bed for traditional posing.  Sometimes I layer it spilling out of the wooden crate.  Other times I will use it as a soft texture underneath the bowl or bed to add a little more dimension to photographs.    

I’m always of the mindset that less is more when it comes to newborn portraits. I hope that these five props show you that you can truly create beautiful (and long-lasting) portraits for your baby without a lot of involved setups.

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The Best Age for Newborn Portraits

As new parents begin to plan for their newborn portraits, one of the questions I’m most often asked is when they should book their newborn session. Today, I wanted to talk about how old your baby should be for our portraits, why I always say “yes” to older babies, and when in your pregnancy we should book your session to make sure you’re on the calendar.

What age is best for newborn portraits?

Most of my newborns are photographed in the first 2-3 weeks of their life. I prefer to wait until they are at least 7 days old to schedule their portrait session. By then their tummies are bigger and they can hold more milk, which means they are more easily settled for longer periods of time (and easier to pose!). This also gives parents a little time to adjust to their new (sleepless) routine and feel a tiny bit less like zombies by the time they get to the studio.

Older Newborn Portraits

Unlike other photographers, I'll never turn away an "older newborn," and I actually love working with babies in the studio that are 3, 4, 5+ weeks old. I've even captured newborn portraits for babies that are 2.5 and 3 months old, still swaddling them up and capturing those sweet baby details from the early stages of their life. Older newborns may not settle as easily into certain poses as they become less flexible and their bones start to harden, but we can still safely wrap and pose them for their portrait session.

When should you book your newborn portraits?

The most important thing is to reserve your newborn session IN THE SECOND TRIMESTER to ensure that your photographer has room on their schedule for your family. I mark each family's due date and save a certain amount of flexibility in the weeks surrounding the due date so that we can schedule the session once the baby arrives. I take on a limited number of newborn clients each month to give each family the attention and flexibility they deserve with their little one's arrival.

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