Are you searching for an Atlanta newborn photographer? Through the details below, we’re sharing how to find a local photographer who can capture newborn photos at home, how to prepare your home and family for the session, what to wear, and how to soothe a fussy baby. Scroll through for more details, or use the table of contents below to jump to each section.
Table of Contents
- When to book your Atlanta newborn photographer
- How to prepare your home for in-home newborn photos
- Preparing your newborn ahead of the photoshoot
- What to do if your baby fusses during the session
- Getting toddler-age siblings ready
- What to wear for newborn photos
- Best time of day to schedule your newborn photos
- Selecting an Atlanta newborn photographer
- How to book a newborn photo session in Atlanta
When to book your Atlanta newborn photographer
As Atlanta newborn photographers, our approach is to offer a collective photoshoot experience that embodies maternity photos before welcoming your sweet baby into the world. To enjoy the experience of a maternity photoshoot before working with your baby on their newborn photos, we highly recommend reaching out during the fourth month of your pregnancy.
This will allow us to simultaneously schedule your maternity session while also selecting a date for your in-home newborn photos, which we typically calendar for around 9-12 days of your due date. However, we understand that a safe and healthy delivery is what’s most important. If needed, your newborn photos in Atlanta can easily be adjusted accordingly to allow for additional time for you and your baby to settle into your new normal at home before your session.
How to prepare for in-home newborn photos
Bringing your newborn baby to a photography studio can feel somewhat daunting and overwhelming. You have just begun to settle into your new routine, and you are still healing from the birthing experience. The newborn photography experience we offer in Atlanta and the surrounding areas is an in-home experience. A safe and joyful photoshoot can occur in your home without the worry of bringing your sweet baby out into the world just yet.
However, the idea of a newborn photoshoot at home can leave many parents wondering how much of their house needs to be ‘photo-ready’. Take heart, you don’t have to deep-clean the entire house in preparation for the photoshoot. Our Atlanta newborn photos typically focus on two main areas of your home: your baby’s nursery and the primary bedroom.
An easy way to prepare is by tidying up the corners of each of these rooms, ensuring the crib, rocking chair, and your bed are free from clutter, and that laundry and the inevitable piles are tucked away, out of sight.
Getting baby ready
When the day arrives for your Atlanta newborn photography session, making sure baby is comfortable ahead of time will be a key element to a successful photoshoot. We recommend you feed baby around 30 minutes prior to the start of our time together. This will ensure baby has a full belly, has been properly burped, and is ready for a nap.
Another easy preparation to make ahead of your newborn photoshoot is to make the room warm. A warm room makes for a sleepy baby, allowing us to move baby as needed to capture every precious image without disturbing their deep slumber.
What if my baby needs a quick change or another feed?
When we work with families on Newborn Photography in Atlanta, GA, we typically plan the photoshoot for a duration of two hours. This provides us with plenty of time for capturing unforgettable images of your family, while following your baby’s cues. We’ll be able to stop when needed in order to soothe, change, or feed your newborn.
What happens if my baby fusses during the session?
As an Atlanta newborn photographer and a mother, I understand all too well that babies can sometimes fuss when we are least expecting it. Once your baby has had their pre-photoshoot feeding, try to keep them moving and active until we get started. This will aid in putting them to sleep for the photoshoot.
If they still have a hard time settling, my approach includes soothing, swaddling, and a sound machine, in any combination that works best for them. We will work together to encourage your baby to relax so that you can enjoy an in-home newborn photoshoot, alongside the rest of your family. Plenty of newborns fuss during a photoshoot, and we have yet to encounter an experience that didn’t result in stunning images of your family to hang on the walls of your home.
Tending to siblings
We always encourage everyone in the family to get in front of the camera together to celebrate your sweet little one’s arrival. That includes older siblings. Toddler-aged siblings are a joy to photograph and bring a fun, adventurous energy to the session with their natural wonder and curious personalities.
If you are concerned that they may be tough to wrangle, our advice is to have as much fun as possible. Let them run around and get the wiggles out, or make fun games out of the time we have together. We would never expect young children to sit still and smile for the camera. Their adventurous spirits should be nurtured, allowing them to delight in play while also taking part in the session.
Do you want your older children to hold your newborn during the photoshoot? It’ll be important to discuss this with them ahead of time, and even ‘practice’, in order to achieve the moment with safety in mind. If you feel that siblings are not yet ready to hold the baby, that’s more than ok; comfort and safety are top priorities. There are plenty of other ways to guarantee we capture ‘siblings only’ photos, where baby is laid down safely.
Can our fur baby join in during the session?
Absolutely! Your four-legged fur baby is part of the family too, and they are more than welcome to join in on the fun, capturing those precious moments of your family together, at this very moment in time.
What to wear for newborn photos
With the entire family stepping in front of the camera to celebrate baby, you might be wondering what everyone can wear and how to coordinate for cohesive images. Our best advice is to start with mom. So soon after the birthing experience, you might not yet be feeling like yourself, and that’s understandable. Preparing for newborn photography should allow you a moment to step back into your confidence, including an outfit that meets you where you are.
If at all possible, avoid oversized patterns and logos. They can come across as ‘loud’, detracting the eye from the focal point of your photos, which should be your beautiful family. Instead, select a soft neutral-toned or muted color palette. Earthy tones, such as beige, ivory, or muted sage or dusty blue, work best in front of the camera, while ensuring your images come across as timeless, with an effortless beauty to them. Additionally, neutral, earthy, or muted tones are easy to pair with complementary outfits for the rest of the family. The goal is to complement one another, not to exactly match each other’s attire.
When you select us as your Atlanta newborn photographer, we will provide you with a downloadable style guide that provides you with a selection of attire from our client closet, ideas for color palettes, and how to pair them together for the whole family, creating an enjoyable, stress-free process while finding the perfect attire for your family.
Dressing your newborn
Wondering how to get your cherished newborn dressed for their photoshoot? You don’t have to worry about finding them a complementary outfit to match the rest of the family. Blankets, swaddles, and diaper covers are more than enough to dress your adorable baby for their first set of photos. The image of them tenderly swaddled in your arms, wrapped in a warm blanket, is something that cannot be achieved with a onesie. Choosing swaddles and blankets over a more traditional outfit will also allow us to easily move baby around, in addition to stopping throughout the session for any necessary changes or cleanups.
Best time of day to work with your Atlanta newborn photographer
Our goal is to capture a beautiful stream of natural golden light in each of the spaces we’ll be working in together (the nursery and primary bedroom). Depending on the season of your photoshoot, we will recommend the best time of day to achieve this sun-soaked look for your newborn photos. However, we find that natural light is easily found during the mid-morning hours. To achieve this organic glow for your photos, we recommend opening all the blinds in each of these spaces and pulling back any curtains just before the start of the session.
Selecting an Atlanta newborn photographer
Newborn photographers in Atlanta offer a variety of styles and experiences. This includes editorial style studio photographers who work with families against a backdrop, or photographers who pose newborns in a variety of setups, without their family members actively participating in the photoshoot.
Lane Albers is a newborn photographer in Atlanta who focuses on genuine family connections through a documentary style approach, leaving you with timeless, light, and airy organic images that showcase the love in your family. Moments are not stage-managed or directed; they are allowed to flow and occur naturally, leaving you with storied family photos full of sincere smiles and heartfelt emotion.
How to book a newborn photo session in Atlanta
Once you’ve found a photographer whose style and approach closely resemble the experience you’d like to share with your family, it’s time to reach out. If you’re ready to work with Lane Albers Photography as your Atlanta newborn photographer, you can find more information on our family photography experiences when you visit this link, or fill out the form at the bottom of this page to get the process started.
