This is a starting point checklist for various kinds of sessions.  But when life happens, if you have forgotten anything on the list, don’t panic.  We will still have a GREAT session.

It’s a good idea to….

Bring to your newborn session:

• Dress for the tropics. When we’re not photographing a family shot, and we’re concentrating on your baby, dress like you’re going to the beach. The studio is WARMMM.  On that note, you are so welcome to bring your makeup and hair irons, and work on getting yourself all spiffy here while I’m working with baby. There’s no sense in arriving perfectly finished if we have decided not to start with family shots.
• Any props you would like. (obvious, I know, but who doesn’t appreciate a check list)
• *If you are making family or sibling photographs with your newborn,* see the relationships session post for good information there.  You’ll notice that there are two opposite ways of photographing relational shots.
  • DARK images use a black background.  Mom, Dad, and sibling’s wardrobe should be long sleeve, and high-ish neck black or dark brown.  This ‘look’ is going to highlight naked baby, hands, and faces; not clothes.  I’m often asked if the dark relationship images are inappropriate for African Americans with dark skin. Not at all. They’re quite beautiful actually.  It would be unprofessional of me to light my client in such a way that they “disappear into the background.”  As a matter of fact, my all-time favorite dad + baby image has the look.
  • The LIGHT images don’t actually require white, as one might assume.  Actually, don’t bring white. It’s too stark.  The object of the game here is to pick clothes that have LOW contrast to your skin.  Colors such as cream, oatmeal, various shades of taupe or tan work very well.  Layering nice texture is very welcome in these images. As with most images, solid colors are a must. Stripes, plaids, and other patterns are very distracting in the image and they literally steal-focus from the newborn and your relationship.  In both Dark and Light, we don’t want clothing to be the focus of the image.  These light images are not limited to the neutral colors. In fact, muted pinks, yellows, and even light greens have been very nice. You will just need to be careful to lay the family’s clothes out together and see if they coordinated well.  If you’re leaning toward picking up a color in your newborn family shots, its a great idea to pick a color that works well with your home’s decor since family shots are likely to be hung proudly on your walls.
• Hats or bows for your newborn. Most newborns are naked the whole time, so outfits aren’t necessary, but your hats and bows are awesome.  ESTY is a fantastic place to pick up some GREAT little props like these.  The selection is awesome, pieces are hand made, and often very competitive in price.  When you’re looking for bows for your little girl, search for “newborn headbands,” “newborn tiebacks,” and “newborn props.”  Have fun browsing. It’s addictive!
• Newborn sessions can be long, so please feel free to bring a snack.  Even an entire lunch is fine.  I’ll have drinks here, but by all means, don’t be shy to eat here.
• I have a boppy for you nursing mommas.
• Extra milk if it’s not already attached to you.  Your baby is likely to need to eat!  When he or she does need to stop and eat, I want to welcome you to make yourself at home.  If you need to nurse, by all means – nurse!  I’ll give you your privacy or stay and listen to your birth story.  Whatever makes you at-home.
• My newborn clients are strongly encouraged to review the post The Morning of your Newborn Session.  This post is for clients only, so if that’s you, and I haven’t sent you the password, feel free to cal me – 859-685-8516, or email me – robin@robinallen-photography.com
• If you are reading this weeks or months before your session, THIS POST about Props from Willow Lane is for YOU.

Bring to an outdoor session:

• 3-5 of your kids’ cutest outfits.  Outside we are likely to get through two outfits.  A third is good to have on hand if the session is going quickly and there’s time for the third.  The fourth and fifth are just in case you want my opinion on what photographs well.  For little girls, and especially baby girls, I recommend having at least one outfit that is not a dress.  Dresses require extra attention to posing, such as sitting lady-like, and fluffing the dress.  These extra efforts are not a problem, but they can be time-eaters, and your daughter may quickly tire of being told to sit a certain way.  Having a casual pants/jeans outfit is very helpful and quite cute!
• A snack for your little one.  Snacks are great for when we break for an outfit change.  Obviously bring it with you as we venture from location to location, but we do want to avoid offering food and drink at every frown or else you’ll have a mouth full of snack in every other shot we make.

Bring to a cake smash:

• The cake!  Don’t forget to bring the cake!
• Cake smash outfit or diaper cover.
• Clean-up supplies!  If we shoot in-studio, I’ll have towels and a sink, but if you like special wipes or something, bring those.
• Fresh clothes and diaper for the ride home.

Bring to a maternity session:

• strapless bra (we can tuck traps in a pinch)
• tube top if you have one.
• tight camisoles… maternity camisoles are usually ideal since they’re long enough, but regular camis work too.  This is a great way to introduce color to your maternity session… Displaying a maternity image in baby’s purple nursery?  well then bring a purple cami!
• black pants for both mom and dad.  It doesn’t matter what kind, really.  They’ll be too dark in the photographs to be able to tell if they’re slacks or yoga pants.
• black tee shirt for Dad.  He can also go shirtless for some images if you guys would like the skin-to-skin look.
• dresses or tops with an empire waist.  Its a good idea to avoid busy patterns and stick with solids where you can.  Busy prints are good at hiding the contours, in some cases and that’s exactly what we do not want to do.