A little one’s first baby photography session is perhaps the biggest deal in a new mother and father’s activity list. From this shoot will come the baby’s first portraits and these portraits will be in family albums and wills serve as mementos for years to come. To say there is a bit of pressure for this shoot to go very well is quite an understatement.
For most things in life, baby photography shoots included, preparation is half the battle. Here are a few tips for preparing the baby for the shoot.
1. Make sure the baby is well-groomed. This simply means giving the baby a bath, so she looks extra fresh, and making sure her nails are clipped and her nostrils are clean. Do not worry too much about the hair as baby portraits tend to become cuter the more natural the whole look is. Also, the baby will be put in different positions and will need to be picked up from time to time, so fussing about the hair will only lead to unnecessary stress.
2. If it will be a naked shoot for the baby to highlight her features and fragility, make sure that she does not wear any tight clothes hours before the shoot to prevent red marks from showing up on her skin. Additionally, take extra care of baby’s buttocks with creams and powder to avoid diaper rash days before the shoot. Though photos can be easily edited in post-production, clean, clear skin at the get-go is always much favorable.
3. If there are skin peels that have not yet fully come off, leave them like that. Do not try to force it into falling off by pulling at it or cutting it. Again, the more natural the overall look of the baby is for the shoot, the better. The shoot is not about perfection or hiding flaws, but about capturing the baby’s essence in his infancy stage and celebrating every little detail about that.
4. Every baby has her own body clock. Some take one long nap during the day and are up and about the rest of the time, while others take several short naps in between meals. Whatever the baby’s natural schedule is, stick to it during the baby photography shoot. Do not force a baby to sleep when it is not in her schedule to take nap, and never wake a sleeping baby just for the sake of a good shot. This plan always backfires anyway.