Tips for Including Siblings In Newborn Pictures

The big news is out, and the grandparents are excited. Yay! You are having your second baby! As your due date inches closer, I bet you would really love to have a beautiful image of your growing family in your home that includes your first baby too. But you’re also thinking your oldest might not be into this whole family picture thing. No worries! You are not alone. I’m here with a few tips for including siblings in your newborn pictures.

Know You’ll Be Taken Care Of And Enjoy Your Family

One of my top suggestions for parents is knowing that your little one is going to feed off of your energy. Their little radars can instantly pick up if you’re frazzled or if you’re having fun and enjoying their company. They can sense if you’re calm and content. Having photographed newborns and their families for over a decade, I promise you I understand that big brothers and big sisters will need some time to warm up, and they’ll need this to feel like “calm play.” Will they want and need direction from you and from me? Even a little priming beforehand? Yes! I’m big on natural interactions at their level, taking breaks, and working quickly so that we can get the images we need. It’s what I like to call “calm fun.”

Safety First!

Safety along with realistic, age-appropriate expectations is also key. Before each and every newborn session, I work behind the scenes to plan Before you book your newborn session, I’m happy to share our game plan for getting those images so that you can arrive relaxed knowing you’re in good hands.

So No to “Say Cheese”

Having an image of your child genuinely smiling and is the jackpot! It’s what we all really want! Genuine smiles will never happen when parents ask their child to “look at the camera!” They will happen when you are playing, because that’s often when they’re happiest. Part of my “calm play” bag of tricks is having little ones thinking they’re playing, but I’m secretly setting them up for an image. Magic! The moment their radar goes off that we are “taking pictures” and not playing, their cooperation is going to come to a full stop.

Rewards

Everyone loves a reward for doing something awesome, but it isn’t always needed. If we do need to move to rewards for our youngest guests, the reward needs to be instant. I keep a few handy rewards at the studio just for this purpose, and I’ll always check with your prior to your session to know what would be best.

Can You Photoshop That?

Well…. that depends. Photoshop is not a magic fix all, but it does come in handy. We aren’t looking for perfection, what we are looking for is something genuine. My wonderful retoucher, Anna, and I keep things realistic when we edit. Our goal is beautiful and natural.

If you are due within the next few months or maybe you just brought your baby home from the hospital, I’m glad you’re here. Parents typically reserve newborn sessions in their second trimester, so that we can photograph all of your baby’s fresh, new details in their 2nd-3rd weeks of life. Looking for a maternity photo session? Those are best photographed between weeks 30-35.

My hope is that you love what you see, and after your session you’ll see how incredibly easy we’ve made this for families. With over a decade of experience, we’ve thought through all of the details and taken care of them, so you don’t have to. So can we include siblings in newborn pictures? Absolutely! And I’m happy to walk you through how we can best do this for your family.

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Want details about a Louisville KY maternity, newborn, or family portrait session? Say hello here!