There are so many cute and unique ideas for a newborn shoot. In fact, one of my blogs is all about that! But first, when choosing your photographer, it is important to make sure you enjoy the typical style of images that photographer creates. Do you enjoy bold, joyful colors, or more subdued hues? Do you like edgy lighting and tones, or true to color edits? Looking through a photographer’s portfolio should immediately tell you if you would be happy with the images from your own session. But what if you have a unique idea for a newborn shoot that you aren’t seeing in a portfolio?
If you have a special idea for photos for your infant, please contact me! I love adding a unique flair to clients’ galleries and get special requests all the time. Requests include specific themes, colors, or wardrobe. In order to implement a unique idea for your baby photos, the key is to plan in advance. At Jennifer McNeil Photography, everyone receives a pre-session consultation to do just that. The sooner you book in, the more time we have to talk through these ideas and make them come to life.
In the past I’ve been asked for a wide range of things like a specific color which was part of the client’s wedding, to the possibility of me bringing a horse in the photos. (P.S. We did not do the horse photos, and no, I don’t have a horse.) Here are some of the results from those requests.
The parents of this Baby absolutely loved Star Wars and I found out during our pre-session consultation that Dad has quite the lightsaber collection. I asked him if he’d like to bring them all in, and they did that! They also brought along with a variety of plush Star Wars baby toys for me to photograph with their daughter. My favorite, by far, is all the lightsabers with the baby. It’s a pretty epic journey this family has been on to have a baby and this theme fit that journey well.
I always offer to include grandparents in every newborn session, and so this lucky baby girl got to have photos with her mother and grandmother. I truly think that’s special in and of itself, but while we were creating these photos, the father of this Baby girl asked me if I had any bunny ears for her. Of course! I’ve got all the cute props for newborn photos, but I asked him why out of curiosity. I was surprised to find out that all three women in the photo were born in the year of the rabbit. Moreover, this baby is the first grandchild in the family! How truly special is that?
Even before photographing a professional athlete’s baby, I received requests for sports themed or team color themed newborn photos. Everyone loves putting their baby in something that represents who the parents are. It’s fun to get photos of your future little sports fan at the beginning of their life. Colors can always be easily implemented to a session to add a bit of spirit for your alma mater. For more specialized poses such as those with newborn on a football photos, a young baby is imperative. This, along with extra care to make sure baby is asleep, comfortable, and safe, is a must.
One of my favorite unique ideas for newborn photos came to me when inside a clients’ family home. I saw on the wall, an image of three children – two of which were older and peering into a bassinet with a baby. It just so happened this client was having her 3rd child, and the photo on the wall was her and a brother, looking in on their youngest sibling. When I decided to recreate this image, I knew I didn’t want to copy the image, but pay homage to it with posing and textures.
With that in mind, I asked big sister and brother to look into one of my newborn basket props where their baby sister lay. There she was sleeping soundly, posed in my typical style. The two photos are different from one another, but the family loved how theirs showed the similarities in the two families. And side note, how awesome that the first image is still hanging on the wall 30 years later. That’s the magic of baby photography and the timelessness of the art.
For a list of more unique ideas for a newborn photo shoot, read my blog about 20 Cute Photo Ideas for Baby Pictures. And contact me to book a session with your own ideas!
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