You’ve booked your newborn portrait session, and the day is fast approaching. One of the first questions that many new parents have is “what to wear to your newborn portrait session”?
I know that when you’ve just had a baby this question can be particularly emotional for Moms. The amazing way that our bodies change to grow and nurture our babies both during and after pregnancy, can mean that our favorite clothes don’t fit anymore, or that we’re not too sure what will look best.
If you feel this way, you certainly aren’t alone. But I hope that you’ll be pleased to hear that dressing for a newborn shoot can be simple and straightforward – and still make an impact in your portraits.
In this guide I’ll explain how to dress your baby before the shoot and what to wear for newborn family pictures.
Dressing your newborn baby for their portrait session
During the shoot, I’ll spend the majority of my time photographing your new baby, and will use wraps and blankets from my studio wardrobe to do this. You don’t need to bring any clothes for your baby to wear during the portait session.
However, I will ask you to dress them in a front fastening sleeper, with no vest underneath so that it is easy for me to undress them without disturbing their sleep.
What to wear for newborn family portraits?
I always start with family and sibling portraits at the beginning of the session.
As you choose your family’s outfits I recommend keeping these three things in mind:
- Choose a color scheme.
- Keep it simple.
- Coordinate, but don’t match.
Choose a color scheme.
Having a coordinated color palette to base everyone’s outfits on, can really help to bring your photographs together, and give them more impact.
I recommend choosing a maximum of 2-3 colours that you will base everyone’s outfits around. In general, neutral colors work best for newborn portraits – Greys, whites, creams, soft pinks, and soft blues. In a newborn portrait session in the studio, black works very well too. I also recommend that you avoid bright colors – these will take the focus away from you and your baby.
Once you’ve chosen your 2-3 colors, choose an outfit for each person that fits into this color scheme.
Coordinate but don’t match
When you’re choosing each member of the family’s outfit, bear in mind that the goal is to coordinate, not match. You don’t need everyone to wear the same thing, just for everyone’s outfits to coordinate.
I recommend that you avoid patterns, clothes with logos, writing or pictures on them, as these can be distracting. We want the focus to be on you, and your new baby. Simple tops or dresses will work well.
Interested in scheduling your newborn portrait session? Get in touch, and let’s chat here.