5 Tips For Outdoor Newborn Photo Shoot

Hello, world!  About 4 weeks ago we welcomed the newest member of our family!  We had our newborn pictures scheduled for two weeks after that, and here are my tips for surviving an outdoor newborn photo shoot!

1. Be Flexible

Our peanut came a week late.  This put a bit of a damper on things, as the weather was getting colder, especially the week we ended up taking pictures.  I had originally planned warmer-weather outfits, or on changing mid-way, and then I realized that was kind of crazy with a newborn and 4-year-old in a public park...
So, we decided to stick with one outfit, and I'm SO thankful that we did!  Here's a bonus tip - if you do want a slightly different look, you can layer, and remove one layer for some photos - like I did with my sweater. :) 

2. Moderate Props

In the age of Pinterest and elaborate, 3-hour-long newborn shoots, it's easy to get caught up in all the props.  Those are a very specific type of photo shoot, and if it's what you want, you should absolutely go for it! However if you're doing a more simple look, or more overall family photos like we did, props can make the pictures too "busy", and take away from the beauty of your sweet baby's features.  Also, in our case, the more props, the more things we would've had to carry through the park.  The props we decided to use was a wooden children's rocking chair - mainly so we could get pictures of our son holding his sister, a basket - so we could get some pictures of her alone, an embroidery hoop with her name on it, and a couple blankets.

3. Try To Take It Easy
With a newborn (who needed a nursing break) and a rambunctious 4-year-old boy, I had to remind myself to take it easy, and go with the flow.  Now, I'm not gonna lie, I did get onto my son to smile nicely, and not be so goofy, but some of the cutest pictures are of him doing exactly that.  Being a 4-year-old.  And I realized when looking at them, that he's only gonna be this goofy adorable age once, and why not have photographic evidence of it? (Also, the superhero pose one is one of my favorites!  Such a boy thing!)

4. Getting "That" Shot
There were a few pictures I knew I wanted.  Aidan has been hands-down the sweetest and most caring big brother, so I knew I wanted a few of just the two of them.  The "Secret Garden"-y one is just gorgeous.  It's even more beautiful than I could've planned!
I also knew I wanted one of me with both of them, and I love the one we got!  I wanted a "Daddy's Girl" one (it's breathtaking), I wanted a 3-generations one with my mom, and I wanted a traditional one that we've been doing with Aidan every year, of him standing between us.  If there are specific things you want, make sure you communicate them with your photographer - their aim is to make you happy, and they will do whatever they can to make it happen!

5. If You Can, Get Some Help
We are very lucky to have had my mom come and help us when Jocelyn was born.  I understand that isn't always an option.  But if you can, it's really helpful to have an extra pair of adult hands to either hold the baby, so you can get those special one-on-one pictures with the older sibling, and someone to entertain the older kiddo (by climbing a tree, in our case) so you can get those precious newborn-with-parents pictures.

And there are my 5 tips for an outdoor newborn photo shoot! Here are a couple extra, quick bonus tips:

- Pick somewhere quiet - less distractions for little one.

- Pick a pretty blanket/swaddle to wrap baby in, since newborns can get "swallowed" by clothes (do make sure whatever they're wearing underneath goes with the pictures, because the blanket will shift).

- Bring a pacifier, let fussy baby suck on it, have the photographer tell you right before they're gonna take the picture, pop the paci out, and hide it in the blanket you brought! :)

- No matter the type of pictures, I suggest taking a blanket to sit on, because realistically no one wants to get their bottoms dirty.

Also, our AMAZING photographers were Andraž and Neža with Happy Moments Photography.  If you ever find yourself in Slovenia, and in need of photos, they are definitely who you want!
I found the adorable headband at Lilies London on Etsy, and the blanket at Molly and Averie, also on Etsy.

Let me know if you have any extra tips you'd share!  I'd love to hear from you!

DIY Newborn Photo Shoot

If you're like me, you want amazing pictures of all the special moments in your life, but are bound by something husbands like to call a budget.  That's where DIY and creativity come into play.

This is where I found myself when it came to baby Aidan's newborn pictures.  Photographers charge a pretty hefty price for their newborn shoot packages, and with good reason.  Babies are fussy, not on schedules, take hours to shoot, and mommies really want that adorable picture.  So, I'm absolutely not knocking on photographers or their prices.  Just saying, that I don't have $400 to drop on a baby photo shoot.

What I do have, is a helpful husband, mom, a cooperative baby, and props.

For Aidan's nursery, we went with an "Around The World In 80 Days" theme.  (Pictures to follow, btw.)  So, our props kind of went with that.  But many of them could be altered to go with whatever you're doing.

*Quick disclaimer, I am not a photographer, I've never taken a photography class, I just love pictures, have an SLR camera, and think I have a good eye for colors, symmetry and angles.

Props/Necessities:

- Large sheet.  (We had an AMAZING airplane sheet from Restoration Hardware.  Mom sewed one queen sized into a baby mattress size for Aidan, and we kept one.  Good call.)

- Boppy, other pillows.

- Blankets - babies get cold easier than adults

- Basket

- Antique suitcases

- Teddy bear

- Metal letters (that are hung on his wall)

- Knitted pilot's hat

- Metal toy plane

- Globe

- Letter wooden blocks

- Our wedding rings

- Passport

Directions:

- Location, location, location.  Choose a space that is well-lit by natural light.  Either by a window, or glass door.

- Plan.  Know when the sun comes through your window, and at what angle.  You don't necessarily want direct sunlight, but you also don't want a bunch of shadows.  Play around with your camera settings, positions and angle beforehand.  Also, photographers suggest doing the pictures before 2 weeks.

- Get baby nice and full, so he'll sleep.  Newborns are easier to take pictures of while they're asleep.

- Set your thermostat to a little warmer than usual.

- Get everything ready, and have a helper on hand.

- Decide not to get frustrated.  That's just a good rule for new parenthood. :)

- Place Boppy pillow on couch, bed, etc.  Cover with sheet, and tack up to wall behind it, to create a backdrop.

- Set up the props you want.  We started with a basket, with a blanket inside it, so it wasn't too rough.

- Next, we stacked the antique suitcases, and laid Aidan in them.  Have I mentioned how adorable he is?

- We also got some shots of Aidan with our wedding rings

- Aidan LOVES his daddy!  As soon as he heard his voice when he was born, he was looking for him.  We got some pretty precious pictures of the two of them.  Also, I love Dan's tattoo of his family crest.  Aidan got his middle name, Judson, from that side of the family.

- And of course, I had to get in on the action.  This little boy is too cute not to get a picture with.

I know I didn't get everything just so (the sheet should've been tighter, and I'm sure my camera settings weren't perfect), but I was really happy with the results, and love that we did them ourselves.

Let me know what you think, if you have any tips for me, for next time, or what you've done that seems to work!