What to bring to the newborn photography session
The changing bag, the feed, and little else
days 10 to 15 of lifeBring what you use every day: nappies and wipes, something to feed them, a dummy if they take one. Then, if you have one, something of your own to put in the photos. The session is in the morning, in the first 10 to 15 days of life.
What do I need to bring to the newborn photography session?
A full nappy change and something to feed them. A dummy if the baby takes one, and nothing else is essential. If you're unsure about anything in particular, ask me before you pack the bag, rather than bringing half the house with you.
The studio is at Via Umberto 230, in Trani. It's about thirty minutes' drive from Bari, and even less from Barletta and Bisceglie, so the bag needs to last the journey plus the morning in the studio.
What to put in the bag
If you bring the same bag you'd take out for a walk, you've already got almost everything.
Nappy change
Nappies, wipes, and the cream you usually use. Pack a few more than you've counted on: between the journey and the morning in the studio you'll get through more than you would at home, and a spare change doesn't weigh the bag down.
Feeding
Milk if you're bottle feeding, whatever you need if you're breastfeeding. Count on one more feed than you'd have at home: a baby who's had a full feed sleeps more deeply, and in the first 10 days of life it's sleep that runs the session.
The dummy
Pack it even if they don't use it much at home. On a morning away from home, in a room they don't know, it's needed more often than usual to settle them back to sleep.
Something of your own
The blanket made by grandma, or the bodysuit bought in the fourth month of pregnancy. Tell me as soon as you arrive, so it doesn't stay at the bottom of the bag: in ten years' time, it's what you'll recognise.
Something for you
Water and something to eat. You'll be leaving home early, because newborn sessions are in the morning, and it's usually mum who ends up hungry.
What you don't need to bring
Little outfits, balloons, frames, and name signs: leave them at home. In photos from the first few days, the subject is the baby, their hands and their feet, and anything added around them takes away from that.
If you'd like to know in advance what's already waiting for you in the studio, and so what you can leave at home, ask me before you pack the bag. I answer myself, on the studio number 0883 588902 or on WhatsApp.
You'll find what the session includes on the newborn photography session page.
How to dress the baby for coming to the studio
In a loose babygrow that opens at the front, without tight elastic at the wrists and ankles. Elastic marks stay on a newborn's skin for a long time, and they show up in the early photos.
Underneath, a nappy is enough: every extra button is time passing while they sleep.
I book this session in the first 10 to 15 days of life, ideally within the first 10, and the reason is sleep. I explain this in full on the newborn photography session page.
How parents dress for the photos
In a plain top, no writing, in a light or neutral colour. In photos holding a newborn, it's mostly hands and arms that show: the sleeve matters more than anything else.
Leave hooded sweatshirts at home, along with fabrics that rustle when you move. Otherwise, whatever you're wearing is fine: ten days after giving birth, nobody wants to change three times before heading out.
What time to come to the studio
In the morning. Newborns sleep more deeply in the early hours of the day, and that's when I book newborn sessions.
If you're coming from Bari, allow half an hour by car plus some margin for a feed along the way. The route and where to leave the car are on the newborn session for those living in Bari page.
If you're still expecting, you can pencil in the timing now: message me the week you're due, then send me a message on the day the baby's born and we'll confirm the actual date.
Before you pack the bag
Two pages for the rest: how the session works, and how a newborn is kept safe while being photographed.
Frequently asked questions
The baby is already more than fifteen days old: does that change what I need to bring?
No, the bag is the same: nappy change, feed, dummy. What changes is the session. After 15 days sleep gets lighter and the curled up poses no longer happen on their own, so I focus on open eyes and hands. If they're already a few months old, the right session is the growth milestones one. Message me the date of birth and I'll tell you which one that is.
Should they arrive awake or asleep?
Either is fine. It helps, though, if they feed shortly before leaving home, or as soon as you arrive: a baby who's had a full feed sleeps more deeply. I book newborn sessions in the morning for the same reason, and in the first 10 days of life sleep still works the way it did in the womb. So bring even the feed that feels like one too many.
Should I wash or change them before coming?
Change them whenever it's needed, without watching the clock. If a bath relaxes them, give it the evening before rather than the morning of the session: you'll be leaving home early, and one more thing to do with a baby who's ten days old makes everything take longer. An extra nappy change in the bag covers whatever you didn't manage at home.
The older brother is coming too: what should we bring for him?
Something to keep him occupied: a book, a snack, a toy he already knows rather than one to discover there. A child of three or four lasts a few minutes in front of a camera, and for the rest of the morning he needs to be able to do something else. For clothes, the same rule applies as for the grown ups: plain colours, no writing.
Booking the newborn session
Message me the week you're due, or the date of birth if the baby's already arrived, and we'll set the morning. The studio is at Via Umberto 230 in Trani, inside Studio Zitoli: photographers for generations, and Little Stories is the part dedicated to the little ones.