We are incredibly lucky to spend our day with such wonderful moms and their precious babies. There is no question – the newborn phase goes by fast! Cherish those sweet snuggles, enjoy this special time with your little one, and take lots of photos!

In our guest post today, we share with you some great tips and ideas for newborn portraits from Rhode Island & Massachusetts Photographer and Artist – Jean Monti. Enjoy!

NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY PORTRAITS

http://www.jeanmontiphotography.com

TOP QUALITY NEWBORN PHOTOS: HOW JEAN MONTI PUTS HER HEART INTO NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY PORTRAITS.
I love newborn photography and look forward to every newborn photography session with excitement and enthusiasm. Imagine welcoming new babies into your family every month! I have the honor of this experience every time I welcome a new family into my home studio. Can you image the joy and love I am surrounded with during every session? Newborns represent innocence, purity, goodness, and so much hope for our future. I always try and photograph them in a wide variety of poses to be sure I capture the present newness that will change so quickly with each and every passing day. I love how cozy they look swaddled in a soft wrap on a fur blanket, and how beautiful they are in a basket bathed in sunlight in a creative and natural setting, or how secure and loved they are when in the arms of their adoring parents. The details of their rosebud lips, and their tiny little toes are important because we never want to forget how sweet and little they are.

Sunlight cascading through a window on a newborn is photographed by Jean Monti Photography in her Cumberland RI studio

It is best to photograph newborns during the first 14 days of their life. I understand how exhausted parents feel during this time, but I have never had a parent regret scheduling time to have professional photographs of their newborn. I highly recommend capturing this fleeting and special time in your life with a professional, but if you would like to try it on your own, here is what I suggest for ideas and tips.

Newborn Photographer, Jean Monti, photographs newborn at the Jean Monti Photography studio located in Cumberland, RI

Detail of a newborn’s head being held by the hands of her father and mother.

Detail image of a newborns tiny feet was captured in the photo studio of Jean Monti

Jean Monti loves to document the smallest details of a newborns lips during a newborn photography session

NEWBORN PHOTO IDEAS AND TIPS BY JEAN MONTI

PHOTOGRAPHING A NEWBORN BABY

Use a really good camera! I too think the mobile device cameras have come a long way for fun candid shots, but they are absolutely no substitute for a DSLR with a really good lens when capturing fine art portraits. You cannot control aperture, speed, or ISO with a mobile device.

Have a plan! I always go over color schemes, where the clients want to hang the finished portraits, do they want to fill an album, do they want 50% or 90% of the images to be just the newborn and the rest to be with the parents, etc. It is best to photograph a newborn just after they eat and when they are asleep. Mom should avoid certain foods if nursing because the baby will be moved around more than usual and certain foods will make them more upset than usual. Within the first 15 minutes and while sound asleep, photograph them swaddled and wrapped lying down on a bed or a covered beanbag. This way you are guaranteed to have something great before moving on to more difficult poses where their body is exposed. Also, make sure the room and your hands are very warm. Babies love to be in constant contact, so I stay very close, hold their hands and legs close to their body, and always move them gently and slowly so as to not startle them. Whatever you do, don’t change them on a cold plastic changing pad! Imagine someone lifting you out of bed in the morning, undressing you, and then placing your warm body on a cold plastic pad! Next, you can try to place them in a basket, but always have someone close by to make sure baby is safe and nothing in the basket is poking or hurting them in any way. Make the bed of the basket soft with blankets and/or fur and softly cushion their head. At this time you can swap out hats, or headbands, and slowly try and remove the wrap.

A throwback from 2007 that many of you can relate to as your children start a new school year.

I am a woman on the verge of freedom. After sixteen years at home, the youngest of my four sons is off to a full day of Kindergarten in the fall. I am at the same time, elated and depressed. I alternate between euphoria at the possibilities that are opening up for me, and hysterical tears as I experience each last milestone with my baby. Preschool is over. We sat together for the last time at First Friday Mass, waving at his big brothers. Next time I go, he will be sitting with his classmates. He is done with Eager Beavers at the YMCA. I no longer have a child to take to the playgroup I have been attending weekly for 8 years. Even as we go shopping at the grocery store, I am reminded that come fall, I can do this by myself. Think of the money I will save! And how quickly I will get it done! Then the tears start, as I realize my constant companion will be otherwise occupied come September.

I should be happy, right? Everywhere I go, I see mothers with young children. I remember how tiring it is to carry a car seat, reason with a 2 year old, nurse a baby for the third time in 2 hours, race home before naptime, and beg a six year old to run and get me a diaper, again. I vividly remember the energy it took to take care of all of them and their needs, while mine forever took a back seat. I see the fatigue in my friends’ faces whose schedules still revolve around their little ones. I hear it in my clients’ voices when I try to reassure them that this particular phase won’t last forever. I am frequently reminded of a quote from one of my favorite authors, Kathleen Huggins. “If you find it hard, it’s because it is hard.” And it was.

But it has also been one of the best things I have ever done. And if I had more money and energy, and was a little bit younger, I would do it all over again. I’d love the chance to get another marriage proposal from a 3 year old or have a 5 year old tell me, “Mom, you’re my whole world.” I want to have a newborn stop crying immediately when I pick him up and feel a little hand grab a hold of mine while walking through a crowd. I’d even love to rock my sick toddler in my arms in the middle of the night. These are the memories that I cherish, and long for.

And yet, this phase of my life is almost over. And in so many ways, the new phase is terrific. I have built-in babysitters and can go out to dinner with my husband, or for a run in the morning before anyone wakes up. We actually get where we are going mostly on time now and my youngest prides himself on helping me. My 9 year old will still talk to me when no one else in the family wants to. I love nothing more than sitting on the couch with my two teenagers, rehashing the day, and laughing till I cry when I hear of their escapades. I am amazed at the men they are all becoming, and excited for their futures.

So, what is a woman to do in this situation? I have agonized about it, and finally decided. I am getting a puppy. It’s a boy and he’s coming home Labor Day Weekend. But don’t tell my kids! It’s a surprise, and we are on to our next phase.