Tips for your newborn shoot when they have an older sibling….

For most parents with a newborn baby and a toddler, the thought of having a newborn shoot where their toddler needs to cooperate, sends chills down their spine!!

Very occasionally I’ll get a toddler in the studio who feels in a very helpful mood and will be more than willing to help and listen during the session, but I must admit this is a rarity.

More often than not I will start the session with getting to know the toddler, in theory the newborn is the easier side to sort out once they’re fed and ready, so having the toddler on side for me is the biggest priority.

Every single toddler is different so I can’t behave in exactly the same way for each of them but once they’ve had my attention and feel relaxed in the studio they’re normally pretty good and I gently coax them into some photos.

There’s no pressure on them, I use a few bribes and games to keep their attention but if we get to the point where they need to blow off some steam, we can offer for them to have a quick run around outside. Granted these runs only last a few minutes as they’re normally dying to come back and tell us what they found. The chickens and ducks are great to pay a visit to!!

Newborn photoshoots with toddlers or more than one older sibling tend to run pretty quickly. When they’re cooperating I’ll aim to get the most shots of them together with little one and a whole family photo. We can then relax and extra photos are an added bonus to the final gallery!!

I’m more than happy for toddlers to bounce around on the mini sofa, play hide and seek in the curtains or make a den in the changing area, so honestly never feel that they have to be on their best behaviour or that they’ll bother me. They are my mini bestie during the whole session and I’m normally treated to a big cuddle when it’s time to go home! It works best for everyone that way as they’re far more likely to try and do good listening to the ‘crazy camera lady’ than they will for mum and dad!! ha ha!