NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHY – when babies don’t sleep

I have been photographing newborns for almost 10 years now and one this that is consistent is that newborn babies are not easy sleepers. I have tricks like keeping the studio really warm, playing white noise music and speaking in low tones, but most of all you have to be super calm. Babies seem to pick up on the mood in the studio and can smell frustration! I have also learned to just not sweat it, if baby doesn’t want to sleep it’s totally ok. Wide eyed babies that are calm and not stressed make beautiful pictures too 🙂 I would say the best thing one can do, in order to try and get variety, is to keep baby in something neutral and change positions and poses. I like jumpsuits or onsies for this as I can move baby from a lying down pose, then on the tummy to in a bucket. Also focus on hands, eyelashes, lips, ears etc.. so that you get some great macro shots, which parents always treasure! Keep calm and keep shooting!