I say this all the time, but it’s so very true! I have the best job ever. Four years ago I photographed this couple’s engagement session and wedding. When they asked me to also photograph their sweet baby girl, needless to say, I was elated! This little lady slept through her entire newborn portrait session. She was such a sweet heart and made my job easy! Although I send parents a complete preparation guide before their newborn session to help keep baby asleep and happy there are never any guarantees. We are all at the mercy of the little ones! One tip for keeping a newborn asleep is to keep the baby awake for 2 hours before your scheduled session, but NOT longer. If a newborn becomes overtired they may have a really hard time settling down and become quite frustrated during their session which is the exact opposite of what we want! A happy baby makes for a great session!

The goal during a newborn posing portrait session is to have a very sleepy baby. I send every client a complete newborn preparation guide filled with tips to help keep baby asleep. Sometimes though no matter what you do, even if you follow the guide exactly there is no guarantee that your baby is going to stay asleep. What’s really great is when you get the best of both worlds. A sleepy baby and then right at the end they are wide awake and happy! Happy being the key word! That’s exactly what happened during this sweet baby girl’s session.

Midlothian VA's Top Newborn Photographer Baby Portraits in Richmond VA | Sarah Kane Photography

I’m absolutely in LOVE with these stunning newborn portraits with my black backdrop!!

Aren’t these twin newborn babies just the sweetest? I love that Mom and Dad brought in some items that had special meaning. Those cute bowties the babies are wearing belonged to their grandfathers which each are named after. The cowboy hat, buckle and bolo tie were warn by their dad at his wedding! These newborn portraits will be cherished by so many for years!

I had the honor of photographing big sister for her maternity and newborn portraits and now I am thrilled to be photographing her baby sister! Ideally we want newborns to be nice and sleeping during their portraits, but sometimes I get babies in the studio who are wide awake, but happy for part of their portrait session! When that happens (which is a rarity) you get the best of both worlds!

I’ve learned a long time ago that my favorites images aren’t always the same as my clients and so I always deliver proofs and let the client have the final say. Here are some favorites chosen by Mom and Dad for this sweet newborn portrait session!

Richmond VA's Best Newborn Photographer Chesterfield Baby Portraits | Sarah Kane Photography

Another sweet newborn session in the new studio and I’m loving all of the space and these floors! I’m also loving this yellow hat and wrap on baby girl! I always hate covering up such beautiful hair with a hat, but they sure are adorable!

Mom and Dad didn’t come planning on taking photos. It was just going to be Big Sister and her newborn baby brother. I’m so glad they decided to get in the pictures after all!! These images will become more special as each year goes by! I’ve never hear parents say they regret having pictures taken with their newborns only the regrets of those who didn’t

Be still my heart. I cannot get over those big brown eyes and all of that beautiful hair! The goal of a newborn session is to keep the baby asleep. Parents can follow all of my suggestions in the newborn photography prep guide and there is still no guarantee that their baby is going to be sleepy.  Typically this is not a good scenario, but for this adorable little man it worked in our favor for sure! I definitely wouldn't recommend trying to keep your newborn awake for photos.  A sleepy baby is a posable baby, but there are always the rare exceptions!