As a shower present, one of my best friends gave me a gift certificate for newborn photos with the talented Lisa Rossi. Originally, I wasn’t planning on paying for newborn photos; I have a nice camera, I enjoy photography, and I figured I could take pictures myself. Now, after having had the Trikester’s newborn photos taken professionally, I’m SO GREATFUL for that gift certificate. Life with a newborn is overwhelming – my days are crazy enough just squeezing in a shower, let alone a photo shoot.  I don’t think I would have ever gotten around to taking pictures on my own. Also, Lisa knows ALL the tricks to get babies to cooperate – as you’ll see below, she was much better equipped to get stellar images.

When we scheduled the Trikester’s shoot, Lisa provided a list of directions to make things run more smoothly. As a first time mom, the directions were a little overwhelming, but surprisingly we managed okay. Lisa suggested the following:

  • Photos should be taken in the first ten days after birth because babies are sleepier and less resistant to touch, making them easier to pose.
  • Give baby a bath the day of the photo shoot.
  • Dress baby in an outfit that’s easy to get off – nothing that goes over the head.
  • Keep baby awake for an hour or two before the photo shoot.
  • Feed baby right before you leave the house – make sure they’re as full as possible.
  • Bring a pacifier.
  • Be prepared to nurse or give the baby a bottle at some point during the photo shoot.
  • The studio is kept around 85 degrees, so keep that in mind when you’re picking out your own outfit.
  • Plan on photo shoot taking up to four hours.

With these directions in mind, we packed up the baby and made our first road trip to Lisa’s.

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Lisa always works with an assistant, so she and Jenny met us at the door and showed us into her cozy home studio. She had the heat cranking, and it was nice and toasty. She also had a baby-shhing soundtrack playing to help keep everyone calm. We took the Trikester out of the car seat, stripped him down, wrapped him in a fuzzy blanket, and handed him over to Lisa.

Seriously, she and Jenny are the baby whisperers. I was worried that the Trikester would cry or be uncooperative, but they were so amazing with him that I had nothing to stress about. They took ages calming him down, positioning him, keeping him warm, and soothing him when he got fussy.

(Sorry about less than amazing iPhone photos – life with a 6 day old was too overwhelming to drag along my camera).

Lisa and Jenny pose the Trikester on a jumbo beanbag chair covered in fuzzy blankets.

Lisa started off with photos on blankets. She had a huge beanbag chair with a ton of different blankets laid over the top. Each blanket was separated with a pee pad (like you’d use with a dog), so if/when a baby lost it, they only got the upper most layer. In addition to the high thermostat, Lisa also had a small portable heater that blasted warm air directly on the Trikester during the photos. That boy was so warm and cozy he hardly made a peep. I had requested blankets with lots of fun texture, so she arranged the baby in all kinds of positions and snapped away, using three or four different blanket backdrops.

This was only one tiny selection of hats in Lisa’s studio – there were sooo many to pick from.

You mamas of little girls are lucky – look at the cuteness you get to pick from!

Lisa had a HUGE selection of fuzzy hats, pants, and props to pick from. If I’d had a little girl, I would have been in Heaven with all the fashionable hair accessories.  We used some adorable hand-knit hats – there were plenty to pick from even with the Trikester’s tiny head. Mr. Tricycle couldn’t resist the sock monkey hat, so we also took some cute photos with that one, too.

Lisa and Jenny arrange the Trikester in a bucket for our Christmas card/birth announcement picture.

After the blanket backdrops, Lisa moved on to our Christmas card/birth announcement set-up. I had requested a simple background with white twinkle lights and lots of bokeh. She put the Trikester on a blanket in a white bucket and snapped away.

We got tons of photos with different poses and backgrounds, and it only took two and a half hours. The Trikester was cooperative, and believe it or not, did not poop or pee once during the whole time he was diaper-less (Lisa said that was a first – she says the babies AWAYS lose it – talk about making me a proud Mama, ha ha).

Lisa’s turn around time is about two weeks, so we should be getting a CD with digital images in the near future. I can’t wait to share them with you when they arrive (I’ve seen a sneak peek of one picture and I’m so in love!). I can’t recommend Lisa enough – if you’re in upstate New York and looking for a great newborn photographer, check out Lisa Rossi Photography.

What was your experience like having newborn photos taken? Was it stressful or much more relaxed than you anticipated?