Newborn photographer at home: when to book and how to prepare

The curled-up, deeply asleep pictures most people imagine are easiest in the first two to three weeks. Babies sleep soundly at that age, knees still tucked up and fists by the face.

Later is fine too. A baby of four or six weeks is awake more often, looks at you and turns towards your voice. A lifestyle session, which is about the family rather than sleepy poses, works well at that age. The balance simply shifts: fewer shots of the baby asleep on their own, more eye contact, cuddles and feeding.

How to plan it:

• Get in touch while you are still pregnant. Give your due date and your city or district in the request, so it is easier to find a photographer with free days around that time.
• Fix the exact date after the birth. Few babies arrive on their due date. How the date is confirmed depends on the photographer, and the terms are set out in your proposal.
• Do not plan it at your own expense. If you need more time to recover, a week later is still a good moment.

If you would also like photographs of the bump, read our maternity session guide.

A classic studio session places the baby on a beanbag, in headbands and wraps, through a series of prop set-ups. A lifestyle session at home works the other way round. The photographer shows the baby in your surroundings and in your arms: one parent rocking the baby by the window, the other feeding on the bed, a big brother peering into the cot, a grandmother’s hand next to a tiny foot.

There is no set to build: the backdrop is your bedding, your curtain, your armchair. In a few years the pictures will also show what life looked like in those weeks.

The photographer suggests where to sit and stand so the light falls well on the baby’s face, but they will not pose you as if for a formal portrait. Most good frames happen between the suggestions.

The session lasts about two and a half hours because the baby sets the pace. Feeding, changing and settling take longer than the photography itself. A typical order:

1. Arrival and a look around. The photographer checks which way the light comes in and picks two or three spots. You can finish a feed in peace meanwhile.
2. Family pictures and siblings. These come first, while an older child is still curious and the baby is fed and calm.
3. Feeding and changing. A break that is part of the plan. Feeding by the window is one of the frames parents choose most often, if the mother is comfortable with it.
4. The sleeping baby. Once the baby is deeply asleep, the photographer takes pictures of the baby alone on the bed or in the cot, then the details: eyelashes, the creases on the forehead, fingers wrapped around a parent’s finger.
5. Portraits of the parents. Each parent with the baby, then both together.
6. A calm finish. Any frames that did not work earlier, or another feed, and you are done.

The order often changes. If the baby falls asleep the moment the photographer arrives, the sleeping shots come first and the family pictures wait. If the baby cries, everyone pauses, and there is no need to apologise.

A typical starting package includes around 25 edited photographs. The exact number and the delivery time for the gallery are stated in your proposal.

A lifestyle session involves no risky poses. The well-known images of a newborn resting their chin on their hands, or hanging in a wrap from a branch, are composites made from several photographs, with an adult holding the baby throughout. They are not taken at home.

The rules that should apply at every newborn session:

• The baby is always supported, or lying flat on a low, stable surface, such as the middle of a bed. A parent or the photographer is always within arm’s reach.
• Nothing hangs over the baby and the baby is never placed up high: no baskets on a chest of drawers, no glass jars, no swings.
• No forced poses. If the baby stretches out or wakes, the photographer changes the angle, not the baby’s position.
• A sleeping baby in the cot lies on their back, with no pillows or loose items around them, just as on any other day.
• Clean hands and good health. The photographer washes their hands before touching the baby. If anyone in the household or the photographer has a cold, it is better to move the session than to take the risk.

If anything worries you, say so straight away. You know your baby, and a good newborn photographer will accept any request without argument. For questions about your baby’s health, ask your midwife (in Poland, the *położna* who visits after the birth) or your paediatrician.

You do not need a large or perfectly furnished flat. One bright room and a tidy corner where the pictures will be taken are enough. A rented flat photographs perfectly well once one corner is cleared.

Window light. A large window without harsh direct sun works best. Net curtains can stay, as they soften the light. Switch off the ceiling lights: warm bulb light mixed with daylight gives the baby’s skin an unflattering cast.

Warmth. The baby will be partly undressed, so the room should be noticeably warmer than usual. Turn the radiator up an hour before the photographer arrives. If you use an electric heater, keep it well away from the baby and the bedding.

A tidy corner. There is no need to clean the whole home, only the area by the window and the bed. Plain, light bedding without patterns; chargers, remotes, bottles and packs of nappies out of sight.

Small things that help:

• a phone with white noise or a favourite lullaby,
• a few muslins and a changing mat, because newborns without a nappy like to surprise you,
• a dummy, if you use one, and water and a snack for the mother.

If there are things with a story, such as a blanket knitted by a grandmother or a first outfit sent from abroad, keep them to hand. The photographer will use them in the detail shots.

An older child is often the most important person at this session, having just become a big brother or sister.

• Photograph siblings first. After fifteen or twenty minutes, most two-year-olds have had enough.
• Tell them beforehand that someone with a camera is coming to take pictures of them and the baby. Let them choose their own top from the colours you have agreed on.
• No holding the baby out at arm’s length. It is safest when the older child sits leaning against the sofa with the baby on their lap, supported from below by a parent just out of frame.

A dog or cat can be in the pictures too, if they are calm and already used to the baby. A pet never lies alone with a newborn: the baby is in a parent’s arms and the dog sits alongside or rests its head on a knee. Tell the photographer in advance, have treats ready and someone who can take the dog to another room if needed.

Parents appear in most of the frames, so clothes are worth a moment’s thought. Soft, plain fabrics in light, warm colours work best: cream, beige, grey, muted green or pale blue.

For the mother:

• a comfortable dress or a shirt that buttons at the front, so you can feed without changing,
• knitwear, linen or cotton rather than stiff fabrics or sequins, which scratch,
• minimal jewellery, or none, since bracelets catch on blankets.

For the father or partner: a plain T-shirt or shirt in one of those colours, with no logos or slogans. Skin-to-skin pictures, with the baby resting on a parent’s bare chest, are also lovely if you are comfortable with them.

There is no need for full make-up or a trip to the hairdresser; wear what feels like you. In lifestyle pictures the baby usually wears just a nappy and a blanket, or a plain bodysuit without a print. More on colours and fabrics is in our guide on what to wear for a photoshoot.

A newborn session booked through Kadrova starts from PLN 1,100 for about 2.5 hours in your home. A longer session, extra people such as visiting grandparents, an album, a weekend date or travel outside the city raise the price. Everything is itemised in the proposal, and you can compare it with other sessions on our pricing page.

Booking works like this: you send a free, no-obligation request with your due date and address, we check which photographers experienced with newborns have free days, and we reply personally. The proposal names the photographer, the package and the price, and the booking is confirmed only when you accept it.

If you would prefer a photographer who speaks English, say so in your request. Languages are listed on each photographer’s profile; whether one is free on your date is something we confirm in our reply.

Photographers travel to homes across Poland, including in Warsaw, Kraków and Poznań. When the baby is older and you want the whole family outdoors, see our page on family photography in Poland. When you are ready, ask about your dates.