Baby whispering - tricks of the newborn photography trade

As a newborn photographer, I’ve had to learn a few tricks along the way to settle newborn babies during their sessions to achieve lovely calm, peaceful shots. I’ve photographed hundreds of babies, and had two of them myself. They are all unique and I’m still always learning, but I know that there are definitely a few little tricks that will usually work during a session.

Any mum knows that there are those times when a little one is just unsettled. They’ve been changed, fed, burped and cuddled, but still aren’t happy or settled. It could be tummy trouble, over-tiredness or something else (which often remains a mystery!). When your baby is so new, their only mode of communication is to cry and a few other instinctive cues. For a novice it can be overwhelming - just that lost feeling of not having a clue. I remember that well.

I’m writing this for you, so that next time you’re having one of those days you can have a couple of go-to things to try. Sometimes they work - not always - but it’s good to have them up your sleeve rather than staying helpless.

When dealing with an unsettled baby during a session, these are some of the techniques I would use to soothe them back off to sleep (or at least contentment).

So, if you are new to parenting and still find yourself clueless about what you should be doing to try and help settle your baby if he or she is fussing, you could try one of these.

I’m not going to mention the obvious thing I’d do first, which is making sure that baby isn’t hungry, cold or uncomfortable. Once I’m sure that all of those needs have been met, I’ll move onto a soothing technique. These are a couple of my favourite tried and tested tricks to helping newborns fall asleep in their photo shoot and can be used at home too.

Tip #1 - Swaddle

No, it’s not just a newborn photographer fad to wrap up babies because we think it looks cute, there is a very deliberate purpose behind swaddling up babies during newborn sessions. I swore by it with my second baby once I realised he settled so much faster wrapped up tight, and slept for longer, at least for the first few months of his life.

Most parents (especially first timers) tell me their baby hates to be swaddled - they’ve tried and it didn’t work. I’m guessing their baby struggled and cried during their attempt, and of course it’s instinctive to not do anything your baby doesn’t like. The feeling that you’re causing your baby distress is too much to bear for most mums (especially first timers). I completely get that, but in reality, most babies will resist and cry a bit to start, while you’re wrapping them. It’s unusual for them to just lie there when they’re fussing anyway, and not cry when you pin their arms in and restrict their movement. They probably don’t like it to start. But if you keep going, wrapping them up firmly so they can’t wriggle free, 95% of the time you’ll be rewarded by a super calm baby. The idea of swaddling is that is mimics the feeling of being enclosed in the womb.

Don’t think of it so much as ‘restricting’ as enclosing. I like to think of it as giving them a cocoon, secure and safe.

Tip #2 - Rock a bye baby

Newborn babies LOVE movement. Think about it - from conception until birth, they’ve been inside a constantly moving vessel - even when you slept, you were still turning, tossing, your heart was still beating - I doubt there’s a second in the womb without some kind of movement. So one of the things they’re adapting to in this big strange world is being still. It is immensely comforting to them to feel any repetitive gentle movement. Babies who are drifting off or tired really love it. Rocking, bouncing gently, any rhythmic swaying, patting and jiggling helps send them off to dreamland.

Tip #3 - White noise

Again, during this fourth trimester the clues for what might help your baby feel safe, secure and comforted can be found by thinking about what life in the womb must have been like. As well as being tightly enclosed (especially at the end), your baby will have been in a very noisy environment. The constant pumping sound of your heart, the general noises from the outside, your stomach, when you speak, cough, yawn - every sound would have been an intimate part of baby’s world. So when they arrive earth-side, suddenly there is this weird thing called silence.

My favourite white noise source is my Baby Shusher, which just does what the name suggests. It’s great because until I got it, I was the one doing the shushing so it gives me a break! I usually turn it on as soon as a baby arrives in the studio if they’re still dozing in the car seat, and I swear it does help. It’s on during most of the session. Watch out though - you’ll start to feel your eyes growing heavy and a little lie down suddenly feels irresistable!

You can get all types of machines, gadgets and apps - you don’t have to spend money but this is the one I really like. I also keep a hairdryer handy for those really fussy babies - sometimes it needs to be LOUDER!

Tip #4 - Lula-Vibe

This is something I’ve only come across fairly recently, but I already swear by it. The Lula-Vibe is a vibrating pad which you are supposed to put under the cot mattress, but I use it right under baby’s bums for the purpose of short term settling. This one follows on from Tip #2 (movement), but it’s a product and a bit different to rocking and bouncing. There are other vibrating pads on the market which I’m sure do the job just as well, this just happens to be the one I’ve got and it works a treat.

They can be found on Amazon.

Tip #5 - Sucking

Newborns do often find sucking on something very soothing. I know when you’re establishing breastfeeding you’re worried about confusing the baby, but if you’re in a situation where you just need to calm your baby down for a few minutes then pop your little finger in his/her mouth. I do not do this to clients’ babies myself during sessions (ever!!) but will occasionally ask mum or dad to, to see if it helps. I learnt with my own baby that your nail must face down against the baby’s tongue - the sucking motion is very vigorous and I accidently scraped the roof of my own baby’s mouth with my nail when I first did it - ouch and mum guilt overload!

There is of course also the dummy route, and if parents are using a dummy I ask them to make sure they have them handy during the session.

Have you discovered any tricks that settle down your baby? Each newborn is an individual and part of getting to know them is working out what they like and don’t like. I noticed that lightly brushing my finger back and forth at the base of my baby’s neck seemed to make him go still.

There will be many times that nothing will work and all you can do is just be there - a calm, warm, reasssuring presence until it passes. Hang in there, I know it’s hard work and exhausting. You’re doing an amazing job - a lot better than you realise and one day soon you’ll remember this and feel so proud!

To enquire or book a newborn photoshoot so that you can capture your baby during this fleeting but amazing stage in their life, contact me today!