Media & ContentBeginnerPreview
Newborn & Family Photography
Learn how to photograph newborns and families safely and beautifully, from gear selection and studio setup to posing, lighting, and delivering a polished client experience.
Aspiring portrait photographers who want to specialise in newborn and family work but have little or no session experience.
Course content
Workbook & downloads
Put the course into practice — a printable workbook plus editable templates you can fill in and reuse.
Preview the workbook
This workbook accompanies the Newborn & Family Photography course and turns each module into hands-on practice. Complete each section before your next session to close the gap between theory and execution. Every template is designed to be edited and reused across real client sessions.
Safety, Gear, and Studio Setup
Audit your current gear and space against the module benchmarks and build a pre-session safety checklist you will use every time.
Exercise: Safety Rules Self-Assessment
Without referring to the course, write out the five newborn safety rules from memory. Then check your answers against the lesson and note any gaps.
- List the five safety rules in your own words. Which one surprised you most and why?
- Describe a real or hypothetical scenario where Rule 3 (composite requirement) would be overlooked by a beginner. How would you catch it before it happened?
- Which rule is hardest to enforce when working alone without an assistant? Write a specific workaround you will implement.
Worksheet: Gear Audit and Budget Planner
List every piece of gear you currently own that applies to newborn or family photography. Then list what you still need, its estimated cost, and whether you will buy, borrow, or rent it.
- Item name
- Currently owned? (Yes / No / Partial)
- Estimated cost if needed ($)
- Action (Buy / Borrow / Rent / Skip for now)
- Priority (Must-have / Nice-to-have)
Checklist: Studio Readiness Checklist — Run Before Every Newborn Session
- Preheat studio to 27°C at least 20 minutes before the family arrives
- Verify bean bag surface temperature with IR thermometer — target 34–36°C
- Sanitise all props and wraps with fragrance-free antibacterial spray
- Set up composite frame positions and mark stand positions with gaffer tape
- Confirm grey card is accessible for white balance calibration
- Confirm posing bed is 1–1.5 m from the window at a 45-degree angle
- Test camera settings: spot metering, manual exposure, fixed Kelvin white balance
- First-aid kit in sight and emergency contact list on hand
- Sent 48-hour client reminder (feeding timing, what to bring)
Lighting for Newborn and Family Portraits
Practice identifying and recreating the lighting setups from the module in your own space and document your results for future reference.
Exercise: Window Light Pattern Mapping
Walk your shooting space at three times of day (9 am, noon, 3 pm) and photograph a white foam-core board at each of the four subject angles described in the lesson. Review the resulting shadow patterns and identify which angle produces your preferred loop and butterfly patterns.
- At which time of day does your primary window produce the most diffuse, even light? Write the time and a one-sentence description of the quality.
- What is your measured Kelvin reading at the white-card position for your preferred window at your preferred time of day? Use your camera's live view white balance display or a colour temperature app.
- Sketch a simple top-down floor plan of your shooting space showing: window position, posing bed position, and reflector position for your preferred lighting setup.
Worksheet: Lighting Recipe Log
Each time you test or refine a lighting setup, record the parameters here so you can reproduce it. Fill in one row per setup tested.
- Date
- Setup name (e.g. North window loop, Flash octabox butterfly)
- Camera settings (shutter / aperture / ISO)
- White balance (Kelvin value)
- Reflector: surface type and distance (cm)
- Flash: power fraction and modifier
- Notes (what worked, what to change)
Checklist: Before You Introduce Flash — Readiness Check
- I can consistently recreate my preferred window-light exposure without re-metering
- I have tested the reflector at three distances and chosen my preferred fill level
- I have purchased or borrowed a speed-light and radio trigger
- I understand the three-setting start point (1/125 s, f/2.8, ISO 400, flash at 1/16)
- I have fired the flash through a large diffuser (octabox or shoot-through umbrella) — never bare flash at a newborn
- I have taken a CTO gel test series and know whether my window needs gelling to match
Exercise: Contrast Ratio Comparison Shoot
Photograph the same subject (a doll or a willing adult) in four conditions: window only, window plus white reflector, window plus silver reflector, and window plus flash. Export all four images side by side and evaluate the contrast ratio and shadow detail in each.
- Which setup produced the most flattering result for a newborn skin tone in your space? Describe the shadow placement.
- What was the exposure change (in EV) required between the window-only setup and the flash setup to match perceived brightness?
- Which setup would you choose for a moody, editorial family portrait versus a soft, airy newborn portrait? Explain why.
Posing Newborns and Directing Families
Rehearse the posing sequence on a doll before your first live session and script your verbal direction cues in advance.
Exercise: Dry-Run Posing Sequence on a Practice Doll
Using a weighted practice doll (or a firmly stuffed 3 kg bundle), practise the complete four-position sequence — taco, bum-up, side-lie, parent-hold — three times through, timing yourself. The goal is to complete all four positions in under 8 minutes without forcing any transition.
- Which transition was the least smooth? Describe exactly what your hands were doing and how you would improve it.
- At what point in the sequence did you notice you were working faster than was safe? What caused the rush?
- Write your step-by-step composite workflow for the bum-up chin-on-hands pose — from first frame to merged file.
Worksheet: Verbal Direction Cue Script
Write your own version of the verbal cues for each direction challenge listed. Having pre-scripted language removes hesitation during the session.
- Direction challenge (e.g. Get parents closer)
- What NOT to say (the generic version)
- Your scripted cue (specific, visual, action-based)
- Backup cue if the first does not land
Checklist: 30-Minute Family Session Flow Checklist
- Minutes 0–5: full family group set up — anchor-and-layer, at least two variations shot
- Minutes 5–10: parents-only connection shots completed
- Minutes 10–15: parent + each child individually — one-on-one sets done
- Minutes 15–20: siblings-only grouping or candid play captured
- Minutes 20–25: full family relaxed, at least one movement prompt used
- Minutes 25–30: lifestyle or environmental shot (couch, activity, reading) captured
- Reviewed the back of camera with client to confirm at least three hero frames before wrapping
- Noted the family's favourite pose for the thank-you sneak-peek selection
Client Management and Workflow
Build your client communication sequence and pricing model, and complete a timed Lightroom cull-and-edit practice run.
Exercise: Write Your Four-Email Sequence
Draft all four client emails described in the lesson (booking confirmation, four-week reminder, 48-hour reminder, post-session thank-you) in a document you can paste into your CRM or email system. Keep each under 200 words.
- What specific prep instruction is most critical for your local client base — the one thing they consistently get wrong? Add an emphasis line about it to your four-week reminder.
- What referral incentive will you include in your post-session thank-you email and how will you track whether it drives new bookings?
- Read your booking confirmation draft aloud. Does it sound like you, or like a template? Rewrite any sentence that sounds impersonal.
Worksheet: Session Pricing Calculator
Fill in your numbers for each session type to calculate your cost floor and set your public price. Leave all calculated fields blank — do the arithmetic yourself to internalise the numbers.
- Session type (Newborn / Family / Mini)
- Estimated total hours per session (prep + session + cull + edit + delivery)
- Your target hourly rate ($)
- Time cost (hours x rate) — calculate and fill in
- Monthly hard costs (gear / software / props / studio)
- Sessions per month (your target volume)
- Hard cost per session (monthly costs / sessions per month) — calculate and fill in
- Total cost basis (time cost + hard cost per session) — calculate and fill in
- 20% profit margin amount — calculate and fill in
- Session fee floor (cost basis + margin, rounded up) — calculate and fill in
- Your intended public price ($)
- Notes on market positioning
Checklist: Gallery Delivery Workflow Checklist
- Session imported and backed up to two separate drives before culling begins
- Pass 1 cull (technical rejects) completed — target 60–70% reduction
- Pass 2 cull (expression + composition flags) completed
- Pass 3 star-rating sequence assigned (3-star hero images identified)
- Grey-card frame used to set accurate white balance on hero frame
- Hero frame edited: exposure, tone curve, HSL skin adjustments applied
- Synchronise applied to all frames in each lighting scene
- 10% of synchronised frames spot-checked for consistency
- Final export: JPEG, sRGB, 90% quality, 3000 px long edge
- Gallery uploaded to client platform with password and 30-day download expiry
- Gallery-delivery email sent using pre-written template with sneak-peek image
Your Action Plan
- Complete the gear audit worksheet and order or borrow any must-have items within one week
- Build your pre-session safety checklist as a printed laminated card to hang in your studio
- Map your window light at three times of day and document your preferred Kelvin value
- Practice the four-position posing sequence on a doll until you can complete it in under 8 minutes
- Script your verbal direction cues and rehearse them out loud before your first paid family session
- Calculate your cost-plus pricing floor for each session type and set a go-live date for new pricing
- Write and save all four client emails in your CRM or email drafts folder
- Do one timed Lightroom cull practice on an old shoot — target 20 minutes for 400 frames
- Build your Lightroom base preset from scratch (white balance, tone curve, HSL skin) before using any purchased preset
- Book one practice session with a friend or family member to run the full workflow end-to-end before your first paid newborn client
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