They don’t need to sit still, hold the baby and smile at me for us to photograph this.

If you have a toddler and a new baby, there’s a very good chance you’ve already thought about this.

“But what if they won’t cooperate?”

Maybe they won’t sit next to the baby. Maybe they’ll refuse to hold them. Maybe they’ll decide that right now is the perfect time to become completely obsessed with something on the other side of the room.

Honestly? They might. 😂

Because they’re two. Or three. Or four.

And their entire little world has just changed.

They might absolutely adore their new baby brother or sister. They might be fascinated by them. They might mostly ignore them. They might be slightly annoyed that this tiny person has suddenly moved into their house and apparently isn’t leaving.

None of that means we can’t photograph them together.

They don’t have to “cooperate”

When parents say they’re worried their toddler won’t cooperate, what they usually mean is:

Will they sit where we want them to sit, hold the baby nicely and smile at the camera?

Maybe.

But I’m not going to build your whole newborn session around needing your toddler to do that.

If they’ll lie beside the baby for twelve seconds, brilliant. If they want to lean over for a kiss and then disappear, I’m ready. If Dad is holding the baby while your toddler climbs all over Mum, there’s a photograph in that too.

I’ll give them some direction, but I’m not expecting a toddler to suddenly behave like a tiny adult because there’s a camera in the room.

What if they won’t hold the baby?

Then they don’t hold the baby.

Seriously. 😂

We don’t need to turn it into a battle.

There are plenty of ways to photograph siblings together without putting the baby into your toddler’s arms. They can lie beside them. Sit near them. Reach over and touch their toes. Give them a kiss. Have a look at their tiny hands.

Or we bring Mum or Dad into it and photograph everyone together.

I’d much rather photograph ten seconds of genuine curiosity than spend ten minutes trying to convince a toddler to cuddle a baby they currently have absolutely no interest in cuddling.

And I’m not going to force affection for the sake of a photograph.

What if they’re completely wild?

Also very possible. 😂

Toddlers aren’t particularly known for arriving somewhere new, sitting beautifully for an hour and patiently waiting for the adults to finish.

So I don’t expect them to.

With toddlers, I photograph quickly. We change things up. We bring Mum and Dad in. We give them something to do rather than repeatedly asking them to sit still.

And if they’ve had enough of the baby for a while, we leave them alone.

They can go play while I photograph baby with Mum or Dad, and we can try something with them again later.

Your newborn session doesn’t rise or fall on whether your toddler is in a cooperative mood for the entire thing.

And if it isn’t safe, we don’t do it

There’s one thing I won’t push through for the sake of a photograph: safety.

If your toddler isn’t comfortable holding the baby, they don’t hold them.

If they’re excited and a little too enthusiastic with their cuddles, we’ll photograph them another way. Mum or Dad can be right there, we can have baby safely supported, or we choose something completely different.

There are so many ways to photograph the beginning of this relationship. We don’t need to take risks to get one particular photo.

Do I need to practise with them before the session?

Please don’t spend the week before your newborn session running a toddler training camp. 😂

You don’t need to practise holding the baby for photos. You don’t need to teach them where to put their hands. And you definitely don’t need to spend the drive over reminding them that they have to be “good for the photographer.”

Just bring them.

I’ll guide them when I need to, we’ll see what they’re comfortable with, and we’ll work from there.

Sometimes the less pressure we put on a toddler to perform, the more they give us anyway.

These photos aren’t proof that your toddler loves being a big sibling

Your toddler doesn’t need to look completely delighted about their new sibling for us to photograph something worth keeping.

Because these photographs aren’t proof that they were instantly best friends.

They’re the beginning of their relationship.

Right now, your baby is brand new. Your toddler is figuring out where this little person came from, why everyone keeps looking at them, and whether they’re ever getting Mum’s lap back. 😂

One day they might be inseparable. They might fight over absolutely everything. They’ll probably do both before breakfast.

But this is where it started.

The curious looks. The slightly questionable kisses. The tiny hand reaching over to touch the baby. The moments they wanted absolutely nothing to do with them.

That’s the story I’d rather photograph than trying to manufacture a picture of two children behaving perfectly.

Newborn photos with siblings in Hilbert, Perth

My newborn sessions take place in my home studio in Hilbert, close to Byford and Armadale and around 15 minutes from Piara Waters.

Parents and siblings are included in every newborn session, because this isn’t only about photographing the newest person in your family.

It’s about photographing what your family looks like now that they’re here.

So if the thing stopping you from booking newborn photos is the thought of your toddler refusing to sit still, hold the baby or smile nicely at me…

Bring the toddler.

They don’t need to perform for me.

We’ll work with the little person they actually are.