Session Guide

Sun Prairie, WI Motherhood & Newborn Photographer

As your Sun Prairie, WI Motherhood & Newborn Photographer, PS Photography is here to preserve one of the most meaningful and quickly changing seasons of your family's story. Pregnancy and the newborn days are filled with moments that seem to pass far too quickly. From feeling those tiny kicks to holding your baby in your arms, this season is full of changes, anticipation, connection, and love.

Our Motherhood & Newborn Moments experience is designed to capture these memories in a natural, connected, and meaningful way while helping you feel comfortable and prepared every step of the way.

Beautifully Natural. Authentically You.

Motherhood Moments

Celebrating the Beginning of Something Beautiful

Your Motherhood Moments session celebrates more than your growing belly—it documents the anticipation, connection, and love surrounding your baby's arrival.

Your session can include photographs of you alone as well as your partner and children.

We'll create a variety of images throughout your session, including:

Individual maternity portraits
Mom + partner
Mom + children
Full-family portraits
Belly and detail photographs
Natural movement
Gentle posing
Candid interactions
Connected family moments

You don't need to know how to pose or what to do with your hands. We'll guide you throughout your session while still leaving plenty of room for natural moments to happen.

Motherhood Moments | PS Photography | Sun Prairie, WI

When Should I Schedule My Motherhood Session?

We generally recommend having your maternity photographs taken around 28–34 weeks of pregnancy. During this time, your baby bump is typically beautifully defined while you may still feel comfortable enough for walking, posing, and natural movement. Every pregnancy is different, so we'll always work with what feels best for you. We recommend booking your Motherhood Moments session earlier in your pregnancy rather than waiting until you reach 28 weeks. This gives us the best opportunity to reserve a date during the ideal photography window—especially if you're hoping for a particular season, location, or weekend.

Preparing for Your Motherhood Session

Our biggest advice: don't put pressure on yourself to make everything perfect. Your session is about documenting this season as it really feels.

Before your session:

Give yourself plenty of time to get ready.
Eat and drink beforehand.
Bring water, especially during warmer months.
Wear comfortable shoes for walking between locations.
Bring comfortable shoes to change into if you're wearing heels for photographs.
Bring any meaningful items you'd like incorporated.
Let us know if you need additional breaks or accommodations.
Tell us about any poses or photographs that are especially important to you.

Your comfort always comes first.

What Should I Wear for Maternity Photos?

Choose something that makes you feel comfortable, confident, and beautiful. Long dresses, fitted dresses, flowing fabrics, soft textures, and simple colors photograph beautifully. You don't need to wear a traditional maternity gown—a favorite outfit that feels like you is always a great choice.

Consider colors such as:

Cream
Beige
Soft blue
Muted earth tones
Warm neutrals
Soft pastels
Denim paired with neutral colors

For partners and children, think coordinated rather than matching. Try to avoid large logos, neon colors, extremely busy patterns, and clothing that requires constant adjusting. Most importantly, choose clothing that allows you to move comfortably and feel like yourself.

Including Your Family

Motherhood may be centered around Mom and baby, but your family's connection can be an important part of this chapter too. Partners and children are welcome to participate in your Motherhood Moments session.

We'll make sure to capture a combination of photographs so you have memories of:

Mom + baby bump
Mom + partner
Mom + each child
Parents together
Siblings interacting with the baby bump
Your entire growing family

We'll also make sure Mom gets beautiful individual portraits that celebrate her.

Your Newborn Moments

Tiny Details. Real Connection. Your Growing Family.

Newborn sessions with PS Photography are designed to be relaxed, comfortable, and baby-led. Babies don't follow photography schedules—and we don't expect them to. We allow time for feeding, changing, soothing, cuddling, and anything else your baby needs throughout the session.

Depending on your selected newborn experience, your photographs may include a combination of:

Baby portraits
Natural newborn posing
Swaddled photographs
Lifestyle images
Parents + baby
Siblings + baby
Full-family photographs
Tiny newborn details
Nursery photographs
Candid family moments

There is no expectation for your baby—or your family—to be perfect. Your job is simply to love on your little one. We'll help with the rest.

Newborn Moments | PS Photography | Sun Prairie, WI

When Should I Schedule My Newborn Session?

We recommend contacting PS Photography before your baby arrives so we can plan ahead and reserve space around your estimated due date. Since babies have their own timelines, we understand that your exact photography date may need to remain flexible until your baby arrives. For the best newborn experience, we recommend photographing your baby when they are between 5 days and 1 month old. During these early weeks, babies are still wonderfully tiny, giving us an opportunity to capture those sleepy moments, tiny details, and natural newborn poses.

What If My Baby Is Older?

That's okay! We are happy to photograph newborns up to 2 months old. Older newborns may spend more of their session awake and alert. That can give us wonderful opportunities to photograph eye contact, expressions, stretching, movement, and connection with Mom and Dad. Once your baby arrives, contact PS Photography so we can confirm your newborn session date.

Preparing for Your Newborn Session

You don't need to completely change your baby's routine before we arrive.

A few simple preparations can help make your session comfortable:

Feed baby as needed.
Have extra diapers and wipes nearby.
Keep burp cloths handy.
Have bottles or feeding supplies ready if applicable.
Have a pacifier nearby if your baby uses one.
Gather any sentimental items you'd like photographed.
Have family outfits ready before the session.
Keep the home comfortably warm for baby.
Have extra blankets available.
Don't worry if baby isn't asleep when we arrive.

Feeding breaks, diaper changes, crying, spit-up, and unexpected moments are completely normal. There is no need to apologize if your baby needs something. We'll follow their lead.

Preparing Your Home

Your home does not need to look picture-perfect.

We typically look for areas with beautiful natural light and may photograph in spaces such as:

The nursery
Primary bedroom
Living room
Family room
Another bright area of your home

Before we arrive, simply remove distracting items from the areas you think we may use. Nightstands, countertops, end tables, and nearby surfaces are great places to start. Don't feel like you need to clean your entire house for us. Once we arrive, we'll look around and help determine which spaces and lighting will photograph best.

What Should Baby Wear?

For newborn photography, simple is beautiful.

Depending on your session, we may photograph baby:

Swaddled
In a simple onesie
In a favorite outfit
Wrapped in a neutral blanket
Wearing a simple hat, headband, or accessory
Naturally posed with minimal accessories

PS Photography will also have a selection of swaddles, newborn cocoons, hats, and headbands available for your session. You're welcome to use our items, bring your own favorites, or combine both to create a look that feels right for your baby.

If you have a special outfit, blanket, hat, or handmade item with sentimental meaning, we would love to incorporate it when possible.

Avoid clothing that is significantly oversized or contains large graphics or wording unless the item has special meaning to your family.

We want your baby—not the outfit—to be the focus.

Meaningful Items

Your baby's first photographs are a wonderful opportunity to incorporate something meaningful to your family.

As a special part of your Newborn Moments experience, you'll receive a complimentary handmade crochet animal lovey. You'll be able to choose your favorite from the available lovey options provided by PS Photography. When possible, we can incorporate your baby's lovey into their newborn photographs, creating a special keepsake that can continue to be part of their story as they grow.

You're also welcome to have one or two meaningful items of your own ready for the session, such as:

A favorite blanket
Family heirloom
Handmade item
Special stuffed animal
Baby's name sign
Nursery décor
An item belonging to a loved one
Something representing your family's story

Please let us know about any meaningful items you'd like included so we can determine the safest and most natural way to incorporate them into your baby's photographs.

After the session, your baby's handmade crochet animal lovey is yours to keep—a little keepsake from one of their very first photography experiences.

What Should Our Family Wear?

Comfort matters, especially shortly after welcoming a baby. Soft, coordinated colors tend to work beautifully for in-home newborn photography.

Consider:

Cream
Beige
Tan
Soft blue
Muted earth tones
Denim
Warm neutrals
Simple textures
Subtle patterns

You don't need to dress formally unless that's your family's style. Bare feet can even work beautifully for relaxed, in-home photographs. Coordinate your family's colors rather than having everyone wear exactly the same outfit. Above all, your photographs should still feel like your family.

Including Siblings

Absolutely! When your newborn session includes family photographs, siblings are encouraged to participate. We keep expectations realistic, especially with toddlers and younger children. They may not want to sit perfectly still, smile on command, or hold the baby exactly as planned—and that's completely okay. We'll use patience, flexibility, gentle direction, and a little fun to capture their relationship with their new sibling. Sometimes a toddler peeking into the bassinet, giving baby a quick kiss, touching tiny toes, or snuggling beside Mom creates a photograph that means more than the perfectly posed one ever could.

Family Moments During Newborn Session | PS Photography | Sun Prairie, WI

Newborn Safety Comes First

Your baby's safety and comfort are always more important than getting a particular photograph. We use simple, natural newborn posing and will never force your baby into a position that appears uncomfortable or unsafe. Sue is CPR & First Aid Certified and holds a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood. Her professional experience working with young children brings additional patience, flexibility, and understanding to newborn and family sessions. If baby needs to eat, be changed, soothed, or simply held for a while, we'll give them the time they need.

Baby always comes first.

What If My Baby Doesn't Sleep?

That's completely fine! While sleepy newborn photographs are beautiful, your baby does not need to sleep through the entire session.

We can photograph:

Sleepy babies
Wide-awake babies
Stretching
Yawning
Tiny expressions
Eye contact
Baby looking at Mom or Dad
Snuggles and soothing
Natural interactions

Every baby is different. We photograph the baby you have that day rather than trying to force your session to look a certain way.

What If Baby Needs a Break?

We take one. Newborn sessions intentionally allow additional time because babies don't follow photography schedules. Feeding, diaper changes, soothing, rocking, and cuddle breaks are expected parts of your session. There is no need to feel rushed. If your baby needs Mom or Dad for a while, that can even become part of the story we're photographing.

What If Things Don't Go as Planned?

Babies cry. Toddlers have opinions. Someone might spit up on an outfit. Your newborn may decide that photography day is the perfect day to stay wide awake. That's real life—and it's okay. Our approach is flexible. We'll adjust, take breaks, change direction, and work with your family rather than expecting your family to work around us. Some of our favorite photographs can come from moments we never planned.

Your Images

After your session, PS Photography carefully selects the strongest photographs and professionally edits them in our warm, natural, true-to-color style. Your gallery may tell your story through a mixture of:

The Portraits - Beautifully guided photographs you'll want to frame and display.

The Connections - Snuggles, kisses, tiny hands wrapped around fingers, and quiet moments together.

The Details - Tiny toes, eyelashes, fingers, baby hair, your growing belly, and all the little features that won't stay the same for long.

The In-Between Moments - The unexpected expressions, laughs, cuddles, and interactions that show what this season really felt like.

From Digital Memories to Artwork

Your photographs don't have to live only on your phone or computer. Through the PS Photography Gallery Store, you'll have the opportunity to turn your favorite images into meaningful artwork and keepsakes for your family.

Available options may include:

Professional prints
Canvas artwork
Albums
Keepsakes
Cards and other available products

Whether it's a maternity portrait displayed in your baby's nursery or an album filled with those first newborn details, printed photographs give your family something tangible to enjoy for years to come.

A Few Final Tips

Give yourself extra time when getting ready.
Don't worry about making your house perfect.
Don't stress if baby isn't sleeping.
Don't worry if your toddler isn't interested in posing.
Don't feel like you need to know what to do in front of the camera.
And most importantly, don't spend your session wondering whether everyone is "cooperating."

That's our job. Your job is to be present, hold your baby, love on your family, and enjoy this chapter.

Motherhood & Newborn Moments | PS Photography | Sun Prairie, WI

This Season Won't Stay Little Forever

Pregnancy and the newborn stage can feel all-consuming while you're living through them, yet somehow they become memories incredibly quickly.

The growing belly.
The anticipation.
The first time you held your baby.
The sleepy snuggles.
The tiny fingers.
The way your baby fit perfectly against your chest.
The way your family looked when everything was brand new.

These are the details photographs allow you to return to.

We can't wait to document your Motherhood & Newborn Moments and create genuine photographs that tell the beginning of your family's newest chapter.

PS Photography

Beautifully Natural. Authentically You.