Parents routinely arrive with a bag they did not need and forget the one thing that would have helped. Here is the honest list.
Bring
Feeding equipment. Whatever you normally use. You will feed at least once during the session and probably twice.
A dummy, if you use one. Enormously useful for settling between setups, and easy to edit out of the frame if you would rather it were not there.
Spare clothes for the baby. And, less obviously, a spare top for whoever is holding them. Newborn sessions involve a warm room and an unpredictable baby.
Anything sentimental. A hospital tag, a knitted blanket from a grandparent, a name plaque, a piece of jewellery that has been in the family. These are the details that make a gallery yours rather than generic, and we cannot supply them.
Do not bother bringing
Wraps, bonnets, headbands, baskets, layering fabrics, backdrop props — we have all of it, sanitised between every session. Parents sometimes buy outfits specially and then find the newborn is too small for them, which is a common and slightly heartbreaking waste of money.
Before you leave home
If you can, keep the baby awake for a little while before the session and feed them just before you arrive. A full, sleepy newborn is the whole game. That said, do not treat this as a rule to enforce — if it does not happen, it does not happen, and we plan for a long slow session regardless.
What we ask you to tell us in advance
Anything that changes how the session should run: reflux, a skin condition, a preference about which poses you are comfortable with, or the fact that you would rather not have your own photograph taken. None of it is a problem, and all of it is easier to plan for beforehand than to discover on the day.