Gender-Neutral Baby Photography Prep Guide

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I am Neyssa Lee a Seattle area photographer, mom of 6, planning obsessed, and who help you see the beauty, love and joy, in your own family’s chaos. I also use my super power of time management to help fellow photographers take control of their businesses. Learn more by heading to my ABOUT ME page.

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Hi, I'm Neyssa

You are booked for (or considering booking) a newborn baby photography session, but you are team green. How can you possibly prepare for what to dress baby in?

“Team Green” means you are not finding out gender, but waiting until birth for the biggest surprise of your life.

As a 6-time team green mama, I have plenty of experience in preparing for newborn baby photography sessions. In fact, with my youngest, I had three different options for my family of eight that would have worked beautifully whether my baby was a boy or a girl. (How did I finally decide then? I will have to share that at the end of this post!)

Whether you are considering being team green or just curious about how you would plan without knowing gender, keep reading on how to prepare for your newborn photos when you don’t know your baby’s gender!

Mother and three children during a Bellevue, Wa in-home newborn portrait session

Select neutrals for your family’s outfits.

As a Seattle newborn photographer I suggest sticking with neutrals for your newborn photo session. Neutrals not only photograph beautifully and timelessly and allow your baby to stand out instead of the clothing. Colors that work well include; tan, grey, black, white, cream, and navy.

Newborn baby skin can be redder or slightly jaundiced. Some colors can accentuate that color more.

You could also consider colors for your baby photography session that work no matter the gender but that work well with your skin tone and your home. For example, one family wore maroon and navy and it photographed beautifully and worked well with their son (but also would’ve worked well for a baby girl!).

Photo of mom kissing swaddled newborn

Have one accessory or accent piece for each gender just in case.

I get it. You’ve been waiting to use all pink or blue to show off your baby. Or maybe you have been waiting to dress baby girl in tiny bows. In that case, select a favorite thing for each gender specifically just in case.

I personally had one bow headband that coordinated with our outfits just in case (and surprise, it was a girl!). The headband wasn’t a huge investment in case she was a boy (I could always gift it to a friend) but I had it available when she arrived.

Newborn with big sister nearby

Plan ahead and then order a more gender-specific outfit once the baby is here.

If you’d prefer to wait to purchase anything more specific, simply plan ahead and order once baby has arrived. Since newborn photos take place 5-10 days after the baby is born there’s plenty of time for most places to ship something out if you order soon after birth. (And let’s be honest, there’s plenty of time nursing a newborn when you can place a quick order).

photo of baby in dad's arms with mom nearby during Snoqualmie newborn photos

Remember that a baby in a diaper against your chest is always a beautiful, classic look for baby photography sessions.

In the end, a newborn baby in a diaper will photograph beautifully. Having a simple swaddle in case baby gets cold or prefers to be swaddled to settle can help. So there is little need to fret that you cannot have the perfect, most beautiful newborn photos if you are waiting to find out your baby’s gender.

As you can see from this gallery, this Team Green family had gorgeous photos of their baby girl even though they did not know the gender ahead of time.

And I’m sure you’re still dying to know how I decided on my own family’s outfits for our newborn photo session. After looking at three options I had put together, I went with the one that fit the best. Once baby was here I tried on my tops and looked at which one I felt most beautiful and comfortable in!.

Photo of sister touching tiny toes by Snoqualmie newborn photographer

Expecting and ready to book your newborn baby photography session?

Contact me with your due date and we will get you on my calendar. Then I can help you start to prepare for a newborn photo session you’ll cherish forever.

Looking for inspiration for a lifestyle newborn photography session? Look no further than the newborn session of my blog.

Baby photography of newborn in dads arms
Swaddled baby  by Snoqualmie photographer Neyssa Lee
lifestyle baby photography of baby in plain white onesie grabbing for her toes on master bed
Newborn Toes as baby is held against dad's chest

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