Some sessions ask more of us than others, and a session for triplets, plus their ten month old big brother, is one of the most involved we've ever planned. It's also one we're incredibly proud of and one we get asked about often enough that we wanted to share what actually went into the day.
A miracle pregnancy and a bit of background
This family found out they were expecting again just weeks after their first baby was born, and this time, three babies at once. As is common with triplet pregnancies, the babies arrived a little earlier than a typical single pregnancy and spent some time in hospital before coming home. Our usual guidance for newborn sessions is a window of 5 to 14 days, but for premature babies or multiples, we build in more flexibility around that, prioritising each baby reaching a safe, healthy weight over sticking rigidly to a number of days.
By the time we photographed them, the triplets were a little older than a typical newborn session baby and their big brother had just turned ten months old, so this session needed to work for four very different babies at four very different stages, all at once.
Planning for four babies, not one
We already knew this family well. They'd been with us for maternity, newborn and sitter sessions with their first baby, and again for maternity with the triplet pregnancy, so by the time we got to this session, there was a lot of trust already built. That mattered, because a session like this asks a lot of patience from everyone in the room and they knew from experience that we'd take the time needed to get it right rather than rush.
We talked them through exactly how the day would work beforehand, what to expect, how long it might take and how we'd approach getting everyone settled. Going in with clear expectations made a real difference to how relaxed everyone felt on the day.
How the session actually worked
A typical newborn session with us runs around two hours. This one ran just over three, and honestly, it needed to. With three newborns and a ten month old, we had as many extra pairs of hands on the day as we could get, for feeding, settling and simply keeping everyone comfortable, and we let the babies set the pace rather than working to a strict schedule. If a baby wasn't settling into a particular pose or prop, we changed course. Safety and comfort always come first, no shot is worth rushing that.
For the images with all three triplets together, we found they settled best when they were close to one another, wrapped up and cuddled together, using each other's warmth for comfort, which makes sense when you think about how they spent their first nine months. Getting to that settled, sleepy state with three babies at once simply takes longer than with one, so we built in the time to wait for it properly rather than force a shot before everyone was ready.
The custom bunk bed
One of the parents’ favourite images from the whole session came from a custom triple bunk bed prop we had made specifically for this shoot. For safety, we photographed each baby at a time separately, then their big brother sat up on his own, rather than ever having more than one baby in the prop together. It was genuinely one of the most time consuming setups we've done, but completely worth it for the final image.
What we'd want other parents of multiples to know
If you're expecting multiples and thinking about a newborn session, the honest answer is that it takes longer, it takes more hands and it takes patience, from us and from you. But it's absolutely possible to get images of your babies together that feel calm and considered, not rushed. We build in the time for exactly that, and we never put a baby in a position, literally or otherwise, that compromises their safety or comfort to get a shot.
If you're expecting multiples and would love to talk through what a session with us could look like, [take a look at what a session with us actually looks like →]