A newborn photography workflow where sleeping babies are keepers
The baby slept through the whole session, which is exactly what you wanted. CullTone's newborn preset knows that: closed eyes are never held against a sleeping baby, two frames are kept from each pose, and the edit starts soft and warm. Family formals get the opposite rule, because one blinking uncle ruins the frame.
Eyes closed, kept
No blink flags and no penalty for a sleeping baby. A peaceful face is what the session is for.
Two from every pose
Hands up, hands down, the slightest turn of the head: each pose keeps its two best frames for the proof gallery.
Slow sequences stay together
Posed frames shot a few seconds apart are treated as one sequence while you settle the baby, so props don't split a pose.
Soft from the start
Gentle contrast, slightly lifted shadows, a touch brighter and no added saturation, so pink skin doesn't turn red.
Two presets for one family, and which to choose
Newborn sessions and family formals share a day, a living room and often the same client. They need opposite rules about eyes. Choose the preset per project, by what most of the session is.
| What it judges | Newborn preset | Group preset (family formals) |
|---|---|---|
| Closed eyes | Never a fault, for anyone in the frame | The worst face decides; one blink sinks the frame |
| Kept per run of similar frames | Two | One, the frame with the fewest blinks |
| When nobody's eyes are all open | Not checked | Suggests a head swap and keeps the frames you'd swap from |
| Faces found per frame | Up to 12 | Up to 60, including small back-row faces |
| Starting edit | Soft, a little brighter, no extra saturation | Neutral and even |
There's a trade-off in the newborn column you should know about. Because closed eyes are never a fault there, a parent blinking in a family frame isn't flagged either. If the session ends with a twelve-person grandparents' shot, put those frames in their own project on the group preset, where the head-swap suggestion earns its keep.
We'd also argue that a newborn proof gallery reads better with two frames from each pose than with one. Parents choose between near-twins happily; they're upset when the pose with grandma's blanket simply isn't there. If you disagree, the keep target is yours to lower.
Looks that suit new skin
Light & airy and High-key bright keep white wraps white and shadows open. Matte pastel softens everything a step further for nursery colours. Film: Portra warm suits lifestyle sessions at home, with creamy highlights and flattering skin. Face retouch is off until you turn it on, and the Review step flags any photo where skin colour drifted in the edit before a parent ever sees it. More in the quality check.
Proofing parents will enjoy
Parents get one link, open it on a phone at 3 a.m. between feeds, and heart their favourites. Those hearts are your order for retouching. They can approve a photo, ask for a redo with a note, and download one image or the whole gallery as a ZIP if you've switched downloads on. The gallery stays up for six months, with a one-click extension for the first birthday. Here's how client galleries work in full.
Before you try it
Are the baby's face data and photos shared anywhere?
People grouping compares faces inside one project only and can be switched off per project, which deletes its face data. Your originals stay on your Mac.
Does it retouch newborn skin automatically?
No. Retouch only runs when you turn it on, and you see the result before anything goes into a gallery.
Which computer do I need?
A Mac with Apple silicon. CullTone is in beta; there's no Windows build yet.
Shooting portraits too? The portrait page covers headshots and couples.
Bring your next newborn session
Thirty days free, no card while billing is in beta. Then from $9 a month, however many frames you shoot. See every plan.