I built my traveling newborn photography kit in my studio the night before I flew to Minnesota to meet my new nephew, Zeno. He was seven days old, I had one carry-on suitcase and one backpack, and somewhere in there I needed to fit everything required to run a full newborn session — lighting, posing gear, props, wraps, and of course my camera gear.
If you’ve ever considered traveling to photograph a newborn — whether it’s a family member, a destination client, or just an out-of-state opportunity you couldn’t say no to — you already know the mental math involved. What’s essential? What can you improvise? What can you absolutely not leave behind, and what’s just taking up space you don’t have?
My oldest nephew Carson just turned 19 in March — and if you want to talk about a traveling newborn photography kit evolution, just know that the photos from that first trip are not something I’m sharing publicly. Sorry, Carson. I didn’t yet know what I didn’t know. Every trip since then I’ve gotten a little better at editing the list down, resisting the urge to bring one more prop, and trusting that simpler usually wins.
Here’s where I landed for Zeno.
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What Goes Into a Traveling Newborn Photography Kit
Everything I brought fit into two bags: one Away carry-on hard-shell suitcase and one TropicFeel Shell Backpack. That’s it. No checked luggage, no second suitcase, no oversized duffel I’d have to argue about at the gate.
The Away suitcase is worth calling out — I use it for all photography travel because the hard sides are genuinely protective and it holds more than you’d expect for a carry-on. Since I’m not checking my camera gear under any circumstances, I need to know I won’t be told my bag is too large to board. In several trips, it hasn’t been an issue.
The TropicFeel Shell Backpack is the other half of this system, and it earned its place on this trip. It has a dedicated laptop sleeve, which meant I could get my laptop in there alongside two days of clothes, toiletries, and my full camera setup (protected safely in a Tenba Camera Insert Bag) — and still cinch it down enough to fit under the seat in front of me. No extra baggage fee required, no gate-checking anxiety, no waiting at baggage claim. It’s a legitimately well-designed travel bag and I’ve used it for everything from weekend backpacking trips, to newborn photography trips, to a sailing trip through Croatia. (I don’t earn a commission for telling you about that one, I just really really like it.)
Here’s the full breakdown of what went into each.
The Suitcase: Lighting and Props for a Traveling Newborn Kit
Lighting — The Godox AD300Pro
The centerpiece of my traveling newborn photography kit is the Godox AD300Pro battery-powered strobe. This is the piece of gear I refused to leave behind, and here’s why: when you’re shooting in someone else’s home or space, you have zero control over the available light. Windows face the wrong direction, rooms are dark, overhead lighting is unflattering — you name it.
The AD300Pro runs on a rechargeable battery (I packed a spare), so there’s no hunting for outlets or running extension cords across a nursery and I love that it comes with a case to keep it extra protected within my suitcase. I pair it with a Bowens mount, a compact umbrella, and a light stand, and I have a fully functional studio light that breaks down and fits inside a suitcase. The Godox Flash Trigger sits on my camera and fires the strobe wirelessly. Simple, reliable, and something I’ve used enough times that setup takes maybe five minutes tops.
For photographers who are earlier in their kit-building: window light absolutely can work for newborn sessions, especially if you’re shooting in a home with large north or east-facing windows. But you’re entirely at the mercy of the environment — time of day, weather, room layout. If you’re traveling specifically to do this, I’d rather control my light than hope for good windows.
Sound — Baby Shusher
In my studio I have full control over the temperature, the ambient noise, the white noise situation. In someone else’s house, older siblings are running down the hallway, dogs exist, doorbells ring. The Baby Shusher comes with me everywhere.
Posing Gear — Hello Little Shape Shifters and Swaddle Pro
The Hello Little Shape Shifters are my posing aids of choice for the studio AND for travel. I’m not packing an entire posing table nor am I bringing a studio bean bag, however, with good posing aids you can use just about anything as your working surface (more on that in a minute). While I have more pieces at home, when I travel I take the main shifter plus the split headpiece, the foot piece and 3 lifters.
The Swaddle Pro is my go-to for getting a clean, tight swaddle quickly. When you’re working in an unfamiliar environment, anything that helps you settle a baby faster is worth its weight in luggage space.
Wraps, Outfits, Backgrounds, and the Decorative Pillow
I packed four of each: four wraps, four outfits, four backgrounds. This is the editing-down process that takes the most mental energy before a traveling session — you’re used to having your full studio available and suddenly you have to commit to four (or less) of everything.
I choose based on versatility and neutrals as well as my clients color and any special requests. For Zeno, my sister in law asked for blues and neutrals. Since he’s a boy I didn’t pack any headbands but I did pack one sleepy hat that matched my blue wrap.
The pillow I packed is a decorative posing pillow — the kind you’d use tucked behind a baby’s head in a sleepy, curled-up position but when traveling with limited space you can also use it hidden under your layers as a little extra support. I also packed three interchangeable pillow covers in different colors and textures, which means I get variety in the gallery without packing three separate pillows. Hello Little Props and several other vendors sell these; they’re one of those things that seem small but do a lot of quiet work in a finished image.
The Camera Bag: The Technical Core of Any Traveling Newborn Photography Kit
Canon R3 + Lenses
I shot Zeno’s sessions on the Canon R3 with a Sigma 35mm. For newborn work, the 35mm handles the close environmental shots and anything I’m shooting in a tighter space like the indoor family shots. For this particular trip I also packed my Sigma 70-200mm. In addition to Zeno’s baby photos I also attended my older nephews’ track meet. I figured it could also work well for any outdoor family images we might take. Two lenses cover everything. I also packed a Godox Lux Master TTL flash as my secondary light source in case I needed an extra fill light.
A Tethered Camera Setup — Dual Hot Shoe Splitter, and Phone Holder
I like to film behind the scenes footage from a phone holder mounted on top of my camera, but this only works if you don’t need a space for your flash trigger. Enter the dual hot shoe splitter.
Here’s what it does: it gives me two hot shoe mounts from one. On one side I have my flash trigger for the AD300Pro strobe. On the other side I mount my iPhone holder. This means I can film behind-the-scenes footage directly from my camera angle — or, and this is the part I love — I can shoot tethered straight to my phone using Evoto without having to set up a separate tablet or laptop.
One note on this: the Canon R3, inexplicably, does not support wireless tethering. If your camera does offer wireless tethering, use it — it’s obviously the cleaner solution. The R3 is somehow the outlier here among newer cameras, so the wired tether cord stays in my bag specifically because of that limitation. If you’re shooting Sony, Nikon, or most other current bodies, check your wireless tethering options before you pack a cord you don’t need.
ExpoDisc — The Underrated Item in Every Traveling Kit
If you’re not familiar with the ExpoDisc, here’s the short version: it’s a lens cap-sized disc that you hold in front of your lens and take a custom white balance reading from whatever light source you’re shooting in. Your camera then knows exactly what “neutral” looks like in that specific light.
Why does this matter for travel? Because you are walking into an unknown lighting situation every single time. Mixed light sources, warm incandescent bulbs, fluorescent overhead lights, the strobe mixing with whatever window light exists — all of it affects color. Getting a correct white balance reading before I start shooting means I’m not color-correcting for an hour in post trying to figure out why everyone looks slightly green.
For photographers just starting out: you can set a manual white balance without an ExpoDisc using a gray card, which is the budget version of this same concept. The ExpoDisc is just faster and more accurate. Worth it once you’re doing this regularly.
What I Left at Home
Nineteen years of traveling for newborn sessions will teach you one thing faster than anything else: your back has opinions about what you pack. Even if you’re not flying- no one wants to take multiple trips back and forth to the car and look like you’re moving in to your clients home with the amount of stuff you brought.
Buckets, bowls, and big props — all stayed home. They’re heavy, awkward, and not carry-on friendly. I find that traveling sessions naturally lend themselves to simpler setups anyway, and clients aren’t booking you to travel to them expecting the same elaborate prop work you’d do in a full studio.
My posing table stayed home too. Instead, I used the family’s crib mattress on the floor, which worked perfectly as a flat posing surface. An ottoman or pulled couch cushion works just as well. You’re not looking for anything fancy — you need a firm, flat, low surface you can work around safely.
My 86-inch umbrella also stayed home. The smaller umbrella I packed fits inside the suitcase and still does the job. Bigger is not always better when you’re boarding a plane.
For the Families: What to Expect When Your Photographer Travels to You
If you’re a family — in Boise or anywhere else — who’s considering hiring a photographer to travel to you for a newborn session, here’s what that actually looks like on your end.
Your photographer is probably bringing the lights, the posing gear, the props, and the wraps- but don’t assume this to be true. Every photographer is different in how much they bring to their sessions and you may have a lifestyle photographer who shows up with their camera ready to use whatever light is available in your home with whatever props and wraps you already own. If they are bringing a studio setup what they need from you is a room with enough floor space to set up a light stand and work around a baby, a warm temperature (babies need it warmer than you think — plan for 75–80°F in the session space), and ideally some flexibility on timing so the session can move at the baby’s pace.
You don’t need a nursery. You don’t need to have anything staged. A cleared bedroom floor and a cooperative thermostat are genuinely enough.
A Note on My Assistant, Haris
My 6 year old nephew, Zeno’s big brother, Haris, was deeply committed to being my photography assistant for the family session on day eight.
He is enthusiastic. He is helpful in spirit. He did, at one point, jump onto the setup next to a sleeping baby with the energy of someone who has never once in his life been asked to move slowly.
My studio assistant Jen has never done this. I appreciate Jen more than I previously realized.
All jokes aside, just because you’re traveling doesn’t mean you should sacrifice a baby’s safety. While I will always prefer to have my trained assistant with me, ask for help from a grandparent, aunt, uncle or baby’s parents to help so someone always has a hand close to baby.
Building Your Own Traveling Newborn Photography Kit
The honest truth about a traveling newborn photography kit is that it forces you to figure out what you actually need versus what you’ve just accumulated. Stripping down to two bags clarified a lot for me about what’s doing real work in my studio versus what’s just taking up shelf space.
If you’re building toward travel sessions — or just want to audit what’s essential in your own setup — start with light, posing surface, sound, and your two most-used lenses. Everything else is a bonus.
For more on newborn photography workflows, editing, and gear, explore the courses at Glean & Co Education. And if you’re a Boise family looking for a newborn session — you can find us at gleanandco.com.
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Paige McLeod is a Boise-based newborn photographer and educator with nearly 25 years of photography experience and close to 20 years as a professional photo editor. She owns Glean & Co Photography and Glean & Co Education, where she creates courses and resources for fellow newborn photographers.
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