In Home Newborn Lifestyle

I absolutely LOVE Lifestyle newborn photography! They are a great way to celebrate your newest family member in the comfort of your own home, all together- parents, siblings, pets! Babies changes so much in the first few weeks that deciding to have a newborn photography session- styled or lifestyle is an investment that will last you a lifetime! I love that I am able to capture your brand new blessing in the comfort of your own home.

When do we schedule a newborn session? I typically advise parents to schedule as soon as they feel comfortable after birth!  Truly, the ‘newer’ the baby, the better the session typically goes. The younger babe is typically the sleepier they are and more cooperative for pictures.  Sometimes after a few weeks baby acne sets in, scratches appear, etc… so I really try and encourage in-home sessions as close to birth as possible/comfortable for families.  Ideally within the first two weeks after birth! 

Your In-home newborn lifestyle session will take place during the late morning/early afternoon hours (starting your session around 9 am usually gives the best light and happiest babe!). These session last between 60-90 minutes. During this time we will be utilizing the natural light that comes through your windows. I find that the late morning/early afternoon provides the best light inside. Be sure to open the blinds in the room we will be using to brighten it up! ( Turn off any artificial lighting that may be on.) I will most likely position you, your family and/or baby near a window.

I LOVE natural light and I love capturing your new babe and family in the natural light in your house!!  We will be embracing your home’s natural light (open up those window blinds!), turning off the overhead lights and taking advantage of the natural brightness as much as possible.  I’ll pop you all next to windows as much as possible for those pics — we will take full advantage of the light coming into your house.  

Try and feed your babe shortly before your session time.  This ensures baby has a full belly and will hopefully be happy and cooperative for pics!  If you would like any feeding/nursing pictures, we absolutely can do this at the beginning of the session…so hold off feeding babe until I get there and we’ll get some feeding/nursing pics done first!

Turn up that heat!  The baby is so much happier in a warm environment.  This allows for babe to be comfortable for any naked/diaper pictures and isn’t so upset to have their clothes changed if the house is extra warm.

What to ware: When choosing colors for your outfits, I recommend selecting softer, lighter tones. By avoiding ultra-bright, bold colors or black, it will help bring all the attention to your baby and your faces and let the eye focus on the way you feel about each other. 

If you are wondering what to wear, it’s entirely up to you, but I always recommend that you choose your outfit first and then build the other outfits around that. I encourage you to wear something comfortable and maybe flowy. This way you will not want to fidget with your clothes and correct your postpartum body. A light sweater or cardigan to layer is also nice for photos. I do not recommend logos or large printed shirts. They can be overwhelming in photos. 

Since this is a lifestyle, very heavy on the candid and documentary nature of a session, I leave any ‘props’ that you’d want to include up to your discretion! You can absolutely round up your own items to incorporate into photos, such as your own swaddles, hats, basket, headbands, outfits, etc. Outfit/blanket changes are absolutely okay and I love when we get some a variety of pictures of your little one in different outfits and blankets! I do suggest keeping it to 2-3 options as we might run out of time to do more.

What types of pictures will I take?  I cannot emphasize enough the lifestyle nature of this session: it is super heavy on the candids and truly just capturing your new life at home with your newest family member!  We will do lots and lots of candid pics to really get some genuine smiles and laughs and all of that with babe.  You can see below why these are my favorite — they really capture all of the wonderful (and range of!!) emotions going on at this new stage of your life.

How long do newborn sessions last?  Typically between 60-90 minutes.  I know how precious that time is those first few weeks after babe has arrived so I don’t want to overtake that for your family, so I try and be quick and efficient in getting you all of the snaps you want.  Providing me with a list of some shots you’d like to get definitely helps too!  While you probably provided some on your newborn contract, you can always email/message me other ideas as well.

My goal for each newborn lifestyle session is to create a personalized experience for you and your baby that it is fun and meaningful. Although the goal of working together is to create wonderful images. Ultimately, I want you to enjoy this experience as much as I enjoy capturing it!

I do want to mention I am fully vaccinated against COVID19!