What to Expect During Your Lifestyle Newborn Session
Hi, friends! Today I’d like to talk a little bit about lifestyle newborn sessions. With more and more new parents electing to schedule their newborn’s photos at home, I thought it would be a good time to tell you what you expect during a lifestyle newborn session with me!
Before we begin with what you can expect during your session, I want to talk about scheduling. As you know, babies don’t arrive on command. For this reason, I encourage parents to reach out to me about scheduling a session at least 3 months in advance of their due date so I can tentatively mark it on the calendar. Once baby arrives and you’re in recovery at the hospital, reach out via email or text and we can select a day that works well in both of our schedules for your session. I like to schedule newborn sessions in the first two weeks or so of life on weekday mornings.
Your session is scheduled and I’m coming to your home. Now what?!? Here’s 4 things to expect during our time together.
Your house doesn’t need to look picture perfect.
This is more of a planning item than an actual session tip but I wanted to be sure to mention it to take the pressure off! You just had a baby. You’re probably sleep deprived and just now learning how to function with a new member of the family. The last thing you need to worry about is making your home look like it should appear on the pages of a catalog. Usually we shoot in three rooms: the nursery, the primary bedroom, and the living room. If those three spaces can be relatively tidied up (I will help with this, too!), that’s the only prep you need to do ahead of time. Even if your house looks like a tornado hit it when I arrive, don’t worry. You’d be surprised at how a few minor adjustments to things in the space makes for a perfect background for photos.
We are in no rush and will take our time.
As you know, I am the mom to two boys. I’ll never forget bringing each of them home from the hospital for the first time. For as busy as I felt, everything also seemed to take forever. Feeding was lengthy, changing the first diapers took time. Nothing was quick…or easy. When I visit you for a newborn session, I want you to know I am in no rush. Sometimes sessions are quick, sometimes they’re slower. We let baby determine how the session progresses. There is no pressure from me to do anything quickly. I’ll make myself at home on your couch and entertain your older children and pets while you feed the new addition.
Lifestyle newborn sessions involve natural posing.
Other than taking place at your home, this is likely the biggest difference from a traditional newborn photo session. Lifestyle sessions focus on natural poses with baby such as cradled in parents’ arms, on mom’s shoulder, or snuggled up on dad’s chest. Lifestyle sessions don’t typically include babies wrapped in blankets, placed in baskets, or the use of additional props. The welcome exception here is the inclusion of important family heirlooms. If you have a particular outfit or stuffed animal or other item that is meaningful to you, we can certainly include it in your photos!
Our goal is to capture the love, connections, and joy of a new baby in your home.
Last but certainly not least, you can expect a lifestyle newborn session to focus on capturing the love, connections, and joy of welcoming a new baby into your family and home. With a little posing help from me, we’ll capture you and your family in your happiest and most loving environment, your home. Whether that means dad playing trucks with your son while mom looks on from the couch with the new bundle of joy or mom and dad snuggled up together with baby in their laps, your lifestyle newborn photos will reflect who you are as a family and the love you have for one another.
I hope you’ll consider me for photographing this deeply personal and very special occasion! Please be in touch with any questions and to inquire about additional details.
