Family Portraits

Lifestyle Newborn photos 

Having a baby is such magical time for you and your family. It’s the start of new life and something you have looked forward to for 9 months. When you have your baby, time flies by, and they grow up so quickly. It is so important to have a plan if you want to do some type of newborn photos.

Often in the photography world you will hear about two different styles, lifestyle and posed.

Posed is done by a professionally trained photographer in a studio who has props and backgrounds, they pose them, and these are typically done in the first 14 days of a babies life.

Lifestyle is described when your photographer comes into your home and they capture your family in a more natural way. It is a great time to capture images with the kids with new siblings and a fun way that you could incorporate the nursery or your room for the images. For these sessions the photographer is focusing on capturing the love within the family and not just the baby. I specialize in this type of lifestyle photography.

TIP 1

PLAN AHEAD. Do your best to find a date in advance and contact a photographer at least in that second trimester to secure time around your due date or when you want photos done and to pay any deposits needed to secure that time frame. This also gives you time to talk to them about images at the hospital if that is what you are interested in. I tell clients to plan for newborns in between the ages of 0-3 months, depending on the stage you want them taken in. If you want the fresh tiny stage you will want to book your photographer within the first 3 weeks. There are times that this doesn’t work out, but having a plan at least can keep it on your radar and in communication with your photographer if you need to push the timing. I am very understanding with my clients in the event of hospital stay for baby or for mom so that you can feel your best and feel comfortable.

TIP 2

Watch the light in your house. When it is the brightest is when we want to book your shoot! This is something I will be asking you about early on even before baby is born to get the best idea of when we would need to book you. If your nursery is brightest at about 2 PM, then we want to schedule your session for 2 PM. An additional thing to watch for is that the light is not harsh on the bed or the crib during that time frame. The light is dependent on where your windows face, but I often tell people to watch around noon to get a good idea.  

TIP 3

Prepare for your shoot by planning your outfits out at least a week in advance. This is the time to decide do you want a casual or dressier look. I personally pick a dressier look to help create magic and ambience for your photos. Although that is my preference, I have many clients who prefer casual. When picking clothing, colors are such a big part of what will help your images. I always recommend whites or neutrals pieces because they are soft and flattering often. Lighter colors also typically don’t effect skin tones. Heather brown is a great color for accents pieces through out your clothing. 

TIP 4

Get the house ready! I don’t mean deep clean the house, but rather have the areas set up so that when the day arrives you will easily be able to set the rooms up for the shoot. Decluttering should be your main focus. Remove the tissue boxes, the plugs, and any additional items that just are piling up that you’d see in images. Simplify the space so that the images have no distractions in the images. Minimalistic is the idea! If you have a carpet or space that shows a lot of dirt, then vacuum those spots but overall don’t stress yourself out. I will always recommend having a white bedspread for your shoot. White bedspreads bounce light, this also means you won’t have any weird colors casting light on your face. I do have some I can bring to your shoot, as long as you request it.

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Last and not least, make sure your newborn has a great nap prior to photos. This is huge for the photo shoot! Don’t over-plan the day before, so that they are not exhausted. Often getting out of routine even this early on, can cause a fussy baby the next day, which in turn causes more stress for everyone involved. A reason I love lifestyle sessions is your don’t have to stress about feeding, because we will have time through the shoot to do that and keep baby happy. A normal shoot is 1-3 hours depending on what baby needs and how many feedings we do have to include.

I hope these tips help you prepare and that you will feel calm and ready for your newborn shoot. I have loved all the babies I have been able to capture and can’t wait for more this year!