How to Prepare for your Lifestyle newborn session

What to Expect …

Having a baby is one of the most beautiful experiences we will ever have… this emotional time is filled with so much excitement & celebration as well as a little bit of exhaustion. Having experienced this season a couple times myself I know how hard to can be to even brush your teeth some days, let alone get dressed.... Which is why I have put together a little list of what to expect and how to prepare for your session. I want this to be as stress free as possible!

When to Book

I typically suggest scheduling your newborn session when you are around 6-8 months pregnant just to make sure we can save a date for you on the calendar. We can choose a tentative date a week after your due date and adjust as things progress. Once baby has arrived we can nail down the exact date and time for your session... I suggest scheduling the session to take place when baby is between 3-10 days old which gives you time to get home and settled but is still early enough to where baby is still sleepy and unbothered by everything going on around them.

Of course if you need more time to recover or decided to wait until after baby’s arrival to book, that’s totally fine! We can just do our best to get something on the schedule as soon as we can. And honestly that’s one of the beautiful things about in-home lifestyle newborn sessions, you can still create beautiful images with an alert or cluster feeding baby. While having a sleepy newborn will make swaddling and individual shots of baby a tad easier & quicker it’s absolutely not necessary & I promise you, your images will still be absolutely beautiful.

Preparing your home

When I first arrive I will ask for a quick tour of your home and the rooms you would like to use. Once I get an idea of the lighting situation we can decide which room to start in first. Typically the nursery and master bedroom are a great places to start but if you would like to incorporate other areas of your home or even outdoors that is also perfect!

Please don’t worry about having your home perfect for our session! If you have time & want to tidy up/declutter (mostly this just means putting away the bins of diaper cream, hiding remotes, etc..) in the rooms you would like to use a little before our session that would be great but again not necessary. I’m great at removing any clutter on the fly that I think will detract from the images & honestly a little bit of messiness just adds to the beautiful story your images will tell.

It’s usually best to shoot in rooms where the bed or seating is facing the window light rather than behind but in most cases, we can totally work with what we have in the space. Keeping things flexible and improvising in the moment is is what I’m all about when it comes to in-home photography.

What to Wear

This looks a little different for every family, your personal style/decor and your personality. Neutrals are a beautiful place to start as they are simple and easy and also tend to compliment any style of home decor and style. But I also understand that neutrals may not be something you love so the most important thing is that whatever you decide to wear just make sure you feel beautiful and comfortable. My biggest tip when styling a family is to first find an outfit that momma feels beautiful and comfortable in and then style the rest of the family around that piece. Just remember, if you would like breast-feeding shots or skin to skin shots make sure your outfit will accommodate or have an additional outfit laid out to use for this.

While we’re on the topic of multiple outfits… I also recommend having a backup outfit on hand too just in case just in case there are any accidents which are always happening with tiny babies. :)

Feel free to pull out your favorite outfit or two for baby as well. Just be sure to have them dressed in the outfit you’d like to start in when I arrive… Also if you have a favorite swaddle or blanket for photos of baby by themself be sure to have that on hand too.

For dad & siblings, just keep things simple. I love soft cotton solid color tees or even an easy button-down. And for siblings… something soft and cozy that coordinates nicely with Mama is perfect. No need to get fancy but feel free to dress as you feel fits best with your home and personal style.

If you would like more styling tips please see my Client Styling Guide and Client Styling Service questionnaire. I’m also happy to help with more in depth questions as well!

Preparing BABy…

I find feeding baby right before I arrive to be the easiest way to transition baby for the photo session. So if at all possible get him/her and you dressed for the session first and then feed so he/she can hopefully be asleep when I arrive. OF COURSE, things do not go as planned so no stress if baby isn't hungry or if you need to change in a hurry afterward. I set aside plenty of time for our session just in case we need to take things slow… I am all about being flexible and making sure our session is very laid back and goes at a pace that is comfortable and relaxing for the whole family.

**Also, feel free to feed baby throughout or prepare a bottle to keep on hand to help soothe a fussier or clustery babe. If you are comfortable with documenting you feeding your baby I will continue to shoot through this time but if you prefer privacy we can absolutely take a break or I can focus on documenting siblings, details, or nursery shots during this time.

I always suggest keeping the home a tad warmer than you’d normally want during our session. It helps keep baby super cozy and sleepy… If I’m a bit sweaty then it’s probably just right. :)

I’ve also found that calming music playing or even using a noise maker if you have one can help a lot in keeping baby sleepy and quiet throughout the session.

WHAT WE NEED FOR SOLO BABY portraits

For the solo baby portraits, I feel it’s best to “keep it simple and natural.” A comfy blanket and simple swaddle are really all you need to grab timeless moments of your precious newborn and all their little details.

If you have any favorite gifted or handmade items, let me know so we can find creative ways to include them as well.

Most importantly… relax & just be in the moment

The most beautiful part about in-home sessions is that you can truly be yourself while also capturing the beauty of this season in an authentic way. I always strive for my sessions to be laidback, peaceful and more importantly flexible so that we can capture all the beauty that parenthood is. Your gallery will be full of beautiful candid moments as well as gently posed portraits to help you remember all the tiny details you will never want to forget. My hope it that your gallery will be like a little time capsule into this small window of time that often flies by in a haze.

I’m always happy to incorporate other family members into your session but I would suggest if possible… try and only invite others over during the session if it would help you to relax or you really want to include them in the session. If Grandma & Grandpa are around during the session I’m always happy to grab a few of them with baby & siblings if you would like.

On another note… if you are worried about older siblings running free or being hard to handle, just know I have been there & absolutely adore this part of lifestyle photography. We can do our best to wrangle them into the photos but I also love to capture the childlike beauty that is bringing a new baby home and the big siblings being wild. No need for apologies because this season and these photos are just for you. So just relax and we will do our best to bottle up this very precious time with joy and storytelling.