When I was expecting my daughter as a first-time-mom, I came across a lot of photographs of newborns. I saw them on websites, in advertisements, while shopping, all over pinterest—everywhere, pictures of sweet new babies. Most of them were studio shots, with intricately-posed infants that I knew were heavily photoshopped. Many were stunningly beautiful images, but there was something about those photographs that didn’t quite capture an integral piece of what I was feeling and searching for as a soon-to-be new mother.
New motherhood was exhausting. We didn’t have an easy birth experience, my daughter was premature, and we lived in the hospital for so long that we missed that squishy two-week-studio-newborn-portraits window. I spent our first month shooting documentary style photographs in NICU; not quite what I had expected. By the time we finally came home five weeks after she was born, I was just so relieved to have a healthy baby that I could settle down in her own nursery and grab a few naptime shots at home with a DSLR that I didn’t give another thought to renting studio space for a posed session with her.
I simply set about capturing the new life we were building together — how our space was changing, how quickly she was growing, how the light shone through her nursery window into her sweet little crib I’d spent so much time obsessing about when I purchased it. I found that the moments that I captured that documented our actual, daily routine in our own living space were incredibly meaningful, and now when I look back on them, they inspire in me memories of those times when we first became the family we are now.
This experience, born of necessity, ignited my passion for in-home lifestyle newborn photography. These are the things I’ve come to love about this style:
Newborn-Led Posing
With newborn-led posing, we let Baby call the shots. There is no need for us to wait hours, blast the heat, or over-feed for babies to fall asleep. If your little one is awake, then we capture those gorgeous eyes. If they fall asleep, we get to take some of those squishy, curled up naptime photos. If the kid is hungry, we feed them. This makes for less stress on your newborn, and a much more relaxing session for mom and dad. This also support my very highest priority in any newborn session: safety. If Baby doesn’t want to do a pose, we don’t do it. Period.
Ease, Convenience, Comfort:
I don’t know about you, but when I had a newborn, leaving the house felt like an ordeal. In-home lifestyle sessions remove the added difficulty of packing up outfits, trying to get ready, getting everyone in the car, and going to a new location. The added comfort and convenience of being at home can help everyone, especially your child(ren), to feel relaxed and at-ease for your session.
I know what you’re thinking: “Yeah, but then I have to clean my entire house, which sounds impossible because…hello! I have a newborn"!”
You absolutely do not have to clean your entire house like your mother-in-law is on her way over. We need one or two areas to work with, usually a bedroom, a nursery, or a living room couch. And don’t stress about making it spotless. We can tidy up as we go.
Documenting Connection
As with any family session, my primary focus is on capturing the connection between you and your loved ones. One of the ways I feel most connected to my family is when we snuggle up together, and I find that in every home I am invited into. In-home lifestyle sessions lend themselves so perfectly to conveying that intense bond that we share with our new little ones as we nurture them in our homes — in their nurseries, nursing on the couch, snuggling up in bed, tummy time on the floor. Without the distraction of props, staged backgrounds, or difficult poses, we are free to focus our awareness on simple being with Baby.
Memories
I always strive for family photography sessions to be, in themselves, a memory. I want the experience to be fun and special, and I want the family to remember it as something they enjoyed sharing with one another.
When my daughter was about 6 months old, I did finally grab some studio portraits of her. They’re cute — she’s wearing a cute Christmas outfit, and a Santa hat. I like them. But they have never had that evocative quality of remembrance that the photos I took of her in her high chair covered in cereal, or the afternoon nap in her crib, or the time she and my husband fell asleep on the living floor together. Those are the captured moments I cherish the most, as a photographer and a mother.
