How to prepare for your Lifestyle Newborn Session
The lifestyle newborn sessions are held at your home. I shoot with a lot of blank walls, tons of natural light, parent's beds, couches, and in baby's room/crib. During the session, I will take a mixture of posed and candid photos of your family/baby. I do love candid photos and try to capture those in between moments as much as I can. I'm also happy to accommodate any photo request you might want during the session time. Please note, I do not capture the "studio posed" photos that are very popular online and on Pinterest.
For older siblings: Remember it's best to stay calm and relaxed during the session. If you are tense because you are afraid your child will act up, then they will most likely sense your tenseness and act out. Remember to stay calm and for older children, remind them that this photo session is something fun to do with the family. Maybe even offer to take them for ice cream after the session if they behave :). Even if they do act out we can always take a break during the session and let them run off some of their energy or eat a snack. Another great option for getting great photos of your older children is for you, the parents, to take a step back for a portion of the photos. While watching from a distance the children will engage better with the camera and worry less about entertaining their parents.
List of things to have on hand or ready to go for your session ready before I arrive:
All of your desired outfits laid out (don’t forget bows/bonnets/bloomers if you have or want them).
Wraps/receiving blankets (minimum or no designs look best)
Blankets (white/neutral/pink/blue etc.)
Bumbo or pillows for baby to lay on for posing
Nursery/crib clean and ready to be photographed. Make sure crib is cleaned out and de-cluttered (I’ll take photos of baby laying in crib)
Living room/master bedroom cleaned. You don’t have to be photographed in both spaces but I recommend at least having one of these spaces ready for photos. It looks great to have photos of your family relaxing on your couch or bed. If you think your house isn’t “photo pretty” don’t worry, it is! Your space reflects you and there is no right or wrong way to have your house styled.
Have the house warm for baby. A lot of times we take photos of the baby in just bloomers and the room needs to be warm so that they are comfortable in less clothing.
Parents need to be dressed and ready when I arrive. I typically start the session with family, mom + baby, dad + baby photos first then move on and take just baby alone photos and baby + siblings (if applicable) last.
You are more than welcome to bring your mother or sister or whoever is closest to you, for help during the session! :)
Other notes
For feedings, do not worry if you have to stop and feed baby during the session. This always happens and is totally normal and ok to stop and do. Your baby’s needs come first! If breastfeeding, some moms desire to have photos of them breastfeeding. If you desire this too, please let me know. If you don’t ask for this specific photo, I will not take it out of respecting your privacy. Also, newborn photos are usually taken while the baby is sleeping. Full belly = sleepy baby (usually ;).
*When I mention “clean” above, I mean things picked up off floor and dressers/coffee tables/side tables decluttered. Don’t worry about deep cleaning anything! You have a newborn for goodness sake, just get done what you can :)!
