If you’re in the final weeks of your pregnancy, you might be wondering how you can best prepare for your at-home lifestyle newborn photos! Taken ideally during the first 6-14 days of your baby’s life, these images serve to document your first week with your newest family member and the abundance of love that fills your home! Taking these images in your home will reflect the true life that is to come over the sleepless nights, joyous milestones and happy memories.

The only downfall of welcoming a photographer into your home just days or weeks after the birth of your new baby is that it can feel a bit overwhelming especially on top of the birthing person’s postpartum recovery. But… it doesn’t have to be! I have some tips, links and examples to help you make this session feel easier. Everything from how to prepare your home to what your baby should wear is covered below!

Preparing the parents:

As parents, you are obviously an integral part of a lifestyle newborn session. Capturing the connection between you and your new babe is such a beautiful experience and creates images that will be cherished for generations. Welcoming a photographer into your home after you’ve just given birth can be nerve-wracking and stressful but I am to make it a calm and easy experience - especially if you can spare a few minutes to read through this blog post! 

Mamas and birthing persons - any time I’m photographing you during this session, I’m going to be extra careful to use angles and poses that are flattering to any and all post-baby body types. So while I know that you may not feel like your normal self, please know that I will do my very best to help you feel supported and beautiful! 

I’ve been there. I had my first child in May 2021 and I remember what it’s like to feel like you’re in a squishy, foreign body that is leaking things everywhere and somehow, at the same time, feel like a freakin’ superhero goddess. We’re channeling and capturing the superhero goddess!

When choosing your outfits, I recommend light neutrals (light grey, tan, cream and whites) and pastels of all colors. If you’re comfortable wearing a flowing dress, it can photograph the best. Otherwise I recommend soft, flowing clothing like modal, bamboo or pima cottons. A lounge or athleisure style is totally appropriate and leggings or joggers are more than acceptable for these images if you’re not up for a dress (just a warning though - black leggings that can attract fuzzies and pet hair aren’t the best choice in this category).

If you need outfit inspiration, check out this Pinterest board to see what I’m talking about!  Make sure you have backup outfits on hand for both you, your partner and the baby! Unexpected blowouts or a big spit up might happen - that’s totally normal! 

Finally, I do recommend trying to carve out some time to do your hair and makeup - you’ll thank me later! 

Preparing the siblings:

Documenting the addition of a new sibling is very important but could also be… yep… stressful! One of the biggest things I recommend, depending on the ages of your other children, is taking time to talk to them about the importance of the session, what they can expect to take place and setting some expectations for them. Kids often just need to be warned, prepared and informed.

Their clothing too should be light neutrals, well-fitting and free of characters or sayings. Truly, that well-fitting part is most important. If you put your child into a pair of pants that they have “room to grow into”, it will look baggy and sloppy on camera.

Age depending, it can be helpful to also have children set up with a snack and maybe one of their favorite activities or movies waiting for after their role in our session is over with. Giving them something immediate to work towards is handy! Having a reward for smaller children is totally okay too. There is no judgement from me whatsoever. You are the best parent for your child so however you feel they will participate best is what I ask that you prepare for! Personally and professionally I am pro-bribe/reward system in this situation but I know that you, of course, know your children best!

Preparing the home:

First off and most importantly, I am NOT judging your home. Whether it’s in the city, in the woods, large, small, filled with dogs, filled with art, filled with children… it’s yours and it is special. 

Your home does not have to be perfect or clutter free. It’s your home and you just welcomed home a new child. It would not be fair for me to ask you to clean every corner of your house. It really doesn’t even matter if you have a nursery set up or decorated.

If you are able, focus on de-cluttering two of the rooms with the most natural light. This might be your living room and your main bedroom, it could be a guest room and the nursery. Take time to notice which of your rooms get the best, brightest, cleanest natural sunlight. It’s completely optional for us to shoot in the nursery.

If you think we may use your primary bedroom, please make up the bed with simple and clean bedding! Whites, pastels and neutrals will photograph best.

Spend your time putting things like your breast pump, sound machines, chargers, remote controls, extra burp cloths, toys and other distracting things away (throwing them into a closet or tossing them into a basket is more than fine with me)! 

When I arrive, I’ll spend some time preparing the areas where we’ll be shooting. I may move some furniture or clean off surfaces. Please don’t be alarmed or offended! I see things that you may not and a home that’s well lived-in doesn’t always equal a home instantly ready for photography - that’s a part of my job. Anything I move will not go far, I promise, and I’m happy to move any furniture back where it was when I arrived. 

I’ll also open up your curtains and turn off lamps and artificial overhead lighting. It might seem dark but artificial lighting can both be unflattering and ruin an image with orange or yellow color casts. I will come with baby-safe flashes that I bounce off of the ceiling or walls to soften their light even more.

Please also turn up your heat to 73-75 degrees about 30 minutes prior to our session. The warmer temperatures help baby relax and keep them sleepy during our time together.

Preparing the baby:

This part might seem completely overwhelming. You’re just trying to keep them alive and happy - how can you possibly prepare a newborn for a photo session?! 

It will all be worth it. These will be images that you adore for a lifetime. Your baby is going to grow and change so very fast that it’s absolutely worth it to have this session! 

Preparing your baby for a peaceful state of sleepiness is most important. It’s the ultimate goal here but it does involve a little bit of work from you. A sleepy baby is very critical to the success of our time together. Keeping your baby awake in the several hours before my arrival is helpful. Try things like a bath, simple playtime together and singing to keep babe awake! We need them to save that sleepiness for our session time together. 

Plan to give your baby a full feeding right before my arrival. Do whatever you need to do during this feed to ensure that baby isn’t just “snacking” because a baby with a full tummy is a sleepy baby. Be prepared to nurse or feed them other times as needed during our session for relaxation. If you are bottle feeding, it’s helpful to have a few bottles already prepped and ready to be warmed for when we might need them. 

If you are breastfeeding, I will gently ask you if you’d prefer me to leave the room for privacy or if you’d like photos of your breastfeeding journey. I promise to be respectful of whatever you need and want!

You have access to The Newborn Closet! If you’d like complimentary use of any of my newborn closet items, please visit THIS PAGE and complete the form at least 72 hours prior to your newborn session. In the closet you’ll find curated collections of backdrops, wraps and swaddles as well as outfits, hats and bows for your use.

If you would like to provide your own outfits for your newborn session, custom swaddles and more - my top recommendations are from Lou Lou and Company, Little Sleepies, Kyte Baby, Caden Lane and Copper Pearl. Please do not size up. Most, if not all, of these brands run generously and are made with very stretchy, soft, newborn skin friendly fabrics.

But what if…?

I am prepared for ALL of the what ifs.

• A NICU stay pushing back your session until your baby is a few months old

• A preemie welcomed long before your due date

• A traumatic birth experience that everyone is still healing from

• A physically difficult postpartum recovery with complications or mobility limitations

• A disabled child, whether the newborn or a sibling who may need extra time, care or attention

• A new baby welcomed through the blessing of adoption

• Feeding struggles

• Single parenting by choice

• A miracle baby long awaited after losses or infertility bringing a lot of extra emotions

• Two (or more) children under two

• A home that doesn’t quite feel like the home you’ve always dreamed of yet (maybe you just moved, you’re renting, you’re living with loved ones)

Please know that I am prepared to serve your family no matter what the situational details may look like. You are worthy of your memories being documented and I can’t wait to capture you! I may just ask you more questions to help myself prepare and better serve your family with ease.

After your session:

After your session, you will receive an online gallery of your images that is active for 6 months from the release date. This gallery will be sent to you via email. Hopefully you’re obsessed with them and you spend time looking at them again and again. Inevitably though, weeks and months and then years will go by and life moves on. You want to ensure that you’ve kept those images safe so that when it is time to reminisce again, they’re there to make you smile and remember.

The more places that you store your images, the safer they will be. Below are a few safe storage options suggestions!

CLOUD STORAGE

Upload your images to an online/cloud storage solution such as Google Drive, Dropbox or iCloud. Google offers 15 GB of cloud storage for free with a Gmail account. You could even create a new Gmail account simply for storing photos (example: babysnewbornphotos.lastname@gmail.com). Ideally, you should upload your photos to more than one cloud storage solution.

PHYSICAL STORAGE

Physical storage spaces, not including your computer drive, are also a great backup option. This could be a USB/flash drive that you store in a fireproof safe or a portable hard drive or solid state drive. Again, the more places you can store your images, the safer they will be. Storing them solely on your computer is not a foolproof or safe plan!