Lifestyle sessions are just beautiful. They depict the newborn in their natural environment and I love being able to showcase this. The biggest concern I see parents have when trying to decide studio vs. lifestyle is concerns about their home. For example it not being professional decorated, it isn’t exactly like how they want it to look, but whose home ever is? I have the ability to work in different situations and what I will see from a creative standpoint will be different from what you may see.
- After Delivery – After you have your baby please contact me via text, email or phone so we can start planning for the session. Photographing your newborn’s lifestyle session within the first 7 – 14 days offers allows us to take advantage of your baby’s natural sleep patterns.
- Session Time – We plan for first thing in the morning between 9:00 and 10:00 this is when your newborns are typically the sleepiest.
- Breastfeeding – If you are breastfeeding it is important to avoid caffeine and spicy foods starting 48 hours prior to the session, this can cause stomach upset, gas as well as the baby can be more alert and jumpy.
- 1 hour prior to my arrival heat the home – starting one hour prior to my arrival crank up the heat. 80 degrees. Once the home heats up after I am there, we can turn it off. This is to help keep your newborn as comfortable as possible to ensure the session goes smoothly. Newborns at this stage are still trying to regulate their body temperature and can become very cold quickly when clothing is removed.
- Blinds & Drapes – Open blinds and drapes in living room, parents room & nursery.
- Clutter – Make the bed, fluff pillows, clear nightstands. Clean off any counters, coffee tables, etc.
- Things to have handy – Pacifier, gas drops
- What should baby wear – Neutral or white onesie, favorite wrap or blanket
- ½ hour prior to arrival – please change your babies diaper and give one last feeding
Corey - I love when families choose to have newborn sessions in their homes. It makes for such personal and intimate portraits! These are fantastic tips for a successful newborn session!
Melanie Painter - Fantastic tips for your lifestyle newborn clients! These newborn photography tips will help their lifestyle session go by much more smoothly!
Christine D - All of these tips are perfect to help get a sleepy baby! (I cringe when parents come to my studio with their cans of energy drinks!) I love lifestyle newborn sessions because they show the first home the baby was brought home to. And mom and dad can relax and not try to get everyone out of the house on time! Beautiful image to illustrate this too!
Jennifer Horner - A great session prep guide to ensure new parents are prepared for their newborn photography session.
anna - i love this post! such pertinent and helpful information for newborn photographers!! thanks for sharing!
Deanna Woodworth - Jennifer, I love this prep guide you have made for new parents to follow before a session with you in Buffalo, NY. The fact that you offer on location newborn photography must be a relief to new parents so they can be comfortable in their own home. From the sample image, it’s clear that you provide beautiful lifestyle and posed images which are timeless and classic.
Allison Anderson - I didn’t realize how much work went into prepping for a lifestyle newborn session, but that is the difference between a good session and a fantastic session. You can tell the photos where when the time and effort to put away things that are distracting or clutter up the home.
Kathy - What a great prep list for the parents of your newborn clients! I am a planner, so as a client I would LOVE to be given a list like this of things to do to make sure that my session went as smoothly as possibly! I have to talk about that photo for a minute, it is STUNNING! And to have it taken in the clients home must be really special for them!
Nicola - I love lifestyle newborn photography and it’s so true that what the photographer sees in a home from a creative and artistic standpoint is different than what the family that lives in it sees. These quick tips for your Buffalo clients are a great way to help them prep for an in home newborn session.
Alyssa - There probably is no better place to have your new baby photographed than in your new home! But bringing a new baby home can be overwhelming enough, so having a clear guide on how to prep for this session is amazing!
Jennifer Rittenberry - These are all excellent tips for a successful home session. Your prep guide gives very concise and easy to follow instructions to ensure a sleepy baby for the lifestyle newborn session. Portrait Pretty Photography sure has their stuff together! Thank you for sharing!
Maria Martinez - I love this article about newborn lifestyle sessions! People always wonder why I shoot in a tank top etc, because we need to make the room nice and toasty for baby!