Are you dreaming of a photo session to capture your beautiful newborn baby, but are worried about the stress going to a studio might endure? Are you not into overly posed, unnatural, studio style photos, and would prefer something more relaxed, more candid, more... you? If this sounds like you, the newborn lifestyle sessions might be just what you're looking for - taken in the comfort of your own home, newborn lifestyle photo session documents your beautiful new family in a relaxed, timeless way. Truly freezing this beautiful newborn bubble you currently live in in time, so you can look back at it and feel all the emotions all over again - the immense love, those sweet first cuddles, your little bubble where all of you are safe and loved.
If you are considering a lifestyle newborn session, you might be worried about a few things - is my house big enough? What about light? What should we wear? Anything to prepare?
Don't worry, I got you. In this blog post, I will be tackling these things and prepare you for your in home lifestyle newborn session.
Table of content
Location, location, location
Naturally, your newborn photo session will take place in the comfort of your own home. But we will not be photographing in all of your rooms. Our main locations will be your living room/lounge, your main bedroom, and the baby's nursery.
I will typically start in the bedroom with your beautiful family snuggled up on the bed. This creates some beautiful, intimate, emotional portraits of your family.
Then it's time to move into the nursery - this is a great way to capture the details of your little one's room.
I will also find a lovely bright window and will take some photographs by the window. Natural light is my best friend and it results in beautiful, soft, dreamy photos.
Last but not least we will take some photographs in the living room of you all snuggling.
Each house is individual and so I will use your beautiful home and work with it. Do you have a cozy staircase? A beautiful mirror? Your favourite cozy nook? I will capture your beautiful family there.
Let's talk about cleaning
As a family that recently welcomed a little one, I completely understand that there are way more important things to do than run around all day, making sure everything is spotless and squeaky clean. So please, do not overly stress about too much cleaning. Take this time to relax, bond with your little one and not to put too much pressure on yourself. After all, we will only be photographing in few major locations.
So your whole house absolutely does not need to be spotless. Keeping those few locations clutter free is helpful, but if there is something in the way, I am more than happy to move it on the day. Bottles on the night stand or muslin cloths? No problem!
Is my house suitable for a lifestyle photoshoot?
If you are worrying your house is too small or too dark to get nice lifestyle photos, do not worry. I haven't yet come to a house that I couldn't make it work - and I've been to some small houses and even dark victorian cottages where light was rare. But I always make it work. Even though I prefer natural light, I am able to supplement it with flash light, so even if you live in a darker home without too much light, I'll make it work. Worried your house is small? Most of the portraits I take are up close and intimate anyway, capturing your connection, so I will not need a tonne of space. Lifestyle photoshoot is possible in home of any size or style.
Preparation for your photoshoot
My priority is to make you feel confident and comfortable throughout, so a thorough preparation brochure is sent out before your session which includes all the important information as well as a styling guide. When you look good you feel good and confident, and so please wear what makes you feel happy and confident and beautiful. The styling guide is there to give you some colour scheme ideas, but ultimately lifestyle session is about capturing YOU, so wear whatever YOU feel good in.
The key to a successful session is everybody is prepared. So please ensure all family members present know what is happening. If you have older kids, tell them something fun and exciting is happening and they will be having their photos taken.
Allow around 1 - 2hrs for the session. You will not all spend the whole 2hrs in front of the camera. I take variety of shots of whole family, each parent with the baby alone, both parents with baby, siblings with baby, baby alone and details, so don't feel intimidated by the stated length of the session. Also please note that the session time is an estimate to allow babies time for food and nappy changes. Some babies sleep right through it and we get through the whole session under an hour, but some babies might take a little longer to settle so session might be closer to the 2hr mark.
Another key to a successful session is to be relaxed. I try my utmost to put you at ease and make it as comfortable as possible. Babies can often sense when parents feel stressed or tense and they can pick up on their feeling, making them more fussy, so try to relax and enjoy the experience. I know how nerve wracking it can be to be in front of a camera. But rest assured that I will gently guide you through the whole session, and like a fly on the wall will document your beautiful intimate cuddles with your brand new baby. My approach is to gently position you in a place where the light is best, and then by using gentle prompts I try to spark a reaction or an emotion. I will never make you awkwardly sit and smile to the camera. The lifestyle session is all about capturing the bond you have with your little one, so most of the time you will not be looking at the camera at all.
The newborn session is fully baby led, so if baby needs a break for a nappy change or feeding, we will pause and return when they are ready.
I hope this post helped you get a better picture of what the newborn photo session is like. Ready to book your Oxfordshire newborn photographer? Click below and let's get your newborn story telling photo experience started:
The Second Star Photography is a professional mobile studio, providing in home newborn and family photography sessions within Oxfordshire and areas of Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire. Enjoy the luxury of professional newborn photography session in the comfort of your own home. Klara is first aid trained professional newborn and family photographer covering Bicester, Banbury, Aylesbury, Abingdon, Oxford, Thame, Brackley among other areas of Oxfordshire, Bucks and Northamptonshire.