lifestyle newborn
Check out more lifestyle newborn images in the newborn gallery!
Check out more lifestyle newborn images in the newborn gallery!
You’ve just had a baby that has maybe been home for a week or two. You might have a toddler sibling that is still getting used to the routine and that there is this crying baby that doesn’t know how to control their voice or emotions. Maybe it’s your first child and you want to have this special time documented and want to be in the photos too. I am excited to share with you a few things we can do for a relaxed newborn session.
When you are preparing to have your new baby, you are also preparing the baby’s nursery. I’ve come across so many really amazing nurseries that have had so much time and energy put into them to look special. This can include special toys or handmade items from family members and friends, it can include a special theme, and it can also include special photos of family. With the wide range of what can be included in a nursery, I think it’s really important to make sure to capture the details, and I can’t leave the nursery details off the list.
And of course, getting detail shots of the baby’s hands, feet, and their head of hair.
We know during our lifestyle newborn session we want photos. We want a photo of your new baby in her new dress or his new outfit. We know we want family members, and we know we want to document this special time. One thing that holds us back a little bit with our agenda is that
Newborn babies need to be fed, they need to be changed, and they get cold. They are still figuring out this world and how to communicate. That is totally fine! We don’t want to rush these newborn sessions because they are lifestyle in nature. I like to allocate about two hours for newborn shoots which gives us enough time for the breaks. When these things naturally happen, I am there to photograph them!
I am kind of already saying this as I’m thinking about how to be relaxed for your newborn session, we also have to be flexible. We might think that we are going to change the baby into his new outfit and realize he had another idea and needs to be soothed and settled before trying to put him into this outfit that he doesn’t really care about. What I like to do at this time is continue chatting with the family. If there are siblings, I like to spend time with them and get them engaged in an activity. Maybe big sister wants to show me her new bedspread in her room. I’m going to follow her and take some photos while I’m in there!
Think you might be interested in booking a lifestyle newborn session? Check out my newborn portfolio and then send me a message on my contact form and we will get your session scheduled!
I love love love lifestyle newborn sessions.
Looking through my last few newborn sessions I realized there are some important detail shots that I tend to take that help to document the special time of welcoming a new baby into the world.
Sometimes Dad’s aren’t particularly jumping to the opportunity to get their photo taken. I like to take a few photos of the entire family at the beginning of the session and then let Dad be on his way.
While I still have Dad’s attention and the family is still together, I like to crop in tight to get a shot of the baby. This might mean moving the family around a little bit, but it’s a nice way to create variety within a family shot. The baby was awake for almost this entire session and I love this photo with her eyes open.
I don’t think I could have a newborn photo shoot without photographing the baby’s feet! The baby is so precious and new and getting close up photos of the baby’s legs and feet is so important. They grow so fast at this age so make sure you don’t forget that detail shot!
The master bedroom in this home had really great window light. Most of my sessions are taken with natural light when possible, and for those sessions I like to take some photos near a window. My focus is more on the baby and the family so it doesn’t bother me when the windows are blown out.
I typically like to schedule my newborn sessions when the newborn is 2-3 weeks old because the babies are more alert. When they are awake it tends to be a little easier to capture connection. Whether you are photographing the baby’s connection with the family or with the viewer, it can be a nice way to tell a story.
For rooms and space that allow, I like to step back and take the photo that allows the viewer to “peek in”. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect way for the family dog to join the photo. When taking these peeking-in shots, you can frame the shot with the door and/or crib if the room allows.
When Moms are comfortable being photographed nursing their babies it gives me an opportunity to walk around from different angles and document this special time. Newborns naturally eat often so don’t be afraid bring your camera and document a few of these photos for the family to enjoy.
This photo can be taken with the baby in their crib awake or sleeping and I think it helps to tell the story because this is where the baby spends so much of their time.
Photographing the parents looking at their baby in the crib is another idea to tell the story with a different perspective and creates connection between the parent and the baby. Another thing you can do is have the parents put their hand on the baby. Babies are so small so I always like to incorporate objects, furniture, and people in comparison to document their small size.
Placing the baby on a clean bed and photographing them from different angles is another way to tell the story. This one allows you to compare the size of the baby and remember what they felt like.
If you’ve had photos taken of your newborn, did you get any of these photos?
If you’re a photographer would you add anything else to this list?
Leave a comment below!
There's something so fresh and so new about a newborn baby coming into the world. I met this sweet family and felt special to be invited into their home. This little bundle of joy was 3 weeks old at the time I got to photograph her for her newborn session. She's already got the personality to not want to miss out on the world.
Sometimes newborns at this age have a hard time sleeping for us, but I was happy to have gotten a few sweet moments of being cuddled and awake with Mommy and Daddy. I love when the dads join in on the cuddling with baby, and the bond between a daddy and a baby girl is something so special. The way that this dad adored the most special girls in his life showed in these photos. I also wanted to make sure to capture the sweet moments of intimacy and nursing with Mommy because these moments will be gone so soon, and I love being able to provide families with images that they can look back on and remember the moment the way it felt.
Thinking about a newborn session? Check out the recent posts on the blog here and here. I'd love to hear from you if you're interested in booking!
I love meeting new families and learning about what makes their family special. Mom is a photographer and I am always excited to photograph another photographer because they get to actually be in the photos with their family! This was an in home lifestyle newborn session so the focus was capturing the newborn in her natural environment. The home makes the perfect backdrop for lifestyle newborn photos!
I loved how natural the family was and baby girl got all the love! How cute is her older brother being so loving and giving her all of the kisses!
I always like to spend time with not only the family for photos of the newborn and the family, but also the little things like the sibling playing with blocks in his room. Mom and I chatted for a while and just let him do his thing. If you're interested in a lifestyle family session, head on over to say hello and we can chat about booking a session!
From the two year old's that I've come across, what I notice is that they are either suuuuper outgoing or just a little shy. The way I got this little guy to interact with me was to allow him to talk about his car and we hit it off! I love the ability to add in toys, homes and hobbies into lifestyle sessions because it's a nice natural way to capture those family moments. This little guy became a big brother two weeks ago to his new baby brother and you can tell by these photos that he is already in so much love!
Aren't they just the cutest? I'd love to meet you family and capture some special moments in your life so if you're interested in a lifestyle family session, head on over to my contact page to say hello! Soon this little guy will be a Six Month Sitter and he will have many more moments for outside playtime!
A friend of mine mentioned she had a friend that was interested in a newborn session. I was so happy when she reached out to me and I was able to photograph their 3-week-old newborn. I was happy that we got to spend a lot of time in Krishan's nursery, where Mom and Dad put some special touches to things that were important to them. This baby is so loved already.
This little guy stayed awake for most of the session, but it was great to document his adorable eyes! He was wide awake and it seemed like he really didn't want to miss out on the fun.
With Mom and Dad being first time parents, it's not hard to believe that it takes lots of work and patience to comfort and soothe a new baby, that does not yet know what's going on in the world!
I couldn't help but to get some closeup shots of this adorable little munchkin. He has grown so much since being just a wee-bit 3-week-old newborn!
These lifestyle newborn sessions are the best! If you are interested in booking a session, please say hello! If you want to keep browsing some more adorable babies and loving families, head on over to the blog here!
