Congratulations to you!!! Thank you for allowing me the amazing and rewarding job of photographing your new baby in his/her first few days/weeks of life. I am truly honored to be able to capture this incredible time in your lives and look forward to getting to know you and your sweet baby!

WHAT TO EXPECT

I absolutely LOVE in-home sessions SO MUCH! I love them because they get to showcase your brand new family member in the comfort of their own home with their parents, siblings, and pets! Babes change SO MUCH in those first few weeks, so I love being able to capture that brand new goodness for parents in the comfort and familiarity of their own home.

The best time for in-home sessions are during daylight hours, usually in the morning (starting your session between 9am – 1pm usually gives the best light and happiest babe!). I realize sometimes with big siblings/family members this time frame is not always possible, but I will do my best to work with whatever time works for your family and babe.

I LOVE natural light and I love capturing your new babe and family in the natural light in your house!! We will be embracing your home’s natural light (open up those window blinds!), turning off the overhead lights and taking advantage of the natural brightness as much as possible (another reason why I like doing these sessions during the bright part of the day). I’ll pop you all next to windows as much as possible for those pics — we will take full advantage of the light coming into your house, as you can see in the picture to the right. Even on the cloudiest (and even rainiest too!) days, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with how much the outside light comes in to give you the best possible pictures!

If the natural light is not sufficient enough (trust me I get it, some houses are dark – my own house included!) I will use my flash at a very low power to bounce off of the ceiling to add just enough light to illuminate you all in your space.

This is one step that we don’t want to over look. When you are preparing for your session, (day before or morning of) it is a good idea to look around the room and put away anything and everything that you don’t want to show in your final images. I know that our gut reaction these days (I’m guilty, too!) is to say “Oh that can be photoshopped,” but the truth is that is very time consuming and can end up costing quite a bit!

• Things to declutter:
• -nightstands
• -cords
• -dressers
• -countertops
• -end tables
• -anything that shows underneath your bed

Try and feed babe shortly before your session time. This ensures baby has a full belly and will hopefully be happy and cooperative for pics! If you would like any feeding/nursing pictures, we absolutely can do this at the beginning of the session…so hold off feeding babe until I get there and we’ll get some feeding/nursing pics done first!

Turn up that heat! I’ve found that baby is soooooo much happier in a warm environment. This allows for babe to be comfortable and isn’t so upset to have their clothes changed if the house is extra warm.

What to wear? This is totally up to you! I tell moms to pick their outfit first and build others outfits around that. I do encourage moms to wear something comfortable and flowy so as not constricting on their fresh postpartum body. Having a light sweater or cardigan to go over your outfit works well too for pictures. Personally, I prefer a monochromatic, but also light and airy look. I gravitate toward wearing whites and pastels because that’s what I like to hang on my walls. We can also consider adding in florals to help you tie more colors together.

Since this is a lifestyle, very heavy on the candid and documentary nature of a session, I leave any ‘props’ that you’d want to include up to your discretion! You can absolutely round up your own items to incorporate into photos, such as your own swaddles, hats, basket, headbands, outfits, etc… for babe. Outfit/blanket changes are absolutely okay and I love when we get some a variety of pictures of babe in different outfits and blankets!

What types of pictures will I take? I cannot emphasize enough the lifestyle nature of this session: it is super heavy on the candids and truly just capturing your new life at home with your newest family member! We will do lots and lots of candid pics to really get some genuine smiles and laughs and all of that with babe. You can see below why these are my favorite — they really capture all of the wonderful (and range of!!) emotions going on at this new stage of your life.

When do we schedule a newborn session? I typically advise parents to schedule as soon as they feel comfortable after birth! Truly, the ‘newer’ the baby, the better the session typically goes. The younger babe is typically the sleepier they are = more cooperative for pictures. Sometimes after a few weeks baby acne sets in, scratches appear, etc… so I really try and encourage in-home sessions as close to birth as possible/comfortable for families. Ideally within the first two weeks after birth, but the sooner the better 🙂

How long do newborn sessions last? Typically between 45-60 minutes. I know how precious that time is those first few weeks after babe has arrived so I don’t want to overtake that for your family, so I try and be quick and efficient in getting you all of the snaps you want. Providing me with a list of some shots you’d like to get definitely helps too! While you probably provided some on your newborn contract, you can always email/message me other ideas as well.

When will I get my pics? I try and have a speedy turnaround time for my clients, especially when it comes to new babes cause I know how much you want to see those pics! I try and have teasers up on my social media pages the same day as your session (if requested!), and then have your full gallery back to you via email within a week or two of your session.

You can check out some more newborn examples below, or even on my facebook page. I cannot wait for your in-home newborn session and to snap some brand spankin’ new pics of your new babe!

I do want to mention I am fully vaccinated against COVID19 as well as up to date on all of my other vaccinations, including (but not limited to) Tdap, flu, and MMR.

When in doubt, ask me! I’ve been photographing babes for well over 12 years and I can absolutely help guide you with any questions you have in regards to what to expect at your newborn session, what to wear, etc… I am always happy to help my wonderful clients!

Bonus: For the family pups! 

Finally, to wrap up this guide to prepare for your lifestyle newborn session, many families that I work with want to include their dog in their lifestyle newborn session. I am all for it! If you’d like to try to get a few pup pictures, just be sure that you have some high reward treats on hand. Sometimes we can get them up close and kissing the baby, looking into the crib, or just sitting nicely for a family portrait. Either way, treats always help!

See you soon!

Ryan