Lifestyle Newborn Sessions – What to Expect

Lifestyle newborn sessions are a popular choice lately, but as a mom draws near to her due date, she often wonders what to expect during her session. How should she prepare for her session. What should she wear! 

If this is you, then read on! This blog post was written for you!

What to expect during your lifestyle newborn sessions

Lifestyle sessions are a little more relaxed than a posed newborn session, mainly because the baby does not need to be asleep. To achieve posed newborn images, we typically need the baby to be in a deep sleep, however, this is not true for lifestyle images. If baby is happy, we can shoot! A home with a lot of light is always preferred but it’s not a deal breaker. Many dark rooms provide some beautiful moody images which I tend to prefer. Shadows in photography is beautiful and provides depth to an image. Do not be afraid. 

WHAT ROOMS DO YOU SHOOT IN? WHAT TIME OF DAY DO YOU SHOOT?

The main areas of the home that I typically shoot in are the nursery, the parents’ bedroom, and typically a living or family room. I choose the rooms with the best light, and often times those rooms have the biggest windows. But not always. I typically do these shoots at around 10:30/11ish am, because I’m looking for there to be light in your home. But you may have a home with afternoon light. If so, we would schedule for later in the day. We may also be working around a sibling’s nap schedule. This is the juggle of scheduling and is all communicated during your booking process and a time is selected appropriately.

 

WHAT PROPS DO YOU BRING TO YOUR LIFESTYLE NEWBORN SESSION?

Similar with posed newborn sessions, neutrals always work. Whites, creams, tans. Pastels are soft and pretty. Avoid black. 

A long maxi dress on mom is always pretty. A sweet cardigan is a nice added touch. Lace and soft flowing fabrics also photograph beautiful. Jersey knit can often show underwear lines in final images. 

Dad’s typically wear a neutral color as well. Or blue. If they wear a button down, have them roll up the sleeves for a more comfortable feel. 

Here is the difference with lifestyle sessions, your home is the backdrop. You really need to think about your outfit and how it will look with your walls, your bedding, etc. So, neutrals tend to work well because they will “match” whatever room you are in. 

However, there is an exception…. if you have a very neutral home, (i.e., Grey walls, white furniture), it can be beautiful in your final image to wear a bold color, IF you want to stand out in the final image. Example, emerald green, blue or the yellow you see below. 

BUT, if you have a home with colors, I would stick with neutrals. You can’t go wrong! And your images will never feel dated. 

CLEANING AND PREP

The wonderful thing about lifestyle sessions is they are convenient because they are done in your home. The big misconception is you must clean your entire home to shoot. Or, that you need a model home. 

This is not true. 

While we do need the area to be clean, we only need the rooms we are shooting in to be clean. Not your whole house. And by clean, I mean picked up. I do not need you to scrub your toilets. I need you to hide any clutter. 

1. Clear off those dressers, we don’t want to see your reading materials or breast pumps. Pick up your dirty clothes off the floor and hide the laundry baskets.  
2. Consider neutral, solid bedding. It will photograph better. A white comforter is ideal. The camera will not know if your bedding came from Pottery Barn or Walmart. It’s the neutrality that we are looking for, not the cost. Amazon is perfect for this. 
3. Buy fresh flowers. Better yet…make your hubby buy you some fresh flowers! Fresh flowers always add that beautiful natural element. If you have plants in your home, that will work too! Point them out to me if I don’t see them because we should use them! Plants and/or flowers help bring life to the image. 
4. Remove the diaper pail from the nursery and hide any wires from the baby monitor or phone chargers. Throw the piled-up mail in a drawer.
5. Throw everything you don’t want to remember in a laundry basket and tuck it away in the closet or hallway, just for during the shoot. 

As always, if you have any questions, please reach out or email me here!

Thanks!

Laurie