What to expect from your lifestyle newborn photography session
What is lifestyle newborn photography?
Often families are looking for a certain style of newborn photography, but don’t quite know how to describe it. They know they don’t want posed photos with props, and instead want something more natural and candid. This style of photography is called ‘lifestyle newborn photography’ – where we aim to capture the beauty and realness of your newborn and your family in your own home. I offer lifestyle newborn photography in Melbourne and surrounds.
How is it different to studio photography?
Studio sessions involve travelling to a photographer’s studio to capture your photos. These are often more posed in style, and sometimes include different props and assorted wraps and hats. These sessions are often quite long, as the goal of these is to have the newborn very sleepy for the photos.
How is it different to documentary photography?
Documentary photography involves purely capturing real moments at home (this might include changing a nappy, bathing your child, eating meals, playing with toys etc). Lifestyle newborn photography includes an element of this, however is a little more styled, and does include some mild posing. This might include me giving you some gentle prompts, such as where to stand/sit, where to place your hands, but at the same time keeping it relaxed and natural. I have lots of cues to help toddlers connect with you and your newborn. And I also ensure to capture different family combinations as well as your newborn by him/herself.
How do I book?
To book in your newborn photography session, you can contact me here. I love to hear a bit about your family, so please let me know your due date, where you live and who is in your family. I ask for a deposit to secure your session, then I pencil in your due date in my calendar. Once your baby arrives, you can just send me a text and we lock in a day and time. I usually do sessions in the morning, as babies tend to be more settled, but we can do the afternoon too!
I highly recommend you book in before your baby arrives. Too often I receive emails from mums who have already had their baby, and in busy times I may not be able to fit you in for a number of weeks.
What age is best?
For those more ‘sleepy’ photos, I recommend we do the session around 6-14 days of age. This isn’t a hard and fast rule – some babies are always unsettled, and others are sleepy and chill for weeks! But generally babies tend to still be quite sleepy at this age, and they haven’t broken out in baby acne yet.
But if your baby is older, please don’t lose heart. The beauty of lifestyle newborn photography is that the photos are more about the connection between you and your children, rather than the more posed studio photos you often see. So if bubs is awake and looking up at you, these photos can be just as gorgeous!
What should we wear in our session?
Lifestyle photography is about capturing genuine memories. Therefore I want you to feel comfortable in what you wear – it should be to your style and taste.
Colours
The best colours to wear are generally more neutral, soft and earthy tones (such as olive green, mustard, tan, cream, brown, white, warm pastels and soft blues). However, if you love wearing colour, then please do! I would suggest if mum is wearing something bright, maybe keep your partner and children’s outfits a little more neutral to balance things out. I do suggest avoiding a lot of black, fluoro colours, logos and heavy jewellery.
Mum
Flowy clothing photographs beautifully – maybe a flowy dress or top. And linen and lace look beautiful. If you’re breastfeeding, try to wear something breastfeeding friendly.
Newborns
Keep it simple – you want to see those chubby arms and legs and teeny tiny feet. A plain bodysuit is best – one with press studs at the bottom (so we hide the nappy). This might be a plain white singlet, or a simple little romper or bloomers. Have backups handy in case of spews and nappy leaks!
Siblings & Partners
I suggest deciding on mum’s outfit first, then your newborn, then siblings and the other parent. If mum’s outfit is quite bright/lots of patterns, keep the other outfits more simple. And if mum’s outfit is quite neutral, you could add a bit more colour and patterns in your kid’s outfits. Flowy dresses are often nice for girls, and a simple t-shirt or shirt with chinos, jeans or shorts works well for boys and dads.
Footwear
For in-home sessions, I recommend going with bare feet, or simple sandals. Socks are often grubby and don’t look great in photos!
How can we prepare for our session?
Have your house nice and warm. This helps keep your baby nice and sleepy and relaxed.
Have some lovely wraps and blankets handy – a mix of neutral and colourful/patterned ones is good. Knitted or crochet blankets can add some nice texture. If you have anything sentimental (like a blanket knitted by grandma), have that handy too and we can use them in some photos.
Aim to feed your baby just before I arrive.
If you can, try to do a general tidy and remove any obvious clutter (such as on bedside tables). But please don’t worry about doing a thorough clean – I make sure to move aside any clutter in the background of images.
How can we include older siblings?
Many of my newborn lifestyle sessions include older siblings. Parents often worry about their toddler sitting still for photos – but I have some great tricks which help. Lifestyle photography doesn’t rely on everyone smiling and looking at the camera, rather capturing connection between family members. Here are some tips for your session involving a toddler:
Word them up beforehand! Talk about how fun getting photos with their little sibling will be, and how much of a big help they will be.
When I arrive, I give your toddler a lot of attention – ask them to show me their room and toys, and take some individual photos of just them.
If your toddler is happy and cooperating, we will then start photos including them – with the whole family and with their new sibling. If your toddler isn’t ready and needs more warming up, I’ll start with just the baby and go from there.
I keep the photos with your toddler short and sharp, and mix things up to keep it fun.
Have lots of snacks handy!
What does a lifestyle newborn photography session typically look like?
When I arrive, I’ll first have a little look around your house to find the best spaces and light. I only use natural light (no flash and I turn off overhead lights), so rooms with lots of windows and light are best. Usually we mainly use the main bedroom, but we also might use the lounge, nursery and backyard.
We will then try to get your newborn sleepy if possible – this makes for more settled photos (they can make some funny faces when awake!), and then go from there. The photos will include different combinations of just your newborn, and your newborn with different family members. If toddlers are involved, we often let them take the lead, and involve them when the time is right!
If your baby is unsettled, you can feed them as much as needed (and if you would like some breastfeeding photos, please let me know!). If you are using a dummy, this can be helpful. We will also wrap your baby, and white noise is often helpful.
Sessions usually go for 60-90 minutes, depending on how we go getting your newborn to sleep. However, if your newborn is awake the whole time – we still get beautiful photos, and capture your little one’s personality!
How do we receive our photos?
I edit all of your images in my style, and provide them to you via a beautiful online gallery. You can share the gallery with family and friends, and download the high-res images from there. If you want to get prints or framed prints, you can purchase these through the gallery. Your gallery will be ready within 3 weeks after your session.
If you would like to book in your newborn session with me, please get in touch via my contact form. I’d love to hear from you and meet your family!