Reasons why I love lifestyle newborn sessions.

Okay, so after about 9 months of carrying a baby, hours of intense labor, and after pain that no one told you about - oh and zero sleep - you are finally home and settled with your new beautiful baby. Sound familiar? The only thing is, now you are stressed about getting newborn photos done as soon as possible. But you can’t imagine how you will get everything together enough to leave your house and look half decent yourself. If when reading this, you feel some anxiety, then a lifestyle newborn session might be right for you. Here are some other reasons why:

The first reason, it’s comfortable and convenient.

As a mom of 3, I believe the best thing about lifestyle sessions is that they take place in your home. No need to pack up a million things, get the baby fed and hit the road by a particular time. Just stay put and focus on your baby.

You might be thinking that this means you need to clean your house from top to bottom before the shoot. I’m here to tell you - not at all. Usually these session’s will take place in one, maybe two, rooms in your house and that’s it. Whatever has the best natural light. From there, I tidy and move around anything that might be in your way. My goal is for you to be as comfortable as possible. You don’t need to worry about the little details.

Since you are at home, you have access to everything you need. Blankets, bottles, breast feeding pillow, new clothes - for you and the baby because you know something will end up with spit up on it. This really helps minimizes the stress of making sure you’ve packed everything you might possibly need. Because let’s be serious, mom brain is REAL and with the addition of exhaustion, you’ll be lucky enough to remember to put on your own underwear. You don’t have the time to be worrying about these types of things.

The whole experience is laidback.

In-home sessions are meant to be laid back and simple. The focus is on your little one and the bond you have with him or her. There are no expectations for your baby. They can be asleep, awake, on the bed or in your arms. However they feel that day is how they will be captured. Using a method called baby-led posing, your baby will be placed in natural and safe positions. This makes the experience much more enjoyable for baby and you!

The focus is on connection and love in your family.

Lifestyle session’s are focused on connection over perfection. Your baby is perfect the way he or she is, so my goal is to capture the connection between you and them. I want to capture the details like the way their little hand grabs your finger or the perfect swirl of their hair. The goal is for you to feel something when you look at your photos. Like how it felt to rock them or kiss their little head. They don’t need to be positioned a certain way to be perfect, they already are in your arms. My job is to capture those memories for you.

It’s easier to include siblings in the photos.

Because lifestyle newborn sessions take place at home, it much easier when involving siblings. To start, all kids are much more comfortable in their own home. It often takes them less time to warm up for photos because they are in a familiar place. It gives them the space to be themselves. If they want to lie down beside the baby - great. If they want to cuddle on the couch - that’s great too. If they would rather sit on the floor - yep, we can do that. Kids also have a limit. Sometimes they need a break. Being at home makes that easier. They can go play for a little and then come back when they are ready. No pressure.

The age of your baby doesn’t matter.

When it comes to posed newborn sessions, it always helps if the baby is sleepy so many photographers want the session to take place within the first two weeks. When it comes to lifestyle sessions, the baby spends most of the time in their parents arms. So it doesn’t matter if they are sleepy and it doesn’t matter how old they are. The most important thing is that mom is comfortable and ready for the session.. Those first couple weeks can be stressful, overwhelming and very tiring. I don’t want anyone to feel that they must have their photos taken before they are ready. It’s about the bond between you and your baby. That can be captured at any age.