Preparing for your Lifestyle Newborn Session

What is a lifestyle newborn session?

A lifestyle newborn session is a session that documents your family’s natural rhythms as a growing family. Rather than heavily posed and poised positions, a lifestyle newborn session is organic and captures the

Scheduling your lifestyle newborn session:

Book your newborn session at least a couple of months prior to your little one’s arrival! Though the actual date of birth might vary, it’s helpful for us both to have a date to earmark. This also gives us plenty of time to discuss your vision and how we’ll work together!

Most lifestyle newborn sessions take place about 2 weeks after your baby is born! This timeframe is adjustable based upon your family’s needs and preferences. Usually babies go through a major growth spurt at around 4 weeks of age and they’re much more alert!

One of the most important factors in a lifestyle newborn session is lighting! Lighting in your house will vary by season, by time of a day, and by weather conditions. Rooms with two sources of light (as opposed to a window on one wall) are best for natural light! We will keep all overhead lights off during the session (this includes lamps or accessory lighting as well).

Are there any areas of the house that are really special to your family that you’ll definitely want to use? Make note of when that room has the best light and let’s talk before hand!

If your house is like mine and it’s a 1960s ranch style home, your lighting might be very limited. In that case, we can discuss a studio session!

Before our session:

As you prepare for your lifestyle newborn session, start planning what you and baby will wear! I always recommend having a few outfits for both mom and baby on hand, just in case we need to make a quick wardrobe adjustment. Lighter, neutral colored clothing items are best for in-home sessions so that the pieces of clothing aren’t reflected on anyone’s skin.

Leading up to the session, think about personal items that you might want to include in the session. Heirloom rattles, hand-knit blankets, passed-down stuffed animals, or a favorite children’s book are always sweet to incorporate. Additionally, if an older sibling has wooden blocks or toys let’s plan to play with those during the newborn session!

On the day of the session, it’s typically helpful to have baby fed about 20 minutes prior to our start time. We’ll follow baby’s lead during the session, but we usually start with baby in a fresh diaper and outfit and try to get some sweet snuggles in by swaddling your little one! I always recommend having a sound machine nearby to help soothe your little one!

If grandparents are present, we’ll certainly try to include a few images with them! And of course, pets are always welcome!