Do you want to do a in home new born session but are worried your house isn’t stylish or “put together” enough? My clients love in home newborn sessions because they get to stay in their own environment, it often means more in the pictures as it is familiar and lets face it, it isn’t easy to get anywhere on time with a newborn. I do however get asked all the time, “what if my house isn’t great?” or “my house isn’t very styled”. I am here to tell you it doesn’t matter! The most important factor is how much natural light you have. A nice big window in the bedroom is perfect, I have even been known to do session right next to the back door!
A lot of this session was shot right next to the back door due to the light in the home.
Obviously it is great if you are into styling your home but if you aren’t it really doesn’t matter, the photos will show who you are and who you are with which is the important part. It is best to clear the clutter away like water bottles, tissue boxes etc. I have done a number of sessions where we just move all of the “stuff” in the room to behind where I will shoot. It is better to keep a space clear of clutter and distraction so you guys are the main focus.
I also shoot a lot on the main bed (light permitting) so a nice plain quilt is usually best if possible. Bold colours and patterns can detract from bubby or clash with your outfits or bubs wraps. Also think about texture rather than pattern, texture comes up really well in photos and will often add an extra level of depth to your images so fabrics like Linen, wool or knits work really well over a flat cotton.
With outfits for bub avoid clothing. I know it is tempting to dress them up like a doll but when they are so young nothing really fits them very well. You are much better off with a cute knit nappy cover and wraps so we can see all that beautiful soft newborn skin or simple rompers (preferable with feet, hands and legs showing). This all said you do not need to go out and buy anything specific, I have a cute little collection of beautiful neutral newborn sized clothes as well as some gorgeous wraps and blankets that I bring along to every newborn session.
To prepare for the day I would ask that you have anything you want included in the photos pulled out and ready to show me when I get there. It will just save some time looking for things or running upstairs/downstairs and we can get started right away!
Don’t worry about feeding bubby before I get there etc. It really doesn’t matter, bub will no doubt need a feed sometime/s during the shoot (and be prepared that we will be feeding to calm bub rather than sticking to a 3 hourly feeding routine). Have bub either dressed in what you would like or in just a nappy and wrap before I get there so that if they are sleeping soundly I can get some shots before moving them around too much and waking them up.
Most importantly don’t stress on the day. I have been doing this now for 7 years and your bub won’t be the first one not to settle or your toddler won’t be the first one not to cooperate. We work with whatever is happening and I can always get shots, just sometimes in a different way. I won’t make a toddler do something they don’t want to do, It rarely works well to force them. Sometimes they are just not interested in the bub. There is a lot of changes going on in their world and my advice is to not make them, they usually get close enough at some point for me to get some shots.