Goshen County, Wyoming Family Photographer - What to Expect at a Lifestyle Newborn Session

What’s a lifestyle newborn session?  How do you prepare for it?

As a family photographer working in southeast Wyoming, I’m occasionally asked to shoot newborn sessions.  I love offering my clients lifestyle newborn sessions!  But what is a lifestyle newborn session?  How is it different than a traditional newborn session?  How can you prepare for a lifestyle newborn session?  I’ll try to answer those questions and more here today!

What is a lifestyle newborn session?

A lifestyle newborn session is a cozy, intimate session that focuses on taking pictures of your baby in your home and interacting with your family.  This type of session allows you, as the parent, to look back on this amazing time with your new baby and relive those first snuggles, tiny baby bits and the emotion and love you feel pouring out of your heart on a regular basis.  Some of your session will be documentary-style…capturing small moments of this chapter in your life.  We will also do some more structured images where I offer gentle guidance on interacting with your baby and other family members.

Why do I love lifestyle newborn sessions?  

First, you get to hang out in the comfort of your home.  I’ve been there, mama!  You’re tired, you’re emotional.  You REALLY want pictures of this amazing little person you created, but you’re also exhausted.  Just the idea of gathering up all the necessary accouterments required to take your baby somewhere makes you want to curl up in a ball on the floor.  So don’t!  We will shoot pictures in your environment, where you and your baby are comfortable, relaxed and feel at home!

Second, a lifestyle newborn session captures real emotion and documents this really cool season of your life.  We will take pictures in your home, of the nursery you so lovingly created.  We’ll capture interactions between you and your new baby.  We’ll let brothers and sisters in on the fun and capture them cooing and snuggling the new baby.  These images evoke joy and connection!

Finally, a lifestyle newborn session is really flexible.  It doesn’t need to be done within days of giving birth, so you have more time to recover and settle in to your new normal.  We can shoot a newborn session a week, a month or even a few months after you give birth!  And because we don’t need a completely sleepy baby, the sessions are shorter and are easier to work around your schedule.

How is a lifestyle session different than a traditional posed newborn session?

Posed newborn sessions are more formal and use wraps, props and often special backgrounds.  They are more labor and time-intensive for both the photographer and the parents and can often last three to six hours.  If you’ve ever heard of the froggy pose or the Huck Finn pose, those are some of the poses that might be used in a traditional newborn session.  Because they take longer and require more investment of props, rugs and backgrounds, traditional newborn sessions are often more expensive than lifestyle sessions.

Lifestyle sessions, on the other hand, are much more relaxed.  They focus less on perfect poses and wraps and more on the interactions between you and your new baby, your family and your home.  These are completed in your home instead of a studio.  These are the types of sessions I offer!

There is no best newborn session…it depends on what you’d like!  If after reading this guide you decide you’d prefer a traditional newborn session, please contact me and I’m happy to refer you to a well-trained photographer in your area that offers traditional newborn sessions!

What to expect in a lifestyle newborn session?

After meeting you and your family and reviewing our goals for the session, I like to scope out your home.  I look for areas with great natural light, room to manuever and the most friendly colors and decor.  My favorite rooms for newborn lifestyle images are the nursery, master bedroom and living room.  But we might also find a really neat nook or cranny that has great light and a fun color scheme to use!

The pace and flow of the session is dictated by your baby!  When she is awake and active, I’ll document your daily activities like feeding, changing or snuggling.  As she drifts off to sleep, we’ll do more snuggling shots and some shots of her sleeping in her crib, on your bed or just in your arms.  If he’s fussy and you need some time and space to settle, I’ll use that time to shoot some details of the nursery and your home while you and your little guy regroup.  I’m a mom…I know that we need to adapt and take our cues from the baby!

I will bring a few wraps and rugs with me for a traditional portrait or two.  I’ll also offer gentle guidance for you on posing and snuggling so we capture the best intimate moments we can!

How to prepare for a newborn lifestyle session?

Promise me one thing…don’t go crazy trying to get your house perfect and cleaned from top to bottom for your session.  That will only stress you out.  LIfestyle newborn sessions are all about real life…your house is supposed to look lived in!  I’m there to hang out with you and your new baby daughter.  So don’t worry about dirty dishes in the sink or the dog hair on the carpet.  Mama to mama…ain’t nobody got time for that kind of judgement!

What you can do is prep your space some.  Tidy up those rooms I mentioned, like the nursery, master bedroom and living room.  If you have clutter but don’t have the emotional capacity to put it away, just tuck it in a closet or another room.

I also recommend you turn up the heat a little (or turn off the AC!).  It can feel a bit hot to you, but you’ll make your baby toasty and happy!

What your baby wears during our session is entirely up to you.  I suggest something simple and form-fitting like a neutral or subtle colored onesie.  If you want some of those naked baby shots, we can also make that happen!  Most of the time, we’ll have baby swaddled like a little sack of potatoes, so choose your favorite swaddle blanket or two for us to use.  Also, collect any items you might like to use in our session, such as a special quilt or stuffed animals.  We will discuss these items when I arrive and decide how and when to use them!

What to wear for your newborn lifestyle session?

Keep it real and keep it comfortable, friend!  This is a lifestyle session, so I want you to be comfortable an feel like yourself (or as much as you can feel like yourself after birth and adjusting to life with a tiny human!)  I like neutral colors and flowy fabrics (like a flowy shirt, maxi dress, etc.) for mom and neutrals and no logos or bold patterns for dad.  Keep it casual.  I LOVE the look of bare feet in these images!  Take time to take a shower and primp some but don’t feel like you need to be perfect.  Just be a happy, glow you!

Relax!

Inviting a photographer into your home, especially when you are tired and emotional, can be stressful.  You want everything to be PERFECT!  But don’t place that burden on your shoulders, mama!  We are capturing real-life here, not perfection.  We will embrace this season of your life as it is and it will be beautiful, I promise!  So don’t stress mess, a fussy baby or rambunctious siblings.  That’s life and I’ll roll with it and coach you through it, too.  And in the end, you’ll have a beautiful baby and pictures of this incredible moment that you’ll love.