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After waiting for nine long months, your baby will soon be here! Do you want to have memories of their first days of life in your home, but don’t know where to start? Don’t look any further! Here are five tips to nail your lifestyle newborn session.
1. Choose where the photos will take place
As a rule of thumb, the rooms used are the master bedroom and the baby nursery. These are often the most personal places in the house and will allow us to create unique memories. Furthermore, the rooms have to be well lit by windows. For instance, you should be able to easily read a book or look inside a drawer without having to turn on the lights. If the lighting conditions aren’t ideal in these rooms, we can use any other well-lit areas of your home, such as the living room, the guest bedroom and the kitchen for instance. If your whole home is dark, an in-studio newborn session will yield better results.
The best is to send me a few photos of the different spaces before the session so I can have a better idea of your environment and plan the photos accordingly. Furthermore, it’s also possible to do a part of the session outdoors if the weather allows it!
In every case, I recommend taking a few minutes before my arrival to tidy up and remove distracting objects from the decor. This includes the tissue box, the garbage bin, the old glass of water, the body lotion bottle, the laundry basket, dirty clothes, electronic cables, magazines, etc. This way, we can begin the session as soon as I get there and we won’t waste any time capturing your new family life!
2. Include personal elements
Since the photos take place at your home, it’s the perfect occasion to include a few personal elements. There are many possibilities, like a plushie, a book or a family heirloom. I have a soft spot for my clients’ blankets due to their versatility. They can be used to wrap the baby, add a touch of colour to your bedspread or lay on grass during summer. These objects you love will get to be part of your memories in a wonderful way!
Another possibility is to include your pet if it behaves nicely with your little one. Out of caution, I always keep a safe distance between them to avoid accidents. We can place the baby in their crib and let the pet look at them through the bars. Alternatively, we can do a family portrait where one of the parents holds the human baby while the other holds the fur baby! Four-legged friends are part of our families, it’s perfectly fine to include them if you want to.
3. Keep the rooms warm
Just like for in-studio newborn sessions, room temperature has an influence on the session proceedings. Your little one spent nine months being « cooked » at 37°C and they loved this sensation. When baby is dressed, the ideal room temperature is around 22°C. When baby is in a diaper or fully naked, the temperature should be around 28°C. This way, it’s less likely they will feel ambient air against their skin. They will be more relaxed and cooperative, which will make our job easier.
If you want photos with your baby in a diaper, I suggest undressing them and wrapping them in a warm blanket one hour before my arrival. This way, we won’t have to undress them during the session and this will allow them to peacefully fall asleep.
You can also use a portable space heater to quickly warm up a room. It can be placed close to the baby to keep them warm, which isn’t always possible with central heating. If the session takes place during summer, avoid using A/C. The rooms will definitely be too cold for your little one!
4. Wear the right clothes
As mentioned above, it’s very likely your house will be warmer than usual during your lifestyle newborn session. I suggest to dress accordingly, especially since hormones can be tricky after giving birth. The best is to wear a top made from natural fibres, such as cotton, and to add a textured cardigan over it. It will nicely complete your look and you can easily remove it if you’re too hot.
In the same vein, some pattern and colours should be avoided. The blog post « Five photography mistakes and how to avoid them » treat about this issue in depth.
5. Favour spontaneity
Contrary to in-studio newborn sessions, the goal of lifestyle sessions is to capture your lifestyle and to embrace its spontaneity. Consequently, there won’t be any posed photos on a beanbag and the baby doesn’t need to sleep soundly for the whole appointment.
We will work with your baby’s schedule and do what they allow us to do. Baby wants to sleep? We’ll take advantage of this moment to take photos with the parents and baby comfortably lying on the bed. Baby is awake and refuses to sleep? It’s the perfect occasion to give them cuddles and kisses! Baby cries and wants to be fed? No worries, you can rock them and give them their bottle while I photograph you.
We aim to capture this turning point by putting the emphasis on your relationship. A newborn only stays this small for a short period of time and your routine will quickly change over the next months. This session will give you faithful and tangible memories of what your life was like after their birth.
Last update: February 2024
Would you like to book a session like this? Contact me at lisamarie.savard@yahoo.ca to do so!
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