How To Prepare For A Lifestyle Newborn Session | Newborn Photographer, Cowichan Valley British Columbia

Here is a look at what to expect for a lifestyle newborn session in the comfort of your own home. Clients love that they can prepare at home, have everything they need close by for diaper changes, feedings, and more. Your baby and you feel most relaxed at home so why not capture those cozy moments there vs. getting ready and heading out the door to a different location. I offer relaxed, guided poses to capture the love between your family all while cuddled in the comfort of your family home.

A few things that help prepare you for your lifestyle newborn session…

You can have multiple outfits if you like, most prefer a swaddle blanket and diaper or a simple onesie or sleeper. Sentimental items are always appreciated, a hockey jersey for a favourite hockey team, hospital bracelet, measuring tape, hospital hat or swaddle blanket, a special blanket or sweater made by Grandma can all be included in photos if you’d like.

You don’t have to clean your house - honestly. I will come in and move furniture around a bit to setup if needed. Take a chair from one side of the room to the other because the light is better on that wall vs. the other type thing.

We really only use maybe 1-3 areas of your home for photos. I look for the most light in the home, big windows are the best to let all that natural sunlight in. The main bedroom for snuggles on the bed as a family, the living room and possibly the nursery (if it’s setup). There is no pressure to have everything completely ready in time for when a baby arrives, especially when it’s your second, third, or more baby. Motherhood is magical, but also hard to balance everything, and sometimes a nursery isn’t even complete for the next baby until 6 months after baby has arrived and that’s okay. It doesn’t mean you can’t still have newborn photos done at home, so do not stress yourself to have anything cleaned up and finished before a photo session.

For me, bright and airy photos are my favourite especially for a newborn session - so soft and lovely. The best time of day is usually late morning to mid day for your session, but it all depends on the direction your house is facing to see how much natural light you have in the rooms.

Most important, a lifestyle newborn session can be done anytime between 1-2 months after your baby is born. Obviously the sooner the better to capture those cute sleepy poses, but if you need extra rest to just get your groove with having a new little babe at home, I completely understand. We can make it work, these type of sessions I offer are very relaxed and go with the flow. If baby is sleeping, perfect, if baby is awake, that’s fine too - if baby is hungry, or needs a diaper change, take your time… we can pause and take some more photos once babe is feeling content again.

I hope this gives you a little more information on the look and feel of how a newborn lifestyle session would go. Take a look through some past sessions of mine over the years, and reach out if you want to schedule a session. I’d love to capture this precious time for you and your growing family!