Newborn Sessions: What’s your style?
Capturing new arrivals is definitely a major highlight of my job as a newborn portrait photographer, and I am honoured each and every time I am chosen to help my clients document this special time. The majority of my newborn portrait work has been completed in-studio, but over the years I have had the opportunity to capture newly expanded families in their own homes via a lifestyle newborn session approach. The two options focus on individual baby portraits as well as family shots, but in terms of style, they are documented differently.
In order for my clients to be able to choose the best option to suit them and their needs, I thought I would share some details about each session offering.
In-Studio Newborn Sessions take place within my in-home studio and tend to be more structured. There are certainly more materials and equipment that is required for these sessions also. Prior to each session, I plan out the various set-ups and poses that I wish to try to achieve during the session. Colour schemes are discussed with my clients, and based on those details the corresponding accessories and props are selected and prepared for the session. The parent and family poses are shot against a neutral coloured backdrop, and the individual baby portraits are shot using a large beanbag, as well as in various types of props on the floor. Ideally babies are asleep for the majority of these posed newborn sessions, and for this reason I keep the studio temperature quite warm, encourage my clients to feed baby prior to the session, and also use some other techniques to get baby to sleep. Although it is still possible to achieve beautiful imagery of an awake infant, I reserve the more intricate poses for asleep babies.
Lifestyle Newborn Sessions take place within the client’s home and have a more laid-back kind of approach. In terms of equipment used - I arrive with my camera and a couple of wraps to use to swaddle baby, and that is it! Typically 2-3 different rooms within the home are used, and it is important that these areas have a good source of natural light. As a photographer, I prefer rooms that are light, bright and airy feeling. The nursery, master bedroom and the living room/family room tend to be the most often used rooms. The family and baby are photographed within their own home environment, without the use of props or a formal ‘set up.’ Although I encourage families to choose areas in their home where they would feel comfortable being photographed, sometimes it may be necessary to move some furniture or declutter the spaces prior to the session, just so that nothing distracts from the subjects in the image. For example, bed side alarm clocks or diaper pails may have a “home” within a room, but they aren’t necessarily something that you want to be captured in your imagery, so these things can be moved temporarily for an in-home lifestyle session. It is also important to note that bolder paint colours on walls can create colour casts, and for this reason I love to photograph in spaces that are decorated in light and neutral tones. Because the poses during these sessions tend to be more simple, it is not imperative that baby sleeps for the session.
There are benefits and drawbacks to each session type, but my goal for each is the same - to quietly capture the connection amongst baby and their family, document the details, and provide beautiful imagery for my clients so that they can commemorate and cherish this special, fleeting time.
One session type may seem more appealing over the other. I’d love to know - which one appeals more to you?? The In-Studio Newborn option, or the In-Home Lifestyle option? Leave your comment below!
In-Studio Session
In-Home Lifestyle Session
