How to Prepare Your Home & Baby for Your Newborn Photography Session

Congratulations on booking a newborn portrait session! You will be so happy to preserve these very special memories. Knowing it’s on the calendar is the first and sometimes hardest step to take in this process. This guide will walk you through the rest! I love helping my families plan for their sessions in a relaxed, stress-free way. Let’s get started.

DON’T Stress

In a newborn lifestyle photography session, your home becomes the studio which can make moms feel stressed, overwhelmed, and like they need to renovate their entire home while juggling newborn life. BUT it doesn’t have to be that way. After just having a baby, the last thing I want you to do is worry about cleaning your whole house for photos! Focus on the best part: the photos are real life! Whether it’s your dog checking in on their new sibling in the crib, or parents rocking baby to sleep in that chair that they’ll be spending SO many sleepless nights in, the session will truly reflect this wonderful (and a little crazy!) time in life.

There are only a few easy things I want you to do so we can have a successful newborn session.

First, decide which room in your home has the best natural light coming through the windows in the mid-morning. We all know that here in Michigan, some days can be dark and grey. As a natural light photographer, I only use the natural light in your home, so pick a room that has the most light.

At the same time don’t worry too much about this task because even if your brightest room still feels a little dark, it won’t stop me from taking beautiful photos of your newborn at home.

I recommend choosing a bedroom because I love to take some photos of you and your family snuggling on a bed. If you have one, please put a white or neutral colored comforter or blanket on the bed.

I also shoot a good portion of the session in the nursery, so please have the curtains wide open and the shades up to let in natural light. Go ahead and turn off ALL the lights and lamps in these rooms as well. It might seem dark, but my camera can do magical things that the lights will ruin later on!

Select the Space

De-Clutter

Your home does NOT have to be perfect. It’s your home and it’s supposed to look lived in. You can focus on de-cluttering your home, which means just tidying up a bit and basically tossing anything extra in a closet until I leave. This includes allll the extra burp rags, the breast pump, and extra pacifiers laying everywhere!

Remove any items from the bedside tables in the bedroom and anything else you don’t want to show in the photos. For example, if you have a bedside bassinet by your bed, move it away from the bed. When I take snuggly family newborn photos on the bed the bedside tables and anything near the bed will be in view. If you’d also like photos in the nursery, pick up anything that is out of place and put a crib sheet in the crib. Don’t forget to set out any sentimental items you might want to include in the photos with baby.

Things to look for and consider moving to another room:

Clutter, cords, unsightly objects, busy/distracting wall art or decor.

THE SIMPLER THE BETTER!

Wardrobe

For my editing style, think light colors, white, and pastels. If you’re comfortable wearing a flowy sundress (even in winter), bonus point to you because they photograph the best! Make sure you have a solid outfit ready for baby (a white onesie or muslin swaddle is always a great option) and perhaps a second outfit that shows a bit more personality. Make sure you have backups on hand for both you and baby! Unexpected blowouts or a big spit up might happen!

I encourage either a white or neutral crib sheet, so if you don’t own one, perhaps pick up one for $10 at Target beforehand! Crib sheets with too much color will reflect onto baby’s face, casting a colorful shadow that’s challenging to edit out later on. Too much pattern on the crib sheet will also distract from your baby in the photos, so keep it pretty simple. You’ll thank me later for this tip!

Prep the Crib

Try to feed baby right before the session starts until baby is full. Then straight to diaper change, then into their outfit last. Be prepared to do bonus small feedings if baby gets fussy! We work around baby’s needs. Just remember that the goal is a FULL, DRY, & SLEEPY baby!