Is Your Home Right For A Lifestyle Newborn Session

The Woodlands Newborn Photographer

So, you’ve decided that lifestyle newborn is right for you- you love how organic, and natural it feels. You like the raw emotions captures and the simplicity of the session. Awesome! Now what?
There are so many incredibly talented photographers out there with amazing skills and abilities- basically just masters and wizards of their field. But it’s so important to consider your style and your home when trying to decide if an in-home newborn is right for you.

• First- consider the direction your home faces. I personally don’t feel that there is a perfect direction for a home to face. But if you get harsh light in the morning that comes straight into your windows, it can make that time of day difficult to photograph. My best advice is to pay attention to these three rooms- the nursery, the living room, and the master bedroom. If these spaces have harsh light shining straight into the room, it may not be a good fit. Pay special attention to them mid-morning and midday.

• Windows! If these rooms have small, tiny or limited windows, and they are dark….an in-home newborn might not be right for you. My children’s rooms have amazing light in the morning. It doesn’t shine directly into their rooms except for right as the sun rises, so it’s really very pretty. But for the rest of the day, it’s pretty dark and would be hard to find good light. No matter how much of a camera-wizard someone is, lighting is still a vital part of the equation. Try opening your blinds, or raising them completely to see if that lets in more light.

• Consider the style of your home. Our house is older and has some weird little nooks and spaces. I personally love them but they can be harder to photograph. There are parts of my home that are dark and would never make for good pictures inside. Newer houses tend to have more windows, open floor plans and allow for more light. If your house is older, consider sending me a picture or two of each space we are considering to see if it would be a good match.

• Think about your furniture and decor. The way I like to decorate is more natural and homey. My style is darker and so I have a lot of darker pieces. This makes it even harder to have the inside of my home photographed! But if you have lighter furniture and more open set ups, your house would photograph really well. (Check out the session below! This family had a wall of windows and a lot of neutral and white furniture!).

• Another thing to think about is how much cleaning and tidying you want to do. I mean, let’s be honest, you just had a baby. If the thought of having to pick up, tidy areas of your house and prepare to have a photographer come into your home makes you want to punch someone in the face, let’s call it good, huh? But in all seriousness, I will be coming through and moving furniture, and helping to take some distracting items out of the frame for the photos. I will help with removing some things but it’s easier if the clutter is minimal. So making sure you have spaces that you actually want photographed- we can even work with nooks and stay near windows.

• Lastly! I would consider your space as a whole. I have three kids so I know all about clutter. But if your home is cluttered or has a lot of things on surfaces, it may not work well for an in-home newborn session. Of course, I have zero issue coming in and moving things. I may do that even if you don’t have any clutter. But if the spaces we are photographing have a lot of distractions, I would say consider doing a good deep clean or looking for a studio newborn session instead.

  Ok, so are you ready to see a family that pulled it off perfectly?! Your home doesn’t have to be perfect. Your family doesn’t have to be perfect. But you can do some simple things to make the setting of your home the perfect natural backdrop for newborn pictures that highlight the love and excitement of your family.