I had the pleasure of documenting this in-home lifestyle newborn photography session in Belmar New Jersey in February of 2021. This sweet family of three was temporarily staying in their family’s house in Belmar as they searched for a home of their own. A common theme in the year 2021 I noticed was families moving from NYC to the Jersey Shore to get away from the city and grow their families near the beach and in the suburbs.

I remember speaking with this couple as they were on their way back into the city for a doctor’s appointment and they were remarking how they had not initially planned on doing newborn photos, but once Miss L was born, they could not imagine NOT having this time documented.

I have been seeing that more and more the longer I am in business.

Even me, myself, did not have a professional photographer come to the house to take family portraits until my first born was almost 3 months old. I foolishly thought I could document the time on my own and while I did get my daughter’s squishy newborn goodness, I have very few photos of myself with my daughter during those first few weeks and no professional images of my husband and myself together with her.

I am grateful for the family photos we do have from when she was a few months old, but that newborn stage is so incredibly fleeting that I wish I had done it sooner. For my second, I wised up and hired a professional photographer to come sooner after his birth for newborn and family photos and even had one present for his birth! I invested a lot in both of those photographers but it was honestly worth every penny.

If you’re on the fence about hiring a newborn photographer, please just do it. You won’t regret it!