A more natural approach to newborn Photography

Monmouth County New Jersey and Beyond

When hiring a newborn photographer, it’s important to know what style of newborn photography the photographer focuses on and what style you prefer. There are many different styles but for the purposes of this blog I will be focusing on two: posed newborn photography and lifestyle newborn photography.

Posed newborn photography is when the photographer will position the baby in different poses either on a beanbag or in/on a prop such as a bowel, box, basket or a bucket. These sessions can take place in the home or in a studio but the photographer typically uses a backdrop and focuses primarily on the baby with a few shots of the parents and/or siblings.

Lifestyle newborn photography on the other hand typically occurs in your home or a studio that resembles a home-like setting. It focuses more on your family as a whole and the connection within your family with some images of baby alone. This is the style I focus on. This is where my heart rests.

I admit, I get the appeal of posed newborn photography. In fact, when I started out, I thought that was the only way to photograph newborns. I tried my hand at it. I took online classes and read all I could to learn how to do it properly, the equipment I needed and how to prepare. My first few sessions I tried. The babies ended up crying the majority of the time, the room was really warm and both myself and the parents were overheated and stressed. We could never get them quite sleepy enough, they hated being naked and I could not perfect the poses. At the time, I was also a newborn nurse. As I grew more in my profession as a nurse and as I adopted the role of mother myself, it was clear that mother and baby are hard to separate, so why not keep them together? I fell in love with the way the babies molded into their parents arms and how the parents lit up when they gazed at their babies. It was then that I discovered there was another way, lifestyle photography. As a mother, this really spoke to me. I wanted to remember my babies in everyday life, naturally, not how they would look on a beanbag in a position I would never place them in myself. (Again, when done properly, it can be beautiful, but it’s not for me). Having the whole family present for the majority of the session is important to me. I usually capture the baby alone towards the end of the session after he/she has a full belly, has had a few blow-outs and we get him/her in a nice warm swaddle.

Another reason I love doing in-home newborn sessions is that the families who put in a lot of effort to perfect the nursery can show it off. The baby is professionally documented in the room the parents curated for them while they were still just bumps in their mamas’ bellies.

Another thing to consider when booking a professional newborn photographer is the factor of time. Some posed newborn photographers will require you to book your session within the first 10 days of the baby’s birth as they are still very flexible and can be posed more easily and safely. Once the baby is 2 weeks old or older, they stretch out more and are more awake. Some posed photographers will still accept you after that timeframe, you just need to ask. For a lifestyle session, there is no time limit. I have an upcoming blog about why but in short, we do not pose the baby so there is no big rush. There may be reasons why you would want to do photos before the two week mark, but in general you don’t need to feel rushed to book.

If you’re wondering what a lifestyle session looks like, keep on scrolling to view more of this adorable family! Our session was a little bit in limbo due to a family emergency. However since my focus is on lifestyle, there was no rush to schedule their session. Baby girl was born a little early and the family wanted to capture her while she was still so tiny, but we were able to wait until they were more ready to commit to the session. Big brother was a little apprehensive at first, but I gave him his space and allowed him to warm up. While his baby sister got her diaper changed, he played with his daddy. He started to show off how he can jump, so I joined in and that was what won him over. The love in this family is so strong and it really comes through in their images. We even got some shots of grandma as well; I LOVE when grandparents are involved.

My calendar fills up quick, so be sure to contact me if you’re interested in booking a session; I’d love to capture your families unique connection!