Welcoming a newborn into your family is one of the most magical experiences in life, and capturing those special moments through photography is a wonderful way to cherish those memories for years to come. With the convenience and comfort of in-home newborn photography, you can capture these precious moments in a relaxed and familiar setting. In this blog post, we’ll share 10 tips for capturing beautiful newborn photography in the comfort of your own home, while including family members in the session.

1. Plan ahead

Before the session, it’s important to plan ahead and make sure everything is ready. Choose a location in your home that is well-lit and comfortable for the baby, and prepare any props or blankets that you want to use in advance.  We love incorporating special items which can include hand-made quilts, coming-home outfits, special books, or even something that represents your hobbies.  Our prep is pretty simple, with the main thing being a full/good feeding just before we start the session.

2. Timing is Key

The best time to photograph a newborn is during the first two weeks of life when they are still very sleepy and can be easily posed. It’s important to schedule your session with this in mind and to be flexible with the timing, as newborns can be unpredictable.  With our years of experience, we can generally get the sleepy/wrapped images up until about 6 weeks, but for the more unwrapped set-ups, we try to stay within a 2-4 week time range.  This can also vary based on the baby’s weight, due date (early babies tend to be sleepier for a few extra days/weeks), feeding schedule, and personality (some have FOMO and don’t want to miss out on what’s going on by falling asleep).  No matter what the timing is, we’ll get adorable images!

3. Keep it Simple

When it comes to props and accessories, less is more. Focus on simple, classic items such as a favorite blanket or a small hat, and let the baby be the main focus of the photos. We bring lots of goodies with us to your session…tiny headbands, hats, wraps, blankets, etc. These are all sized to fit newborns.  If you have something you want to incorporate, we’ll work with you to include it. 

4. Include Family Members

Including family members in the session can add an extra special touch to the photos. Encourage siblings, parents, or even grandparents to join in the photoshoot, and capture the love and connection between family members. We love fur babies, too!

5. Embrace the chaos

Newborn photography can be unpredictable, and it’s important to embrace the chaos and go with the flow. Allow the baby to take breaks as needed and be flexible with the schedule.  If small siblings will be joining in, we’ll start with them and see how it goes!

6. Capture the Details

Newborns are known for their adorable little features, and it’s important to capture those tiny details in your photos. We’ll focus on their little hands, feet, and facial expressions to capture the essence of their newness.  They’ll never be this small again (sniff-sniff)

7. Soft light

We use a combination of natural and soft strobe light to create the highest quality, professional images for you.  By incorporating studio lighting, we also can use areas of your home we might not otherwise be able to use. 

8. Unique angles

Using parents as the background, the nursery as part of the session, and even just zooming in and out, we’ll capture all the different ways you see your baby.

9. Keep it Safe

When posing the baby, safety is of the utmost importance. We are trained in baby safety and use posers and weights under our blankets.  We are also careful with wrapping and layers to make sure baby is comfortable and snuggly but not too warm. 

10. Enjoy the Moment

The most important tip for capturing beautiful newborn photography is for you to enjoy the moment. This is a special time in your family’s life, and it’s important to savor it and capture those memories to treasure for a lifetime.

Capturing beautiful newborn photography at home is a wonderful way to cherish those special moments in a relaxed and comfortable setting. We’ll be there with you every minute!