In-Home Lifestyle Newborn Session Prep Guide

An in-home lifestyle newborn session is designed to capture authentic moments of a family and new baby in his or her natural surroundings – at home! These are some of my very favorite sessions to shoot. As a mama of four, I know how precious and special those first few weeks after welcoming a new baby are and being welcomed into your space during that time is an honor and privilege that I do not take lightly. I also understand how overwhelming it can be to think about what needs to be done to prep for an in-home lifestyle newborn session. This blog post is focused on helping you plan for your session with ease – the goal of ALL my sessions is for my clients to love the experience as much as they love the photos, and I hope this helps with that!

Looking for tips on what to do to prep for your in-home lifestyle newborn session?

Sharing them below:

Book Your Session.

I recommend to (if you can!) book your in-home lifestyle newborn session as early as your second trimester. This ensures that you get on the calendar and it’s always good to get a to-do checked off the list during pregnancy – it’s one less thing to think about! I book my newborn sessions by mama’s due date as I only take on a certain amount of sessions a month so that I make sure I have enough space for everyone! Then once your baby is here, you simply reach out and we will determine a date and time that works for both of us.

Of course if you are past that point in pregnancy, still reach out to see if I have availability and what we can make work!

Choose which room(s) you would like to photograph in.

Once you decide that you would like an in-home lifestyle newborn session, I will work with you on which room(s) you would like to photograph in. Many clients want to shoot mainly in their nursery, which is an ideal option since it represents your sweet baby and often, you have put a lot of work into it and it deserves to be well documented! Sometimes we also shoot in the master bedroom and/or the main living space in the home.

I shoot all of my sessions with natural light, and LOVE to get as much of it as I can. I will work with you on determining if the rooms that you are hoping to shoot in get good light by having you send pictures at how much light is coming through the windows at different times of the day.

Choose Wardrobe.

Once a client books an in-home lifestyle newborn session, I will provide them with a Prep + Planning Guide to help prepare for the session. A major focus in that guide is on the styling as the clothing choices that you pick make a big difference in final outcome of your photos. I love to work with my clients on helping them achieve looks that will photograph beautifully! For all my sessions, I recommend that mama chooses her outfit first – so that she feels comfortable and beautiful. A maxi dress that is flowy is always a good option, and I offer a curated collection of these through my client closet available for all newborn sessions. Once mama’s outfit is chosen, the rest of the outfits can be coordinated from there!

My style of photography tends to photograph best with neutral or pastel colors, and I usually recommend to stay away from mixing prints. For more style inspiration for newborn sessions, you can check out this post here.

What To Do the Day of your Session:

I am sharing some tips on how to prep the day of the session below, these are also included in the Prep + Planning Guide all my newborn clients receive once they book their session!

• Declutter, but do NOT worry about a deep clean! – You just had a baby, there is no need for a deep clean of the house. My camera lens will not notice the dust on your baseboards, and neither will I. I do recommend decluttering the room(s) that we are planning to shoot in. This would include clearing off counters or dressers and moving the laundry basket to a room we are not shooting in, lol.

• Give yourself time to get ready. – Mama deserves to feel her best in the photos! Give yourself plenty of time to get ready, with even a little buffer if possible because everything takes longer with a baby. If you can, enlist the help of dad, a grandparent, or even a friend to be an extra hand that day!

• Feed baby (if you can!) right before the scheduled session. – I will remind you of this through a text, but a fed baby is a happy baby! I always recommend that no matter what the feeding schedule is, to feed the baby right before the session begins. I build enough time into the session that we will have time to feed baby again if needed, but it’s always best to start with a baby with a full belly.

What to do After the Session:

There is no need to worry about a thing after the session, I’ve got you! I will send a session preview within one to two days, and then will deliver your gallery soon after that. My newborn sessions all include your gallery of images to share, save and print as you would like and I always work hard to get them to you quickly because I know how excited for them you are! 🙂

An in-home lifestyle newborn session requires a little bit of prep, but is more than worth it! I promise that documenting this sweet season is something you will never regret. For more information about newborn sessions, you can inquire here or email me at ashleybricknerphoto@gmail.com. I hope that I get the opportunity to work with you!

If you liked this post, you may also like the ones below:

When to Book Your In-Home Lifestyle Newborn Session

What to Wear for Your Newborn Session