NEWBORN PHOTOSHOOT AT HOME - TOP TIPS TO GET READY
Are you thinking about a newborn photoshoot at home? Here are my five top tips to help you get ready for your session
So how does a newborn photoshoot at home work and how best can you get ready for a newborn session at home?
As a newborn photographer, it’s always incredibly special to be invited into your home to capture the most sacred time of your life & theirs. For newborn photography I can capture your baby in my newborn studio, based on the outskirts of Hertfordshire, but I also visit towns including Cambridge, Baldock, Ampthill, Letchworth, St Albans, Harpenden, Welwyn and Hitchin, bringing my adorable newborn outfits and newborn blankets to you. In those early newborn days it can be such a big time for adjustment so for many of the families that I photograph during the early newborn stage, they choose to stay in the cosiness of their home. They are looking for relaxed and natural newborn photography, photographs that will remind them of this precious time and feel just like them. Our homes are our safe spaces, the place where we can feel most at ease & comfortable, but booking a home session for some can feel a bit daunting and often people worry that their homes are “photoshoot ready”. Your home doesn’t need to be spotless with the DIY list ticked off… no home with babies & children in will ever be without a little bit of mess. It’s family a life, a home full of love & life, a home that is lived in. These are what tell the story the most. There is not a home I haven’t stepped into that I haven’t been able to photograph a session within, because the space perfectly sets the scene as there’s so much love adorned within the little pockets of space that we use. My newborn photography sessions are gentle and relaxed, I’ll always help adjust a space and we tend to use little pockets where the light is best. So, here’s my top 5 tips to help you get ready in the lead up to our time together…
GET COSY WITH YOUR NEWBORN BABY AT HOME
My biggest & most simple tip for preparing for your newborn photoshoot at home is to turn up the heating. A newborn baby is used to the warmth of the womb, a cosy 37c temperature. And because of how tiny they are, they struggle to regulate their body temperature. Now, you don’t need to go this warm at home but keeping the space super cosy, particularly during the colder months, will ensure that your newborn baby will be warm and comfortable throughout our session. A lot of mothers that I photograph love to get some skin on skin imagery, so keep the space warm and cosy will ensure you’re both comfortable and we can get some beautiful intimate imagery for you. Whilst the newborn pieces that I bring with me are super soft and warm, we tend to have just one layer on for easier changing but also capturing more skin & tiny details like the newborn fluff.
FEEL RELAXED FOR YOUR NEWBORN PHOTOSHOOT
I know that a photography session with your newborn baby can feel a little daunting, but I promise you’re in gentle and experienced hands. I’ve had the honour of photographing babies for nearly 8 years now. As an experienced newborn photographer and mother, I know just how unpredictable this time can be with a newborn baby, but also how important these photographs are for you. It’s also so important to me that you enjoy the experience, feel relaxed, guided, nurtured and celebrated. Your body has been through so much and continues to do so much to nurture your beautiful baby. I will always help with moving bits around if needed, putting them back before I go. I encourage parents to see me as an extension to their village, bringing supplies & nurturing goodies with me on the day. I will also send you a session guide upon booking, and encourage you to curl up on the sofa with a cuppa to scroll through, get inspired and excited for our time together. I will also bring with me on the day some beautiful newborn pieces and a selection of dresses to help take the stress out of planning what to wear.
THE RIGHT BEDDING FOR YOUR NEWBORN SESSION
For at home newborn sessions, I tend to use the master bed for taking photos of your newborn baby, seeing your tiny newborn baby on your ginormous bed really does emphasise just how little they are. It’s also a good space to get you all cuddled up together if you have older children. I will tell you this about me now, since a young age I have been a little obsessed with bedding and I love a beautiful bedspread. For home newborn sessions, I tend to recommend keeping it neutral & plain, texture is a lovely way to add interest so linen & cotton bedding & blankets. If you don’t have any please just let me know and I’ll bring some with me on the day.
IT’S A FAMIL Y NEWBORN PHOTOSHOOT AFFAIR
Whilst my at home newborn photoshoots are newborn focused & baby led, that doesn’t mean the whole family cannot be involved. During my newborn sessions we will capture an array of images of your baby on their own, including all their teeny tiny details, and then portraits with each parent, each sibling, and all of you together. It’s so important that everyone feels involved, if you have older children I will make as much of a fuss of them as I will the baby so that they feel completely a part of this beautiful celebration. This is your family chapter, it’s so important that you get this time together as a family. I get asked this question often, can grandparents get involved too? My answer is always yes! I absolutely love generational imagery and seeing your baby so wrapped up in love by those around you.
HAVE A ‘SORT IT OUT LATER’ BASKET
As a photographer and mother, I practice what I preach and so we have photoshoots at home regularly. I love nothing more than having a photographer come to capture us as a family at home. I am never as organised or as ready as I hope on the day, so I grab our washing basket and I chuck everything in there that I haven’t been able to sort out or tidy away before our photoshoot. I must emphasise that your home doesn’t need to be spotless tidy, a home with children in it will always looked lived & loved in, and I think that adds to the story telling. But just clearing the tops of cabinets or bedsides, decluttering away odds and sods would be my advice. I’ve actually found this method helpful when I’m having a clear out as it encourages me to actually sort through our stuff. We all live in a certain level of mess, there is no judgement here :)
WHEN SHOULD I BOOK IN FOR A HOME NEWBORN PHOTOSHOOT?
I get asked this question a lot, as it’s impossible to know when little ones will arrive. For my home newborn photoshoots , we pencil into my diary what’s called a floating date. I recommend we pencil a date in for the week after your ‘due date’ and then we catch up once babies here. That means we can be flexible and move the date once little one has arrived and depending on how you’re all feeling. I leave 1-2 days a week available for newborn session dates to be moved, so that we can still move your date close to the original time booked in. My diary does tend to book up months in advance, so I recommend reaching out around your 20 week point of pregnancy to check my availability and get a confirmed booking. If you’re thinking of booking a newborn photoshoot, I’d love to hear from you. If you’d like to see more of my newborn stories, you can look at my portfolio here or you can read all about my newborn experience here
To reserve your date in my diary, get in touch using the contact form linked here
All my love
Kim xx
So there’s my top tips for getting ready for your newborn session at home. If you’d rather come to me, I have a beautiful natural light, home from home photography studio on the outskirts of North Hertfordshire, near Baldock. You’re so welcome to come to me, I’ll make the tea and we’ll have a cosy newborn session in my studio. I really can’t wait to hear from you, lots of love, Kim xxx
