This was my first in-home lifestyle newborn session in about a year and I was very excited. I had learned a lot since my first new born session and was ready to put my new knowledge into practice. I also had a new camera so I would no longer have to press myself up against walls to fit the family and room into frame. That was also exciting.
In-home sessions take place between 10 am and noon. I reserve my weekday mornings for these to provide more flexibility for the new parents. All I need is a room with a good amount of light coming from a window. The whole session can take place in the master bedroom, the living room, or nursery. If the kitchen has the best lighting, we can do that, too! The house doesn't have to look like it belongs on Pinterest or in a magazine either. As long as its mostly clean in a few spots, that's all I need. I can even help remove any clutter we don't want in the photos. I don't expect too much from my families, especially when they are raising a newborn. It's a beautifully chaotic time and I don't want to add any more stress.
Lifestyle photography merges traditional posed photography with a documentary style of photography. I pose my family and then have them interact with each other rather than look directly at me. The purpose is to create an emotion and connection. When you look back at your images, I want you to remember how you felt in the moment, how you feel when you look at your baby or spouse, not how your hair or clothes looked. Lifestyle doesn't focus on creating a perfect image, but a moment.
I do not pose your baby. There are two reasons for this. One, I do not have children of my own and have very little experience handling babies and prefer to let you, the parents, handle your child. Second, I love capturing how babies are naturally rather than how they look propped up on their hands or in a basket. These pictures are cute but not my style, so if these are the images you're looking for, I recommend going to another photographer.
Instead, your baby will spend most of the session in your arms. When you're not holding your little one, they'll be in their crib or on a newborn lounger. Your baby can be swaddled, in a diaper, nude as the day they were born. That's all up to you. And of course, baby.
Newborn sessions are led by what makes your baby happy. If they are perfectly content sleeping in momma's arms, then that's where they'll stay as long as possible until we feel we can switch to daddy's (or other momma's) arms. If they need a diaper change, we take a break. If they need to be breastfed, we can take a break. (If you'd like images of breast feeding, I'm more than happy to take those for you. I will not advertise these on my social media or website). If you use formula, I continue capturing that moment. I let kids (all ages) dictate a lot of what we do in my sessions because happy kids make happy parents.
Originally, this session was going to include the whole family: mom, dad, son, and baby girl. But their son had surgery on his arm and already missed school for doctor appointments. Dad could only stay a few minuted before going in to work. And mom was having complications from her C-Section.
So, we focused the session on baby Ava. When Ava got hungry, I photographed mom breastfeeding her. This worked out as mom loved the idea of having images of this moment of bonding, and it allowed her to sit comfortably. As I mentioned earlier, I choose not to share these images (unless a client explicitly says I can/should). Grandma was there to help as well so I took several photos of her holding baby and took a generations photo of the three lovely ladies (not pictured because I didn't have Grandma sign a release).
Here's some photos from the very relaxed session.
I also agreed to come back to take a few family photos, especially with the holidays around the corner, on a day when she was feeling better and her son's arm had healed. Here's their photos from that day. These were taken in their backyard on a beautifully warm December day.
Their son was such a delight during this quick photo session. He was posing and smiling and coming up with different ways to love on his little sister all on his own. He had everyone laughing. I'm looking forward to photographing this family in the future as these kids grow up surrounded by such love and laughter.
Are you expecting a new member of your family soon? Consider having a in-home lifestyle session. If you're interested, email me at ohtannenbaumphotos@gmail.com or book by submitting a Newborn form.