If you find yourself wondering how to prepare your home for newborn photos, then you are in the right space. As a new mom, you want to savor it all–like the smell of their little head or the way they wiggle that nose.
Photography is a way of traveling back in time. Back to moments like your growing baby bump, your baby’s first days of life, or the way your family grows throughout the years. When you invest in photos of these moments, you are investing in your memories. They’re the heirlooms your family will look back on for years and generations to come. I would absolutely love to help you document those maternity, newborn, toddler and kid milestones. It makes sense that you want them to be perfect – here’s how to prepare:
Embrace the Imperfections
This is just part of life. Not every photo will be of your newborn smiling. Many, many times we get a wide variety of smiles, stares, pondering looks, etc. You’ll still have special moments with them captured from so many points of view. It is so much more important for you to just take in the moment.
Tidying your Space
Never worry about cleaning your entire house for my sake. I completely understand if a few dishes pile up during this time. I definitely don’t expect a perfectly tidy house. Instead, let’s focus on: nursery, living room, and master bedroom. What this means is we declutter these spaces and make it as minimal as possible. I will even remove any distracting clutter if necessary during our session.
What I do need are rooms with lots of windows and natural light. And if they all have stunning light, then we may capture a few moments in each.
Understanding Lighting for Scheduling
What we look for are rooms with good light. I tend to prefer rooms where the bed or seating is facing the window light rather than behind. However, we work with what we have in the space. Keeping things flexible and improvising in the moment is my mantra when it comes to in-home photography.
What time of day we take your photos depends on the room we want to take most of our photos. With newborns, I avoid using flash. So we look for soft light that illuminates the whole room. This is typically two hours or so before noon and then two hours after.
If you have a special space where you really want to be photographed, take a look throughout the day to see when the light is coming in the best so we can try and schedule your session accordingly.
What to Wear
I get asked all the time, “what should we wear for photos?” Well, honestly the answer looks a little different for each family and their personal style. I always recommend neutrals. They’re timeless and easily complimentary to any home decor or style. But I also understand that neutral may not be apart of your vocabulary or closet. So what’s most important to me, is that you feel beautiful and comfortable. Let the rest of the family plan according to the thing that makes mamma feel stunning. If that means a colorful floral dress or a set of comfy white PJs, you do you!
I also recommend having a backup outfit on hand too! Usually this is a basic tank top or bralette so we can do more intimate, skin-to-skin moments (if you are so inclined). I find that precious skin-to-skin moments with a newborn to be some of my absolute favorites but it’s always up to mom and what she is comfortable with. Regardless, having a back up outfit of any type is always smart because accidents certainly may occur with babies.
For your little one, I like to start with your first outfit and dress down from there. We start with your favorite baby outfit, then a simple solid onesie, and then just a diaper. Diaper covers are also a favorite if the original pattern is not quite your style. We will also use a favorite swaddle or blanket for solo photos so if you have a favorite, be sure to have that on hand too.
For Mom, Dad, and Siblings
For your partner or siblings, just keep things simple. I love those cotton, solid color tees or even an easy button-down for him.
I do ask that no-one wears anything with graphics or words on it and that all hats be left in the closet. We hope this helps you to prepare your home for newborn photos.
Booking with Alexandra Robyn
For these fleeting moments, I capture every detail like your baby’s sweet eyes that look an awful lot like your own. Details like their wobbly first steps, or the way they cling to you when they’re feeling a little shy. I take pride in capturing these delicate details. I know you’ll want to look back on, just as I look back on my own.
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