Preparing your Home for an In-Home Newborn Session

Turn off Overhead Lights

Natural light is your best friend during a photoshoot, so be sure to turn off any overhead lights that could cast harsh shadows or create unflattering lighting. Instead, rely on natural light from windows or doors to fill your space. Natural light creates a soft, flattering glow for your photos.

Turn Up the Heater a Few Degrees

It might seem subtle, but warming your home up a degree or two can help your baby be kept warm and cozy. Especially if you are hoping for any photos of them in just their diaper, you have a better chance of baby being willing to tolerate this arrangement if the house is warmer.



Make Sure Everyone is Fed

Hungry family members can quickly become cranky and uncooperative during a photoshoot, so be sure to have a meal or snack before you start. Keep in mind avoiding berries or colored foods that will stain mouths, hands, and clothing.

If needed, we can incorporate snacks as part of the photo session, but it is best to start off with everyone fed. (Baby is an exception! I expect that they will need to be fed at some point during the session.)

Nurse Baby Thirty Minutes Before the Session

Nursing baby about thirty minutes before the session can help them be sleepy and content as the session begins. They will likely need to be fed again during the session, and there is plenty of time for this. Be it feeding, diaper changes, or outfit changes (blowouts happen!) I keep photographing throughout the entire process to document these moments, sometimes those mundane moments become some of the sweetest memories.

Turn Off Television

To help everyone stay focused and present during the photoshoot, turn off the television and any other distractions that could pull attention away from the task at hand. This will allow you to fully engage with each other and create genuine, meaningful memories of this special time.

An idea that you might want to consider is using your phone or Bluetooth speaker to play some music during your session. It can help fill in any quiet moments and I feel like it helps people to be more comfortable during photos.

Hide Clutter

I am the queen of piles and clutter those first couple of weeks postpartum, if you are anything like me, you might have tissues, water bottle, snacks, laundry, and a few dirty diapers lying around too. Try to take a few minutes before the photoshoot to hide any clutter that could detract from the final images in the rooms we will be using.

Just so that we are clear, I totally do not want you to deep clean your house for me. Clutter is the main thing, and only in the rooms we might use for photos.

One of my personal favorite clutter hiding techniques is sweeping it into one of my drawers and pushing it closed until I have time to deal with it. ;-)

I can help too!

When I arrive, I'll take a peek around to see which rooms have the best light to determine where we'll be photographing. I can help with decluttering once we've picked the rooms we'll be in for your session, I totally don't mind.

My primary thing that I am looking for is a good window for light. Often, the areas I like to use are the master bedroom, the living room, and (if there is a nursery set up) the nursery.

Remember, you just had a baby - Don't stress yourself out trying to make your home pristine, these photos are to document this beautiful and fleeting time with your new baby. Cherish the baby snuggles and get as much sleep as you are able, no one is going to see the dust bunnies under the couch!