I don’t know how she does it. Lizzy manages to capture the most precious, fleeting moments that you often miss in busy day to day life.
Sophie Olufson
When I first started photographing in-home newborn sessions over five years ago, they actually weren’t a common thing here in Australia. As someone who grew up in the UK, I found this surprising because Australian houses are so big and light compared with British homes.
As a family photographer, I love them! Aside from the fact that everyones home is different which brings about a creative challenge, families are generally so comfortable in their own home!
I recently talked about what an in-home session is (You can read that post here) and today I thought I would talk about the pros and cons of an in-home newborn session.
What are the pros of an in-home newborn session?
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that I love in-home newborn sessions! In my opinion, here are what I consider the pros of having your photoshoot in your home:
- Home is where the heart is – it’s the place you first bring your new baby to, it’s where you make your everyday memories like feeding, naps changes, bathing, story time. If your own parents no longer live in your first family home, do you love looking at photos of the memories you created there? One of my favourites photos is one outside the front door of my own home as a baby. We moved out of the home when I was still a baby so I have no memory of living there.
- You do not have to leave home during those early days of cluster feeding, birth recovery and extreme fatigue. Maybe you have had a caesarean and can’t drive or you are in pain or the thought of driving and your new baby needing to feed on the way overwhelms you. You can stay put and rest 🙂
- You don’t need to worry about packing a bag or forgetting anything! I don’t know about you, but my brain struggles to function when I am extremely tired, and baby brain is a real thing! In your home, you have everything you might need during your photoshoot. (I do offer a packing list for your shoot though if you did choose the studio instead of in-home)
- You can have those ‘fly on the wall’ type photos that your partner may not think to capture for you. Changing your newborns nappy, breast or bottle feeding your new baby or snuggling on the couch. I love to chat with my clients before hand to find out the memories they want capture with their new precious baby.
- Not many people think to photograph their baby’s nursery. Babies grow so fast and before you know it their room has changed. I love to capture the room details during the in between moments so you can remember every piece of that season of your life.
- Pets can be involved too! Lots of people ask if they can bring dogs along to sessions. In studio this is not an option, location is fine. But what about those pets you can’t bring out and about like cats, birds, guinea pigs etc?! At your home, you can involve whoever you like.
- No travelling means the second the session is finished, you can sleep! Photoshoots can be overstimulating because you are talking, concentrating and trying to hold everything together. You will likely feel very tired afterwards so the quicker you can get back to your bed the better!
- Siblings feel comfortable. This can be both a pro and a con! Because they are comfortable you might find they resist more, but because they feel safe there they may also be more relaxed. When a new baby comes, a lot changes for them. I love making a big deal about their own rooms and capturing a few photos of them with their own toys or on their ‘big girl bed’ so they feel equally as involved as the new baby.
So that’s the pros. Have you had a session before? I’d love to know what positive experiences you had with an in-home newborn session. Leave them in the comments or send me a DM on Instagram!
Now, lets chat about the cons. Or, to add a more positive spin, the challenges you might face by having an in-home newborn session.
- You may feel obliged to overly tidy your home. I really try to emphasise that I always take people’s homes as they are. I will either use compositions that avoid having any mess in a photo, or am quite happy to move anything that I think is really distracting. I really try to make the experience as stress free as possible, and the last thing you need when you’ve just had a baby, is to feel like you need to deep clean your home!
- You may feel your home is too small. I completely understand this. With social media the way it is, it’s easy to believe you need a mansion to have an in-home session. Let me reassure you though, that I have photographed in-home sessions in tiny apartments in Cairns, to large homes in Trinity Beach, Palm Cove, Clifton Beach and Port Douglas. I love getting creative and making it work!
- Home may not be your safe place. I think it’s important to touch on this subject, because every family situation is different. If home is not somewhere that happy memories are created, it is likely to be the last place you want to be. Either you can come in to my home studio, or we can discuss a suitable place.
- You are travelling! I’ve had many families come to me who are visiting Cairns and have just had their baby. What better way to capture such an exciting time of your life! You can have your session in your caravan, at one of the resorts in Cairns, Palm Cove, Port Douglas or the Tablelands or out on location. We can chat about what suits your family best! I love to photograph families from all over Australia (and overseas) who are visiting the Far North Queensland region!
I think that’s it for cons (or challenges). In-home newborn sessions are definitely one of my favourites. If you are worried about anything and would like to chat with me before booking your in-home session, you can contact me here or DM me on instagram!
