Shooting at home is the way to go!
We had the pleasure of capturing Hera's newborn photos recently, and she was such a dream to work with! Her expressive eyes and calm demeanor gave us tons of time to capture Hera and her sweet family!
We love capturing newborn sessions in your own home for a variety of reasons that benefit baby, parents, and us as photographers!
Benefit #1 : Comfort
We typically suggest scheduling newborn sessions within the first two weeks after birth so that baby is as sleepy and as cooperative as possible. But this also means that mom is still in the early stages of postpartum and is still recovering! You're also extremely sleep deprived and still adjusting to this big new change, getting to know your little one, and understanding their cues and schedule. Add to that living in a state that's cold at least 6 months of the year (true Minnesotans will laugh at this because it's actually MORE!) and it truly is such a relief to not have to pack up everything and tote the little one around. Being in your own home means you can dress comfortably, everything that you might need is there, there is no travel time, and you don't have to brace for the elements at all! All you need to do is wait for Allison to arrive, and that's it. In those early days, sometimes that's all you can manage - and that's okay!!
Benefit #2: It's Personal
Being in your home means we get to capture your home - including baby's new room that you've so lovingly designed! As you can see in the photos in this post, Hera's parents spent tons of time decorating her nursery, and it was so special to photograph the three of them snuggling together in that space! With time, the decor will change and life will get back to normal, and we love having the opportunity to capture this brief season of your life for you to remember as your newborn becomes a baby and beyond!
Benefit #3: Siblings
If you already have children, this is a great opportunity to capture them interacting with their new sibling in a space that's comfortable for them and where they can let their personalities shine! We also know that pets are a big part of the family, and shooting your newborn session in-home gives us the opportunity to capture your fur babies interacting with their new sibling as well! In Hera's case, she got some sweet kisses from Walter that we may not have been able to capture elsewhere!
Benefit #4: Timing
While we do our best to keep things on schedule, we recognize that newborns are inherently unpredictable and sometimes we need to reschedule, postpone, or take a break - all of which is easy to do with an in-home session! Reserving a studio space comes with cancellation windows and strict timelines, which is an added stress that doesn't need to be there in our opinion! We are happy to push the shoot back a bit if you had a rough night, and it's easy for us to take a break in the middle of the session if you need to feed, pump, change a diaper (or two), or soothe a cranky little one. Our sessions are 60-90 minutes, which gives us plenty of padding for the unexpected. Additionally, shooting in your home means that while you're working with baby, we can spend that time capturing things like the nursery and other little details!
