Lifestyle Newborn Photoshoot

In the previous blogpost, I went over what a traditional newborn photoshoot is all about. Today, I will go into detail on what a lifestyle newborn session entails. It’s important to remember, that there is no right or wrong. It’s really about your taste, preference, and goals. While a traditional newborn photoshoot concentrates on capturing baby’s innocence, purity, and flexibility, the lifestyle session, in addition to baby’s delicateness and cuteness, also aims to accentuate relationships and true emotions, such as parents love, tenderness, amazement, puzzlement, baby’s yawns, cries, random smiles that warms parents’ excited hearts. Well, without further ado, let’s dive into a lifestyle newborn session. In this case, it’s a fresh 48 newborn photoshoot that takes place in hospital.

1. Posing. Despite what some may think, lifestyle session does require some posing albeit it’s not as rigid and strict as in a newborn photoshoot. The photographer would pose the parent and the baby at a certain location in a natural pose and then ask the parent to interact with the baby. Or, the baby would be laid in a natural pose, and the photographer would play with light to make the shot stand out. In a lifestyle shoot, there is a lot of holding, hugging, smiling, crying, cooing, singing, nursing, and anything in between. Posing is very natural but gently guided.

 2. Props. There are few to no props in a lifestyle newborn shoot. A cute wrap, and a hat, maybe a headband, maybe an old blanket that your grandmother knitted for you, maybe a toy that your friend sent over from overseas. The props can be very meaningful and significant, and may be not. A parent and the baby may be twining, or they could just wear clothes that accentuate simplicity, innocence, and comfort. The options are really endless.

1. 3. Length of the session. Since a lifestyle session doesn’t require meticulous posing of a milk-drunk fully asleep baby, the poses change much quicker. It usually takes 1-2hr to capture everything you wanted to remember about this brief and so sweet baby phase.

1. 4. Timing. The good thing about a lifestyle session, is that there is no strict timeline that you need to adhere to. A lifestyle session could be done in the first couple days (such as fresh 48 session for example), or in the first couple months. The poses don’t require exceptional flexibility and sleepiness, therefore the shoot could be done whenever it’s most convenient for the family.

1. 5. Editing. While a lifestyle shoot certainly requires editing, it’s not as extensive as with a traditional posed photoshoot. It’s very common to edit in black and white, as b&w images allow the viewer to concentrate on the emotion and mood of the photo rather than being distracted by details.

1. 6. Location. Lifestyle shoots take place at a client’s home or right in the hospital. If photographing in home, the photographer would try to get a glimpse of home decor, of baby’s room, of little things that constitute home. This approach gives the photos the sense of comfort, warmth, and security.

These are the main aspects of a lifestyle shoot that would help you decide whether it’s what you want for you and your baby. Its important to remember though that there is really no right or wrong in what type of session you want to get for your newborn. And it’s not uncommon at all for somebody to want to combine the two. The question remains, whether you can have a session that is both traditional and lifestyle. Find out in the next blogpost!

Stay tuned and drink a lot of water.