5 Tips from a Pittsburgh Newborn Lifestyle Photographer
It truly is a blessing to be able to document the early, precious first days of a newborn’s life as home. Today I’d like to share some of my tried-and-true strategies for a successful newborn lifestyle session.
1. Play Relaxed Music
I was raised by two musicians and my brother is a musician too! When I was growing up our family life revolved around music performances. To this day I appreciate music. I believe it’s always helpful to play calming music to set the atmosphere and make my clients feel comfortable. A couple of my favorite Amazon Prime playlists are coffee shop jazz, acoustic chill and relaxing classical cello. Some of my favorite artists to listen to during family photo shoots are Jason Mraz, Lemmon & Maisy, Simon and Garfunkel, Lucio Battisti and classical music and folk pop in general. It’s interesting to hear what the family’s I photograph recommend! It’s a great way to expand my music taste.
2. Plan Ahead (I know I know, I hate planning too)
Before a session, I have pose ideas and camera settings running through my mind. I find it helpful when my clients have locations of their house best exposed to light, coordinating outfits and outfit changes, and feeding times arranged prior to the lifestyle newborn session. However, I recognize that, like most Pittsburgh families, you are busy with a variety of responsibilities and I greatly appreciate the effort you place into ensuring the success of the photo session.
3. Stay Relaxed
Sometimes it can be slightly stressful before a photo session. It’s easy to get into the mindset that everything needs to fit a narrowly defined ideal of “perfection”. I’m here to ensure you that you will feel at ease during the shoot and that afterwards you will receive an array of natural, timeless images that reflect your family’s love and connection.
4. Make Sure your Newborn Baby is Well Fed
It’s always great to have your newborn as comfortable and content as possible before the session. The ideal is a sleepy baby that rests in your family’s arms and is adaptable to the photo ideas you have in mind! But don’t stress! I had three of my own babies. I remember that newborns may not want to cooperate with our well thought out plans! It’s ok and it happens! If your baby is fussy on the day of our lifestyle session we’ll go just go with the flow and you’ll still receive beautiful newborn portraits!
5. Wear a Comfortable + Favorite Outfit
I don’t know about you guys, but there is nothing like pulling on a pair of my favorite jeans, a silk scarf in my hair, and a little bit of blush that makes me feel prepared to take on the world. So remember to stay comfortable, and dress your best. Keep that same mindset for dressing your little one. Choose clothing that everyone in your family feels comfortable wearing.
I hope these 5 tips I’ve gathered over the years as a Pittsburgh Newborn Photographer inspire and excite you for your upcoming photo shoot. In the comments below let me know which ones were your favorite and any questions you may still have… plus your favorite song suggestions are always welcome because I’d love to add to them to my Spotify playlist! Click here to read more newborn lifestyle session tips.
