Are you thinking you'd love to celebrate your newborn baby's arrival with some family portraits at home? Then a lifestyle session might be the right fit for you! If you've been wondering which style of newborn session is best for your family, read on to learn more about our lifestyle sessions to see if this one feels like it was designed with you in mind!

Nicole Starr Photography | Saratoga Springs Newborn Photographer | Boston Newborn Photographer | Saratoga Springs Lifestyle Newborn Photographer | Boston Lifestyle Newborn Photographer

I offer three types of newborn sessions -- studio sessions, lifestyle sessions in your home, and Fresh 48 sessions at the hospital. Each one tells a different story, and gives you a different style of images. Some families choose to do just one session, others do a combination of two (typically Fresh 48 and then either lifestyle or studio), and still others do all three!

Fresh 48 sessions are natural, raw, and filled with emotion. They are a peek into your first hours meeting your newborn baby, and they are filled with some of the most magical moments I ever have the pleasure of photographing. Sure, the hospital decorating choices might leave a little to be desired, and you're going to be exhausted because you just delivered a baby the day before, but these are moments you will never get back and you will always cherish. Check out our blog post about why you might want to consider hiring a Fresh 48 photographer.

Studio sessions are a bit more posed, and we'll capture family portraits on a clean background, positioning the baby so that we can perfectly see everyone's face. We do a few setups on the beanbag with blankets and wraps, and also use simple bowls, baskets, and crates to tuck your baby into for some classic shots. If you're looking for "froggy pose" or "taco pose", this type of session is probably the best fit for you! Check out our blog post about studio sessions to see if this might be the right fit for you!

But today is all about LIFESTYLE newborn sessions in your home!

1. You have lots of natural light in your home.

Photographs are made with light -- you need light to create an image, and it's incredibly hard to do that in a home with tiny windows and dark rooms. I always bring my flash to supplement the light if necessary, but if your home has a room or two that receives good natural light, we'll shoot there! We typically look at the master bedroom, nursery, and living room, though I've been known to shoot in the hallway, on the porch, and in the kitchen if there's a great bit of light coming through!

2. You prefer a more relaxed, natural, unposed style of family images.

Lifestyle sessions are a relaxed and intimate peek into your lives with a new baby at home. I won't pose you, but I will guide you -- sit together on the bed, move in close, look down at your baby girl. I will ask you questions to loosen you up, and I will encourage you to relax and feel comfortable in front of the camera. I won't tell you how to hold the baby in your arms -- you'll do that however is naturally comfortable for you! I may tell you to lean in close, bring the baby closer to your face, or to look over at your husband for a quick second -- but that's it in terms of "posing"!

3. You're not looking for "froggy pose" or a baby in a bucket.

At home, a swaddle is our best friend and most of the images of your baby will be wrapped up snugly so that they sleep. We may capture a few portraits of the baby in just a diaper on the master bed, or in a classic white onesie in the family portraits. But we won't be positioning them into any particular poses, and we'll really treat it as very natural and unposed.

4. You may not be in your forever home yet, but it’s important to you that your baby see where they came home from the hospital.

Many young families are in apartments or condos, and they're not in the home yet that their child will grow up in and remember for the rest of their life. Still, how amazing to be able to one day show your child beautifully captured images of the first home that they came home to? Let them see the apartment that you were in as newlyweds and as new parents, let them see what your life looked like when you went from 2 to 3.

5. You love portraits filled with emotion.

Photographs are a moment frozen in time, a moment that you will never get back but that you can always relive by looking through your favorite images. That look that a new dad has when holding his newborn son? It truly is priceless.

6. You want your pets to be involved in the portrait session.

Your fur-baby was your first baby, and so many families would love to capture their ENTIRE family together, including their pets. Lifestyle sessions are the perfect way to include your dogs or cats in your session, and I am always up for the challenge of dog-wrangling to capture a shot of your baby with your favorite animal.

7. You’re just as comfortable cuddling up on the sofa as you are on the master bed.

Your home is a living & breathing space filled with personality. It tells your family's story, and it tells your story as a couple and the adventures you've enjoyed together. It makes sense to tell the beginning of the next chapter of your story in your home, and that means we'll do your photographs in the rooms that you spend the most time -- the master bedroom, the living room, and the nursery. You're going to spend so much time rocking your baby to sleep and getting to know your little one on the master bed, and I love capturing a family cuddling in close on the bed for some unposed shots together.

8. You put lots of thought & care into decorating the nursery. You’d love to remember it exactly as it is, and share it with your baby years from now so that they can see their first bedroom.

You spent weeks looking at bedding, mobiles, and curtains. You spent days pulling everything together, arranging the trinkets on the shelves, and placing each book lovingly on the bookshelf. You rocked in the rocker and imagined what it would be like holding your baby in your arms in that very room. You counted down to your baby's arrival in that room, and you'll bring your baby home and into that room the day they come home from the hospital. Your nursery is the most special place in your home, and it's truly the best possible spot to enjoy your newborn portraits.

Some families don't have a nursery -- it's a corner of the office, or another crib in their toddler's room. That's okay! We'll capture some of the details you lovingly put together, and of course your baby in their crib. In this blog post, some of the nurseries in the photos were shared office spaces or off the living room in little Boston apartments, but at just the right angle you'll have nothing to distract you from your baby and the space you prepared for them!