Pittsburgh Newborn Sessions: Why Scheduling at One-Month Old is Not Too Late

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I got an email from this mama inquiring about a newborn session for her one-month old daughter. And the timing was perfect—I had an opening the next week. While there are a lot of recommendations out there for photographing newborns before they are two weeks old, I think this particular session goes to show the benefits of scheduling beyond those first few weeks.

bright-eyed baby

Just the way she holds her head up and makes eye contact is so amazing! Babies learn and grow so quickly and it’s so neat to see how this baby girl is starting to interact with the world around her.

baby smile

She’s looking into her daddy’s face and really studying him.

looking at her daddy

kisses from daddy

Love the lighting in this nursery.

mom and dad looking at their baby

And how baby girl is looking up at her parents!

baby looking up at mom

One last image before wrapping up this post, this view from the top of their stairs caught my eye as we were going back downstairs, this window light was irresistible so we stopped for a quick portrait.

a new family from above

With a lifestyle approach to this session, there’s no pressure for tedious posing or outfit changes, and it’s ok if the baby is sleeping or awake. So it’s a much less stressful approach for the baby and parents! When I left their home, this dad mentioned that he had fun and was relieved that it went so smoothly. And the mom said she couldn’t imagine trying to pose a baby and was so glad for the lifestyle approach. With a pleasant experience and a natural feel to the photos, I wholeheartedly feel that lifestyle photography is the way to go.

Pittsburgh Newborn Session: Baby Snuggles and Sibling Troubles

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I know full-well the struggles families face when welcoming a new baby home. I am a first born and have been told how much it rocked my world when my little sister came along and I’ve been able to witness it all over again with my oldest son as well. It’s really tough for some kids and when it’s tough for a kiddo, mom and dad are feeling it too. We have this crazy mix of emotions wanting to love on the new baby and protect our big kids from feeling left out. I’m sharing all of this personal experience because this darling family had a big sister who had mixed emotions about her baby brother’s arrival like so many of the older siblings I’ve photographed during newborn sessions. I guess you could say, a photo shoot has a way of bringing it all out and I’m sensitive to that.

baby snuggles

I have a few things I like to do to help older kids feel special. First, I like to say hello and build a little rapport. And if they’re willing, I take a moment to photograph big sibs all by themselves or with a parent so that they don’t feel like it’s only about the baby. Then I ask them to kiss the baby and give them a lot of praise for being a good sibling.

big sister kissing the baby

big sister giggles

And on this particular session, the big sister wanted to wear mommy’s lip gloss and her mama approved, so we captured this sweet and funny moment. Luckily, mama had make-up wipes on hand!

wearing mommy's lip gloss

Now that we could check off this very important family portrait, I could shift my focus to this sweet baby boy.

dad and son

mama and baby

Really love the sweet simplicity of this bright-eyed boy on his mom and dad’s bed. Congrats to this precious family!

baby on mom and dad's bed

Cranberry Newborn Portraits: Scheduling the Best Time for Your Baby

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When parents first come home from the hospital with their baby, they’re often unsure of the best time of day to schedule for newborn portraits. If the delivery didn’t have any complications and they get to come home two days later, they haven’t had much opportunity to get a feel for their baby’s best time of day. And with days blurring into nights, it’s hard to really think straight (at least it was for me.)

sleepy baby in gauze swaddle

So when my clients call to set up their session, I most often suggest mid-morning, keeping in mind that I’ll be using mostly window light. The afternoon works as well, and it really depends on the family’s best time of day. If you’re not a morning person, then it makes perfect sense to go for the afternoon.

mom, dad, and baby by the window

What’s more important than the time of day, is that the baby starts the session right after a feeding. So if you’re following a feeding schedule, that can be helpful to consider when scheduling.

alert baby

With lifestyle photography, there is no pressure to make sure the baby is sleeping or awake, lifestyle sessions are aimed at capturing baby
and family in their natural state. Although, it’s best if parents are awake! And some mamas have a preference of sleeping vs. awake and most of the time babies will do both within the time of the photoshoot.

baby feet

Really love seeing this little daring in the dress with the huge bows at her shoulders!

baby in crib

Here’s a shot from this couple’s maternity session. They are going to be such great parents!

pregnant mom and husband

Pittsburgh Newborn: Finding Natural Light in the Home

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When possible, I love to use natural lighting for newborn sessions. When I first spoke with this mama, she was concerned about whether her home had enough natural light and I assured her that I’d do a quick walk-through to find some of the best spaces and bring supplemental lighting as back-up. But look at this first portrait of her and sweet baby by the window. So glad I didn’t need to get out my strobes until later!

mama and her baby at the window

Sometimes siblings of newborns are in a tender state as they adjust to life with a baby. For that reason, I love taking some time to make them feel special too.

dad and big sister

We still haven’t left their bedroom as it has lots of soft light and the bed is a perfect place to photograph the whole family.

family portrait on the bed

Just love how babies gaze at their parents and this little guy seemed to be very aware of his surroundings.

father and son

I’m not bashful about admitting how I love this arrangement for the parents and baby. My husband and I spent a lot of time on the couch, just checking out our little baby boys, so it comes naturally to suggest this.

baby looking up at his parents

And for a close-up of just the little guy, we snuggled him up in this blanket and placed the basket on the landing of the steps that was washed in bright window light. This baby boy was so close to falling asleep!

snuggly baby boy

Blessings to this sweet baby and his family!

Pittsburgh Newborn: Photographing Siblings and Baby

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One of the toughest photo requests I get during newborn sessions, and one that I deeply understand the motivation for, is a shot with the baby and sibling/s—especially when there’s uncertainty about being able to hold the baby safely. There are lots of different approaches for this like propping them up between pillows on a couch or bed, or laying them side-by-side on the floor. But my favorite find during this recent session is when there are older siblings who can confidently hold the baby, to let the siblings interact and not really pose them at all.

siblings and baby

Aren’t these children adorable with their matching blonde hair?! And then their dog even sat in for a portrait! Impressive!

family portrait

When you have a larger family, I feel like a lifestyle session is really the best way to go. There is so much to photograph so why not capture the whole family in a free and lighthearted way?

a family and their dog

I love using shallow depth of field to lead viewers to the main focal point, but with just enough detail out of focus to tell the story. It’s important for me to have everyone comfortable and feel part of the shoot before we break away to focus on just baby and parents.

mom and baby with family

And this little sweetie pie, stayed awake for the whole session and was so pleasant!

mom and baby

dad and baby

parents looking over their baby

The kids were so great for this session, but they were naturally getting a bit restless, and we had one more family portrait in mind. And I love the result. Dads have a knack for embracing the chaos and this shot makes me smile to see big brother upside down. We have a photo like that too, when my second son was born. Maybe that’s why I like this one so much? Even though my oldest wasn’t into begin photographed that morning, I’m so glad our photographer captured our chaos.

embrace the chaos

And this last shot is a happy conclusion to this in-home newborn session. What a sweet and blessed family!

family portrait on the bed