Why you should consider just staying home for photos.

Cleveland, Ohio + surrounding Northeast Ohio

Part how-to guide, a commiseration, and a promise. An in-home newborn session is exactly what you need during this precious phase of life, let me explain why.

Sometimes when I’m chatting with a new client over the phone (by the way, I love this method and prefer a phone call over a million back and forth emails any day!) I get asked the question, “do we *have to* do the session in our home?” – and I totally understand this anxiety. You JUST had a baby. Cleaning your house is the LAST thing on your mind when you 1) are operating on next to no sleep 2) are suddenly 100% responsible for a newborn and 3) feeling like you, yourself, just survived what feels like a car crash. You hurt. You’re bleeding. Walking can be painful. Suddenly, the simple task of even going to the bathroom feels like a monumental task. I get it. I’ve been there myself, three separate times. I’m going to tell you why, now, an in-home newborn session is exactly what you need.

1. Being home is easy. I come to you. All your stuff is there. (You’re going to read this a lot in the subsequent paragraphs!)

2. Worried that your house is cluttered? Don’t be. We will find our niches within each room and create the magic. I will choose my angles and shoot to your benefit.

3. Baby just blew out their diaper? Friend, no stress. Again, we’re home. Everything you need is here.

4. Baby is cluster feeding and doesn’t want to be put down? Again, friend, no stress. You’re home. Everything you need surrounds you, including the support of your significant other, or Grandma!

5. During almost every in-home newborn session I’ve done, one of the parents suddenly remembers a sentimental object that they want to have documented with the baby. Usually this is an heirloom baby blanket or an old childhood toy or stuffed animal, and I always feel so grateful that we are there, in your home, and that piece of familial history was close by and not forgotten.

6. I get to create memories for you of a space that your baby will not remember. Even if they grow up in the same house the session is done within, so much will change over the course their life. Even in the first few months, your space will change drastically. I am there to capture it as it is now, when your baby is the freshest and most new. How you occupy these spaces and fill it up with new love, that’s important history that needs to be documented, because many of these significant details will fade into the blur of newbornhood.

7. The entire session is baby-led, with baby’s comfort in mind. We won’t be contorting your baby into unnatural poses or constantly undressing them and unwrapping them. Sure, we’ll do a couple outfit changes if we need to, and swaddling is always on the table. But for most of the session, your baby will spend time where they are happiest – which is in your arms.

8. Play your favorite calming music, have the tv on low, relax in your house while we capture these images. Need a snack? Your kitchen is right there. Need to lay down? Your bed is one of my favorite places to photograph you and your baby. Seriously, being at home is the way to go.

9. I think one of the best things about in-home newborn sessions is that it makes the whole process much less stressful when you have older children in the mix. Often, these “older” children are still just young toddlers, and doing photos where they are the most comfortable actually helps tremendously. They have their toys nearby, their comfort items, their favorite snacks. Accepting a new stranger (me!) with a big camera into their home for a little bit feels much less scary than an unknown location where they aren’t allowed to touch anything and potentially wearing a brand new outfit that they might hate.

So, there’s my list of why in-home newborn sessions are my jam. After reading all that, are they your jam too? Do you feel better about having me over to come document this brief, but intense, new phase of intense love and massive change? I hope so. Trust me, we can create magic, and you’ll see your rooms where you spend your days in a completely new, beautiful light. Come home. Create the memories. It’s worth it.

To see more of this sweet family’s in-home newborn session, please click here