What is a “Newborn Lifestyle” session ??

What I have come to learn in the last 5 years as a professional photographer is that many people  throw out terms like ” Lifestyle” or “Fine Art” to refer to their photography or their sessions but a lot of times both the photographer and the client doesn’t really know what those terms mean. Though this particular post is not about any other term other than “lifestyle”. Lifestyle photography / sessions are those that incorporate on location, whether at the clients home or another location, candid and posed shots. The style is more about capturing the family / clients in their natural element. When it comes to newborn photography in particular I offer both in studio and lifestyle sessions. In studio sessions involve both photos of the family in a staged setting or with a background and then photos of the newborn itself often involved a posing bean bag that the newborn lies in, various textiles for the baby to be posed on, various props for the baby to be set in, etc. I typically make my studio sessions more natural than many newborn photographers because I like the way a baby looks in a position that it could naturally be in. A “Newborn Lifestyle Session” is where I go to someones house and capture photos of the family together, candids of the family in their home, photos of the nursery space, and then photos of the baby by itself whether that is in the crib, on a piece of furniture or even in mom’s arms. Though I love the convenience my studio offers both myself and my clients, lifestyle sessions have a such a special place in my heart because I feel that these photos truly capture the essence of this small window of time when a new baby comes home. There is nothing like capturing moments of those first few weeks in a baby’s life: what is lying around the house, the look of joy in a mothers eye’s, the special attention to details in the nursery, and all of those wonderful little moments that make your home.