An Intensive Guide to newborn lifestyle vs newborn posed Photograph
Photography has always been the source of the great divine for me. As a professional newborn, maternity, and family photographer, I've always been fascinated with the amount of patience and skill it takes to actually take those beautiful dreamy newborn photos. Newborn photography requires much more than being a skilled photographer and understanding light and composition, a good newborn photographer needs to learn how to soothe babies, put them to sleep, and keep them asleep all while perfectly posing them and styling their scene for you to get your amazing newborn photos at the end,
In this article, I would like to shed some light on the differences between a Lifestyle newborn photo session and a posed newborn photography session, which is best for you. Since 2019, I've been serving as a professional newborn photographer in Seattle, Bellevue, Millcreek, and the greater Seattle area which helped me shape and perfect both lifestyle and newborn photography of newborns, and I would like to help you decide which one is the right style for you.
Newborn Lifestyle Vs Posed Newborn Photography
Lifestyle Photography
Simply put, lifestyle photography is focused on capturing real-life daily events in an artistically rich manner. In lifestyle photography, the majority of the shoot will mainly focus on the relationship between you and your baby, as well as capturing your baby in their new surroundings. Lifestyle newborn photography takes place at your house. Your baby may be open-eyed or asleep when photographed, so the photos are more natural and less staged.
In lifestyle photography, images portray the emotional bondage between a newborn baby with its parent, and most of the time, I love to do lifestyle photography at my client's home, where the environment is comfy and natural enough for the parents to vibe in perfectly with their newly born baby. Whenever I do lifestyle newborn photoshoots, I would help the parents get their home ready for the photo session, style their outfits, and choose which colors to wear. Very light props like blankets, headbands, and bonnets can still be used in lifestyle photography but with more emphasis being on the client's home environment as is.
Below you can see an example of a boho style lifestyle newborn photo session that was done at my client's home on day 15 of the baby's life. We styled this shoot with neutral beige colors and a touch of blue which ended up looking so natural and beautiful. we used a lot of the natural colored walls in their home to create clean backdrops, as well as baby's cribs, and mum and dad's bedroom.
Posed Newborn Photography
In this style of Photography, Photographer's primary concern is to show the delicate nature of a newly born baby, baby facial features, babies are more likely to get photographed on blankets or in props such as soft material made: bowls, baskets, prams, or boxes. Posed newborn photography is not easy and should only be done by a Seasoned Photographer as it requires a lot of care and safety training.
Posed newborn photography is typically done in the studio in a more staged enviroment, my studio is located in Millcreek, Wa, and is filled with props, blankets, headbands, and bonnets for you to chose from and create the newborn photos you have always dreamed of. This is the style of Photography where babies are more often asleep which allows the photographer the chance to wrap them and pose them to get those amazing cute newborn photos that are magazine worthy!
Posed newborn photo sessions can take anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on the sleepiness of the baby, and can also include a family and sibling portion capturing that bond and love between all members of the family.
As a Bellevue family and maternity Photographer, I feel more at ease while doing in the studio, and I do it here in Bothell at my studio.
Below is an example of one of my posed in-studio newborn sessions of a 5-year-old newborn baby girl.
Location preference
Lifestyle photography is often done at the client's home. so before you take on a lifestyle newborn session, try to think of the places in your home where you will take the photos, typically the living room, master bedroom, and nursery. Do they have enough light? Do they have neutral light walls? Do you feel like the overall theme and decor of your home will help create final images that you will love? Do you have enough space at your home? Do you have time to clean and declutter the space for photos?. These are all questions that you should ask yourself before opting for a lifestyle in-home photo session. In some cases, some photographers feel more comfortable doing lifestyle photographs at their studio, or sometimes it's the demand of the parents to do so.
If you answered No to a lot of the above questions then a posed in-studio photo session might be a better option for you.
Lighting
Most Photographers would prefer natural light while doing a lifestyle photoshoot as it compliments the natural position for the baby. In Lifestyle Photography, the Photographer has to be vigilant enough to find that perfect spot with enough sunlight and other lights at home. It's important to have a lot of large windows at your home for the photo session to work, if you are house is dark or doesn't have enough windows you might want to reconsider doing an in-home session.
In-studio a photographer will be responsible for making the perfect lighting scenario whether that is natural or artificial light and you don't have to worry about a thing.
Control over the images
With posed Photography, one has more control over lights, the props, and the pose. As with lifestyle photography, inclined more towards capturing daily-life events with a newborn, which often includes surprises, it might be a little bit overwhelming to make sure there is no jumble at home, working with limited daylight, and other types of challenges which often is not faced by photographers who do a photoshoot at their studio.
Timing
Age plays a vital role here. Experts suggest that the most optimal period for the posed photographic session is 5 to 15 days from birth. As opposed to lifestyle photography, it is not limited by any restricted period to take photographs, so if you were late to book your posed newborn session doing a lifestyle session could be a great alternative.
So which option should you choose?
The answer to this question doesn't boil down to one answer, but the answer depends on your needs and what you would like to do with photographs after being photoshoot.
The help you answer that question, I would like you to grow the list of questions, and you will get your answer along with it.
Do you want your home to be featured with your infant?
Well, if you have that question in your mind, then I would suggest you go with a lifestyle photographic session as it includes a photography session being entertained at your own home, and you can take advantage of this opportunity featuring your home too.
How old is your newborn baby?
As professional maternity and newborn Photographer, I most of the time prefer a newborn who is just 7 to 14 days old in my studio. This is because babies are mostly sleepy during that period of their life, and they enjoy being curled up as if they are in the womb. Those curly poses make up the best for posed Photography. Usually, babies at the age of 1 month are more likely to stay awake most of the time, and they like to stretch out their body, and for them, posed Photography won't be the best fit as it would be hard for a photographer, and parents as well to help baby pose in such manner.
It's time to hear from you!
So what are you up to? Want your newborn baby to get a professionally posed photoshoot or want a collection of photographs with your newly born baby. I'm a professional Photographer based at Bothel, Wa, and serve the greater Seattle area contact me below to book your session.
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