In home newborn photo sessions are designed to preserve the sweet details of your baby and the feeling of welcoming your newborn home. This New Jersey family recently moved into a beautiful new home in Bergen County and were expecting a newborn baby. Mom planned to start a wall gallery of family portraits that would expand over the years. Because each family and home are different, each in home newborn and family portrait session is different; I love this challenging part of my work.

I’m often asked how I decide the best locations inside a home to create timeless family portraits. Although I always speak with clients prior to the session and request photos to start the planning process, the most important aspect of picking in home locations is to do a home walkthrough after arrival. During the walkthrough I consider the use of space, note style and decor, and evaluate the quality and quantity of light. For more traditional standing family portraits I look for a clear wall in a room that has abundant natural light or else a large window. What happens when the home has artwork on all walls? We either temporarily remove some artwork, or include the artwork to create a more environmental portrait. I have done both and both result in gorgeous portraits that beautifully preserve what it felt like to welcome baby home. Since these parents recently moved into their Northern NJ home, we had available a gorgeous room with very little furniture that was perfect for some classic portraits with minimal distraction.

Once I know I can make the location fade away I look for locations and details I want to highlight. Meaningful spaces where the family spend time are natural choices for lifestyle family portraits. Beautiful, carefully curated spaces, such as baby’s nursery, are a joy to photograph and important to preserve in print because the decor will change as the family grows and evolves over time. At this session, it was clear mama put so much love into Chase’s nursery so we spent quite a bit of time creating beautiful family images there. Towards the end of the session mom changed into a casual t-shirt and jeans, which was perfect for relaxed lifestyle family portraits in the master bedroom.

Finally, I am looking for beautiful natural light, where I can bounce a flash, or where I could set up studio light if needed. Large houses with deep rooms often need natural light supplemented or overpowered to create the ideal light for newborn sessions, so I always come prepared with lighting. For this session, I used studio light to achieve the light and airy newborn photography look I am known for, and at other times I used the natural window light to allow for more shadow and depth, which brings out beautiful detail and often heightens emotion.