How to prepare your home for newborn photos

So you have chosen to take lifestyle newborn photos in your home. You want to document your new family in the place you came home to from the hospital, or maybe in the place you gave birth if it was a home birth. But how can you get your home photo ready? Well, you don’t have to do a top to bottom deep clean but you do have to de-clutter the rooms you intend to use during the photo shoot.

Popular rooms to use during a newborn shoot are the living room, parent’s bedroom and the nursery. When choosing the room/rooms to use take into consideration which ones have the most natural light. Open the shades and turn off any artificial light at midday to help you determine this. The more light that comes into the room, the better.

When decluttering make sure coffee tables, side tables, dressers and other surfaces have most items cleared off. If you are using the living room and it is open to the kitchen make sure those counters are clear.

If you are using the primary bedroom for photos and you have a busy pattern or print on your bedspread consider taking the duvet cover off and using the naked comforter or flipping the duvet over to use the opposite side (usually they have a solid color or toned down print on the other side). That way the focus is on the people and not on the bedspread.

Another thing you can prepare ahead of time is have anything baby might be wearing out and ready. When I arrive at a client’s house I like to see all the options for baby to wear at the beginning of the session. Sometimes certain outfits or swaddles will look better with certain decor or colors of certain rooms. If there are any special mementos a client would like to include in photos I like to know that before I start so I can plan on when to use them during my workflow for the session.

I hope these tips help you feel more prepared for your in home photo session!