privacy policy
terms of service

Lifestyle or Posed Newborn Session

By: Sandra Henderson Photography

Congratulations! You're pregnant and searching for a winston salem newborn photographer to capture your new love. When searching for a newborn photographer in winston salem, you might come across two distinct photography styles: lifestyle and posed newborn sessions. Each style offers a unique approach to capturing your baby’s early days, and the choice ultimately depends on your personal preferences and vision. In this post, I’ll touch a few key differences between lifestyle and posed newborn photography to help you decide which is the best fit for your family.

What Is Lifestyle Newborn Photography?

Lifestyle newborn photography focuses on capturing your family’s journey into parenthood within the comfort of your home. These sessions emphasize the connection between family members and the love surrounding your baby. Instead of intricate props or posed setups, the goal is to document your life as it is—raw, authentic, and beautiful, with moments of gentle guidance.

Why Choose Lifestyle Over Posed Newborn Photography?

  • Location: The session takes place in the comfort of your home, in spaces like the nursery, living room, or master bedroom—anywhere with an abundance of beautiful natural light. You don’t have to travel, which can be daunting for new parents!
  • Natural Poses: The goal of a lifestyle session is to capture genuine connections with gentle guidance, including feeding, changing diapers, holding, snuggling, and kissing.
  • Emphasis on Family: The focus is on capturing meaningful moments between each family member and your newborn.
  • Natural Light: Ideally, a room with floor-to-ceiling windows provides beautiful natural light, giving images a soft, organic look. However, supplemental lighting can be used if necessary.
  • Clothing: Use that newly gifted newborn outfit from your baby shower, while you wear something comfortable that makes you feel beautiful and comfortable. You are always welcome to use my growing collection of dresses.

Things to Consider When Choosing a Lifestyle Newborn Session:

  • How Big Are the Rooms in Your Home? If you have a relatively large family but small rooms, space may feel cramped and limiting.
  • What Color Are the Walls? Dark or bright-colored walls can create strong color casts in your images, especially if flash is used for additional lighting.
  • Is Your Home Clutter-Free? If your home is filled with children’s toys or clothes on the floor, you may need to spend some time decluttering. Of course, you don’t have to—images that capture your real life as it is will always be memorable, even if they may not be ideal for wall art.
  • No Props: This is not a stylized session, so no props are used other than what is naturally available in your home.

Who It’s Best For:

Lifestyle sessions are perfect for families who value images that highlight their connection, with minimal emphasis on posed newborn portraits.

What Is Posed Newborn Photography?

Posed newborn photography is dedicated to capturing images of your newborn alone, posed in various settings, with a handful of family portraits included. These sessions focus on creating artistic, styled portraits of your baby in adorable poses using props, wraps, and backdrops.

Why Choose Posed Over Lifestyle Newborn Photography?

  • Location: Sessions take place in my studio equipped with props, professional lighting, and temperature control to ensure your baby’s comfort. Weather permitting, I also pose newborns outdoors in props and with parents.
  • Structured Poses: Babies are safely positioned into classic poses, such as curled-up, tushy-up, belly and side poses, or wrapped prop poses.
  • Artistic Elements: Props like baskets, bowls, fur fabrics, blankets, headbands, hats, and wraps are used to create beautifully styled setups.
  • Controlled Environment: A studio setting provides professional lighting, warmth, soft ambiance, and carefully arranged props, ensuring a stress-free session.

Who It’s Best For:

Posed sessions are ideal for parents who love the artistic, timeless look of styled newborn portraits and want a polished gallery of images with a distinct focus on their baby.

How to Decide Between Lifestyle and Posed Photography

Choosing between lifestyle and posed newborn photography often comes down to your personal style, goals, and what you want to remember about this time. Here are a few factors to consider:

  • Environment: Do you want to highlight your home and family interactions (lifestyle) or prefer a studio setting with styled setups (posed)?
  • Level of Involvement: Are you comfortable with a natural, less structured session (lifestyle), or do you prefer the artistic precision of posed photography?
  • Family Participation: Do you want the focus to include your family as a whole (lifestyle), or do you prefer portraits centered primarily on your baby (posed) sprinkled with a few images of parents/siblings/pets images?
  • Time and Preparation: Lifestyle sessions require minimal preparation and are more relaxed, while posed sessions require more time and coordination for props and poses and requires travel to the studio.

Can You Combine Both Styles?

Each style is uniquely different and not blended in one session. 

Final Thoughts

Whether you choose a lifestyle or posed newborn session, the most important thing is capturing this special time in a way that resonates with you. Both styles create beautiful, meaningful images that you’ll treasure for a lifetime. When searching for a newborn photographer in Winston-Salem, feel free to reach out to discuss your options for creating a session tailored to your family’s style and vision. Don't be overwhelmed with which style is right for you, I’d be happy to guide you through the decision-making process.

Click Here To Chat With Sandra!
Previous Post Next Post

Archive

Go
privacy policy
terms of service