After you have decided you want a newborn photographer, you might be stressing out about your home. My home doesn’t look like one of those Pinterest homes! I have stuff piled up everywhere! I can’t believe I now have to clean! How am I suppose to be able to do this with just having a baby?
Let’s just get real for one second here. Who’s home really is perfectly ready at any given moment? And if so, do these people actually live in them? Does it have personality of the family? Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t give it a quick clean sweep. I absolutely think that’s something that can be easily done. What I’m saying if you don’t need to go out an buy new decor or think your home has to be a certain way.
I promise you that the last thing you should be worried about is doing a deep clean on your home. And, I promise you that I’m going to be focusing in on your love for your family and NOT all that junk piled up in a corner. I’ve moved tables and piles of clothing to kids toys and everything in between. It’s my responsibility to see what looks good in camera and then make sure nothing is overly distracting. I can even make magic happen in a simple hallway (as shown below). Really all I need is good light. Beyond that, everything is possible.
I normally gravitate towards simple backgrounds in home and clean surfaces (which I can make clean!) to make sure the focus is on you and your family. Even if you have a toddler, I’m great at moving toys out of the way and making sure even though your older daughter or son wants to show me their Paw Patrol toy that it won’t be in your images. I do my absolute best to make these all about you! I love to showcase your love. But if you are looking for the quickest and most basic things you can do to get ready, read below for my list of major spots to do a quick sweep before I arrive. I promise this should take you less than 30 minutes.
Top areas to consider for your newborn shoot.
First off when choosing a location, I only look for rooms with great light. Sometimes parents want to have photos on their bed but the room is crazy dark. I’m telling you right now that I’m not going to shoot you in a room that I won’t be able to use because you want it there. I will do my absolute best to make any room in your homework but without enough light, I’m telling you now it just won’t work. When I get there, I’ll open all the blinds, and pull back all the drapes. Then from there we can figure out the best places to shoot but typically I’ll be shooting in…….
- Your living room/family room
- The child’s nursery
- Your bedroom
- ANY room with big windows and tons of light – this can be an office, an extra bedroom or even just a hallway!
Once you’ve found the brightest rooms, then…..
Top places to clean sweet before your in-home newborn shoot (15 minutes MAX)
- Clean off your end tables – You don’t need to put away photos, mementos or anything like that but I would gather up a basket full of any of those new mom items – water bottles, pumping parts, pacifiers and more. More often then not, we are shooting in a room that has a end table or nightstand so doing a quick sweep is so important. The way I love to do it, is by grabbing a laundry basket or even a plastic bag and throwing it all in one and then hiding it out of frame. That way the things you need still stay in the room and you can put it back out easily after the shoot.
- Make your bed – If you are wanting to snuggle in bed, please make sure that you’ve cleaned up. While I prefer a clean, white backdrop, I know that’s not always the case for every home. I usually bring a white blanket to throw on top OR flip your comforter over! It’s usually white on the other side so use a pro tip and do this if your comforter has lots of bright colors or is messy.
Homes are meant to be lived in, and throw a small person in the mix (if not more than one!) means that chaos will inevitably be there. Channel your limited energy and time into the rooms that are manageable places I mentioned above and you too can have a perfect photography session that looks amazing plus plenty of time left over to take a nap!
XO,
Sara
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