the lifestyle newborn | ::a personal story:: | fairview heights newborn photographer

the moment my daughter was born, so many things were forever changed. my priorities. my dreams. my sleep (or lack thereof). it also completely changed my photography style. my camera was one of the first things that i packed in my hospital bag & i wouldn’t be lying if i told you that i was snapping photos in the delivery room minutes before my daughter was born. a mere 24 hours after her birth, i had my camera back out which was the beginning of my @harper365 project on instagram :: a daily photo project highlighting my sweet baby girl. needless to say, this was a dream come true :: my new journey as a mommy had collided with my love for photography.

prior to her arrival, i had meticulously planned her first ‘photo session.’ i had a beautiful blanket selected for the usual beanbag posing & believe it or not, i had even ordered a strobe light so that i could photograph her day or night. 7 days after she was born, i set up the beanbag, the strobe, nursed her, and gently put her into my favorite beanbag pose. i snapped a few photos, moved her into a couple of different poses, but quickly realized that i was feeling uninspired. since i had been taking a photo of her every day, i had been experimenting with different styles of photography. posed, unposed, wide shots, close ups, etc. in the blur that is the first few weeks of mommy hood, i hadn’t even noticed the realization that i had mentally already made.

as i sat down to order the first of many sets of photos, it hit me :: the photos that touched me the most were the organic, lifestyle photos. the ones where she was bathing in gorgeous natural light. the ones of her in the nursery that my husband & i had poured so much time & love into. the ones that highlighted her lush head of hair, tiny toes & big brown eyes. in that moment it clicked & i knew that my newborn photography style had finally come into focus.

how could i continue to to take posed, beanbag style photos for my clients when the photos i was ordering for myself were the exact opposite? now, this isn’t to say that i don’t love posed newborn photography :: it is beautiful & an art all its own, but as a photographer & mommy, i am personally more drawn to the lifestyle images. therefore, i decided to let go of the posed images & begin exclusively offering lifestyle newborn sessions. i couldn’t be more elated & excited to officially share this news with all of you because it has been many months in the making! i cannot wait to continue photographing newborns in the way that i love photographing my daughter <3

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