Welcoming a newborn into your life is a joyous and transformative experience. Capturing these early moments with a lifestyle newborn photoshoot is a wonderful way to preserve memories you’ll cherish forever. However, the timing of this photoshoot isn’t just about your baby’s age; it’s also about when you, as a new mom, feel physically and emotionally ready. Here’s why focusing on your readiness can lead to the most beautiful and meaningful photos.

Understanding the Importance of Mom’s Readiness

The early weeks and months after giving birth are filled with a whirlwind of emotions, physical recovery, and adjusting to a new routine. It’s essential to give yourself the time you need to heal and feel comfortable before scheduling a photoshoot. Your emotional well-being and comfort will significantly influence the atmosphere of the photos and the ease of the session.

Physical Recovery

Postpartum Healing:

Every woman’s postpartum recovery journey is unique. It’s crucial to listen to your body and allow yourself ample time to heal. Whether you had a vaginal delivery or a C-section, your comfort should be a priority. Waiting until you feel physically ready ensures that you can move around comfortably during the photoshoot and enjoy the experience.

Rest and Energy:

Newborns demand a lot of attention, which can be exhausting. Make sure you’re getting enough rest and feel energetic enough to participate fully in the photoshoot. A well-rested mom can engage more naturally, resulting in more genuine and relaxed photos.

Emotional Readiness

Adjusting to Motherhood:

Becoming a mother is a significant life change. Give yourself time to adjust to your new role and bond with your baby. When you feel emotionally ready, it will reflect in your photos through your genuine expressions and interactions with your newborn.

Feeling Confident:

Your confidence and comfort are key to a successful photoshoot. Take the time you need to feel good about yourself. Whether that means getting back into a routine, wearing clothes that make you feel beautiful, or simply feeling more like yourself again, your emotional readiness will shine through in the photos.

Ideal Timing

No Strict Timeline:

Unlike posed newborn photoshoots that are often scheduled within the first two weeks of a baby’s life, lifestyle newborn photoshoots offer more flexibility. There’s no strict timeline to adhere to, so you can plan the session when you feel ready, whether that’s a few weeks or a few months postpartum.

Capturing Real Moments:

Lifestyle photoshoots are about capturing the genuine moments and interactions between you and your baby. Waiting until you feel ready allows you to be fully present, resulting in photos that truly reflect the love and connection you share with your newborn.

Tips for Preparing When You’re Ready

Communicate with Your Photographer:

Share your feelings and preferences with your photographer. A good photographer will understand the importance of your readiness and work with you to schedule the session at the best time for you.

Choose Comfortable Outfits:

Select outfits that make you feel comfortable and confident. Soft, neutral colors work well for a cohesive and timeless look. Avoid anything too tight or uncomfortable. Tip: check stores like Macy’s, Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack and Gap for looks for under $100. Here is a great option from Macy’s.

Create a Relaxing Environment:

Ensure that the photoshoot environment is calm and relaxing. Choose a location in your home where you feel at ease. A relaxed environment will help you feel more comfortable and result in more natural photos.

Include Meaningful Elements:

Incorporate elements that are meaningful to you and your family. This could be a favorite blanket, a special piece of jewelry, or a cozy corner in your home. These personal touches add depth and authenticity to your photos.

Conclusion

The best time to have your lifestyle newborn photoshoot is when you, as a mom, feel physically and emotionally ready. Prioritizing your comfort and well-being ensures that you can fully enjoy the experience and capture the genuine, heartfelt moments that make this time so special. Remember, there’s no rush. Take the time you need, and when you feel ready, your photos will reflect the beautiful journey of motherhood you’ve embarked upon. If you are in the Washington DC Metro area and are ready to schedule your newborn lifestyle photoshoot then contact me today!

The post The Best Time to Have Your Lifestyle Newborn Photoshoot: When Mom Feels Ready first appeared on Jessica Caso Photography.

Start With Mom’s Outfit

Let’s be honest, we are often more picky about how we look, and moms are typically pulling the outfits together anyways. Wear an outfit you feel great in! Please do not feel like you have to dress to the nines for the photo shoot. Relaxed and casual clothing like jeans and a t-shirt or light shirt/blouse or a floaty dress work particularly well for an at-home session. Clothing that is too formal may make it harder for you feel relaxed and in the moment. If you’d like to get a more formal shot then have that outfit on standby. You’ll be at-home so it’s no big deal to have a quick wardrobe change.

Coordinate Don’t Match

Today’s family pictures are more about coordinating than matching. Each person in your family can dress in a way that fits their own personality and you can still look pulled together in your family pictures. Start by picking a color palette and then add in accessories to pull the whole look together. For big family shots this can be particularly helpful advice. Telling everyone to wear what you want as long is it’s cream, navy or yellow for example, can help make picture day planning so much easier on everyone. Click HERE for color and outfit inspiration for the whole family.

Watch That Watch

Do you really want to wear your watch in your family photos? Yes, if it’s a piece of jewelry. No, if it’s constantly lighting up with incoming text notifications. It’s a great idea to skip the watch for the shoot. This applies to hair ties too!

Empty Your Pockets

Pocket bulges from phones and car keys don’t ruin a photo, but they sure do make your pants look silly!

Newborn Outfits

I think less is more when it comes to dressing your newborn. A plain or neutral onesie or snug fitting jammies is perfect attire for your babe. I’m sure you’ve received a ton of swaddle/receiving blankets over these past several months, chose a few of your favorites to have on hand for your photographer. Don’t worry about swaddling, your newborn photographer is likely a pro in this department. And, if you want some shots in that cute little outfit that is completely impractical but you had to buy it anyway, just have it ready to go. A quick outfit change isn’t a big deal if baby is still calm and happy at the end of the shoot.

Get Some Pro Help

Consider hiring a professional hair and makeup artist to come to your home before the shoot. This might seem like an unnecessary expense at first but I can promise you that having this help on picture day will be a good investment!

What-about Those Toes?

Like with the outfit, casual is best. Bare-feet, socks or even slippers are all great options!

Where to Shop:

Amazon

Nordstrom

H&M

Express

The post 7 Tips on Dressing For A Stress Free At-Home Photoshoot first appeared on Jessica Caso Photography.

Tips For Online Printing

• Tip 1  When printing on your own, please always select a “matte” or “lustre” finish.  Do not, I repeat, do not order “glossy”. Glossy prints will not show off the quality of your images and have a tendency to stick to the glass in a frame causing inconsistencies on the print.  They also have a tendency to collect finger prints.
• Tip 2  Make sure you TURN OFF any color correction or auto correct functions.  Many labs not only have this as an option but will also automatically apply it.
• Tip 3  Double check your crops.  Your images may not be sized perfectly for all print sizes sometimes resulting in a very unfortunate decapitation.  Make sure to double check any crop placement before hitting the ORDER button.
• Tip 4  Don’t print screenshots.  Take the extra step to download your images.  This often requires a computer as images sizes are likely too big to be stored on your phone.  If you’ve hired a professional photographer and then print screenshots, you’ve just wasted your money.

Jes’ Favorite Print Shops:

• Nations Photo Lab delivers good-looking, well packaged prints to avoid any shipping damage.  It is also one of the few services that offer an attractive gift-packaging option: A sleek box tied with a silk ribbon makes for an attractive gift shipped directly to family or friends. Nations also offers free shipping for orders of $50 or more and often you can find a promo code with a quick Google search.
• Mpix who is part of the Miller’s family, offers great prints with very little color and exposure change from the original image.  The prints are well packaged and like Nations you can also often find coupon codes online.
• Printique who comes from Adorama, delivers photo prints on a good choice of papers and in very sturdy shipping material.  They don’t offer as many photo gifts as some of the other labs but you can be assured that what they do have will be beautiful and arrive to you safely.
• Artifact Uprising offers a wide range of printed photo products and all of them are of superb quality.  From creation to order to shipment, Artifact’s photo printing services are on point.
• Framebridge is best for full-service online framing. They offer a simple ordering platform, and the quality is top-notch. Each frame is handcrafted, and the cost depends on the size of the finished product, but shipping is always free!
• Walmart Photo  Walmart makes this list because it’s a great option if you need your photos ASAP. Want your prints the day you order them? No other service here can boast that feature. The print quality can vary from store to store so don’t expect forever quality prints but they’ll do in a pinch.

The post Tips & Recommendations For Online Printing first appeared on Jessica Caso Photography.

Covid has changed all aspects of life and your newborn photoshoot is no different. We have all learned how to navigate this new world as safely as possible. To keep my family and yours safe I have implemented a COVID Policy until this mess is over.

Masks

I will be wearing a mask during the entire session. I have a stock pile of clean KN95 masks that I will be wearing to all sessions. Whether we are indoor or out, I’ll be masked up 100% of the time.

Sanitizing

I always start my sessions with a thorough hand washing. I will also take breaks to wash or sanitize my hands during the session and am cleaning my equipment between sessions.

Contact

I hate that I can’t take a couple extra seconds to snuggle my littles clients right now but we will get back to normal eventually and then let the snuggles resume! In the meantime, I am limiting contact with newborns to just swaddling, and simple posing adjustments. But I am happy to go no contact as well. Whatever makes you feel more comfortable. Let me know what your expectation are prior to our session. We can talk about any limitations and come up with a plan to make your session great! I’ll make sure to remove my shoes at the door and will be limiting all sessions to under 2 hours.

Your home

If possible, I am asking clients to open windows to help with ventilation. This might make rooms a little chilly during these winter sessions so if you have a space heater and/or heating pad those will be helpful accessories. Have some cozy blankets available too. Even if we don’t use them in the photos they can be helpful with keeping baby nice and comfy.

My home

We are taking very strict precautions in our home. Two of my children have an auto-immune disorder that is triggered by illness so we have been especially diligent. I will let you know if my family or I have been in contact with a sick person or if someone in my house isn’t feeling well and ask that you do the same. I’m also happy to implement anything else that would make you all feel more comfortable. Here’s to a great 2021 and a great session!

The post What To Expect At Your Newborn Photoshoot – Covid Edition first appeared on Jessica Caso Photography.

The post Union Market Maternity Session first appeared on Jessica Caso Photography.

The post bump to baby first appeared on Jessica Caso Photography.

The post Jillian + Garri first appeared on Jessica Caso Photography.