Which type of newborn photography should I choose?

There are two main types referenced in the world of newborn photography; posed, and lifestyle. Preferences are unique to each person and the decision is entirely up to you! In this blog I’m going to help you decide which one you will most likely prefer for your upcoming newborn session!

First of all congratulations, whether you are an expecting mother, a grandparent or friend looking for a unique baby shower gift, or an adoption candidate, you all have one thing in common; excitement for new life! You can check out my instagram account to see what to expect before/during/after a Newborn Sessions, in general, under the highlight “Newborn”. Once you book a session you will receive The Newborn Guide: How to prepare for your upcoming session. This will give you tips, tricks and suggestions to help you get the most from your session!

Anticipation and excitement for the future, and of wanting perfectly documented moments, can leave you feeling overwhelmed by a question you’ve never even thought about before! Which type of newborn photography do I want?

There are two main types of newborn photography- Lifestyle; a more candid approach to capturing your family and it’s brand new plus one, and Posed; give me ALLLL the props and let’s play dress-up!

There are 4 main things to consider when deciding between the two options including:

  1. Cost
  2. Convenience
  3. Compatibility
  4. …and lastly… Cuteness (yes, we’re talking about babies how could that not be a factor)

Let’s Break each of these down:

Cost: Typically (in my area or areas like mine) to get a good quality newborn photographer you’re looking at upwards of $275 for a lifestyle photographer and upwards of $350 for a newborn photographer trained in posing. The costs obviously vary quite a bit depending on the skill of the photographer and the demand of their personal photography/editing style. Posed Newborn photography is not cheap. If you’re looking at my packaged you might notice that Posed and Lifestyle newborn session cost the same. Now I may change this in the future but for now this works for me! The biggest difference is the amount of images delivered. Posing takes a lot of time when it comes to tiny babies and it is a lot of work! These images also take more time in post-processing. Buying newborn props is also expensive since you only want to buy the best and safest options. Instead of charging more for Posed Newborn shoots I just tent to deliver less images. Not because I’m stingy but because they just naturally produce less usable images in the same timespan as my lifestyle newborn shoots. (Again, this may change in the future but for now I want to keep it simple. You can always check my Newborn Pricing Guide to be sure!)

Convenience: Newborn photography is a lot of work no matter what, but add props, toys, swaddles and blankets into the mix (not to mention a diaper-less baby and no A/C -so they don’t get cold) and it makes for a messy, sweaty crew! If you’re worried about being overwhelmed by the task Lifestyle may be better for you. Lifestyle photography can also be done in your own home- in fact the point of a lifestyle approach is to take natural pictures in a home-like surrounding-whether that be my home studio or your actual home! (I highly suggest this option for c-section moms or others who are having a rough recovery).

Compatibility: By this I mean which one will work better with your life. Which will better serve the purpose you have for getting these photos taken? If you want to document your family and have brothers, sisters, mom and dad involved then lifestyle is your pick. If you’re wanting pictures for birth announcements, blessing announcements or baptism announcements, thought, typically those work best as posed shots! In my opinion either style looks great hanging in the home!

Cuteness: I’m not about to say one style is cuter than the other and thats because it’s really up to you! If you love the idea of having your baby all dolled up (literally), in this short time that they’ll let you get away with it, then do it! If you think a more natural, lifestyle approach is more your definition of cute then go with that!

Whatever you choose in the end the most important thing to remember is to document and remember these moments. I know this is going to sound so cliché but, this little stage, it only happens once per life and it really does happen so fast!!

Lastly, thanks to Ellie, Leo and Trevor for letting me keep them a little longer than the regular time so that I could show you a comparison of how both types of newborn photos would look for the same family!

<3 Alyssa

  1. Linda says:

    These are such beautiful photos. Keep up the great work.

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