Baby Eliza & Her Lifestyle Newborn Session {Pittsburgh In-Home Newborn Photography}

I absolutely love lifestyle photography. And if you’re unfamiliar with what that means - you’ve come to the right place! Gone are the days of stiff posed shots with everyone (hopefully) looking at the camera and forcing a smile. Lifestyle photography is all about capturing authentic emotions and reactions - it’s story-telling. It’s about taking a snapshot of life as it is in that moment. It’s a guided process, typically. I offer prompts and some posing, but the photos feel candid and natural.

I visited Dan, Stella & baby Eliza on a Saturday afternoon at their home in Pittsburgh. Eliza had a full belly and was just starting to feel quite sleepy. While she was awake, I took pictures of her looking at Mommy & Daddy and even a couple of her looking at the camera (what luck!). Then we swaddled her and Daddy rocked her as he paced the nursery floor. Stella leaned over to tell me that this is his trick for getting her to sleep. And it worked like a charm! We then took pictures of her in her crib and in the basket she has become accustomed to sleeping in. We captured some mom & baby snuggles and some dad & baby snuggles as well as the whole family together.

The great thing about lifestyle photography is that it doesn’t matter if the baby is awake or asleep - both are great! We let the baby be who he or she is and capture those moments. When we removed Eliza’s swaddle at the end of the photo session, she posed herself (scroll to the bottom for the picture) - and it was so sweet! She then sort of sprawled out, and I think that was almost equally as adorable!

Not all newborn sessions are quite so seamless. And that’s okay! Bring your chaos. Bring your crazy. Bring you. I want you to look back on these photos and say - remember what life was like when we brought our sweet baby home? She loved sleeping on your shoulder and being rocked to sleep as you paced across the floor. Let’s capture life as it is in this moment. Let’s tell your story through photos.