Baby Anderson {Pittsburgh In-Home Newborn Session}

It’s official - I’ve absolutely fallen in love with newborn photography! I have had the privilege of meeting so many sweet babies in recent months, and they’re all so precious! I think my favorite part about lifestyle newborn photography is that I get to come into a family’s home and capture life as it is in that moment - perhaps exhausting or chaotic but always full of so much love and joy.

Karin and Steve invited me into their Pittsburgh home when Anderson was about 4 weeks old. The awesome thing about having a slightly older newborn is that they have a greater ability to really connect - they might look at mom or dad or even the camera! It’s a lot of fun. Big brothers Nathan and Lincoln were game for photos, and enjoyed kissing their baby brother and smiling big for the camera. The H Family is such a sweet group! Now for a few of my favorite photos…

Newborn baby boy looks up at his mother in their Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania home during a lifestyle newborn photography session.

Black and white image of a baby boy’s feet. The infant’s father holds his feet up.

A naked newborn baby yawns big while being held in his dad’s lap during a lifestyle newborn session.

Big brothers Nathan and Lincoln peak into their baby brother’s crib as he sleeps peacefully in their Bridgeville Pittsburgh PA home.

The newborn’s siblings look at each other, grinning, as they lean on the crib to take a peak at their new baby brother.

A sweet newborn sleeps soundly in his crib, wrapped in a white swaddle. The scene is illuminated by natural window light in the nursery of this Pittsburgh home.

Black and white image of a new dad holding his sleeping baby boy while leaning his back on the infant’s crib in the nursery of their Pittsburgh home.

Mom, Karin, holds her sleeping baby boy while standing near a window in her home in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.

Mom and Dad sit on the bad in their master bedroom, holding their newborn son, Anderson, as he sleeps peacefully. The father looks down at the baby as the mother looks lovingly at her husband.

Older siblings pile onto the bed, tackling mom with a big hug. Dad holds the newborn baby as he laughs at the scene.

Toddler smiles big, his blue eyes just gleaming as his mother wraps her arm around him while sitting on the couch in their Bridgeville home.

Young child stares up at the camera, blue eyes gleaming, while standing near a window in his house.

Parents and siblings snuggle on the couch, holding newborn baby, Anderson. Everyone looks sweetly at the infant, while the brothers reach up to try to hold him.

Kelsey Cunningham 1/19/19 Kelsey Cunningham 1/19/19

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.