St Augustine Family, Newborn & Proposal Photographer, Teresa Geraghty

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Can you Schedule a Newborn Session Outdoors?

Most people who book newborn sessions are either looking for posed studio photos or in home lifestyle photos. While I offer both of those options, I also offer the option to schedule your newborn session outdoors. This is probably not a surprise to most of my clients, as I always encourage my clients schedule photos outdoors. An outdoor session can be scheduled in your backyard, at a local park, an arboretum or any location of your choice. This is a great way to get family photos with your new bundle of joy in a unique way. I love to schedule outdoor sessions whenever weather permits here in the Long Island area.

Backyard Newborn Sessions at Your Own Home

If you are unsure about scheduling your entire session at an outdoor location, we can stick to your home as the location and use your front or backyard as a secondary location. Utilizing the backyard is a great option for clients whose homes are small, under renovation or do not have an abundance of natural light. I do not require a tons of space outside, just a little bit of flowers or shrubbery and some open shade. Even if we only do a small portion of your session outdoors, you won’t be sorry. Outdoor newborn photos are unique and will give your gallery of in home session images more diversity.

In Home Newborn Photos

It was a perfect May day on the day of this recent session, my client had the prettiest yard with ample shade available, so I suggested starting the session in the yard. We started with the propped portion of the session and then moved onto some family photos. Once we were done with this portion of the session, we went indoors to capture some photos in the baby’s nursery, which had beautiful light. My client wanted photos captured in the nursery and these two locations provided the perfect balance for her gallery of images with a diverse feel to them.

Propped Photos

Most clients who book me for in home sessions, do not want propped images, so they are not included in my base package price. My approach to newborn photography has always been to capture images that make you feel something. The clients who book me typically prefer images that capture their family interacting with one another. In my last decade pf photographing babies with their families, I have learned a few things. One thing I discovered is that propped newborn images take time away from my ability to focus on those in between family moments during a session. I have also found that most clients prefer that their newborn session be captured in an hour to ninety minutes, which can’t be done with a combo of posed and family portraiture.

Don’t get me wrong…I love propped and posed newborn images and will still continue to offer them in my studio. My props allow for natural posed images of the baby, but they do require the baby to be asleep for posing. For those in home clients who do not mind the longer session length and want a few propped images, I offer a propped combo package.

Are you interested in a newborn session? Contact me for more info.