Baby Photoshoot at Home: 9 Tips for Beautiful, Relaxed Photos

Some of the most beautiful baby photographs happen not in studios but in living rooms, nurseries and grandparents' courtyards. At-home sessions are relaxed, nap-friendly and full of real life. Here's how to get the most from one.

Before the session

1. Find your light. Walk your home at the session hour — the room with the biggest window wins. We shoot 90% of at-home sessions in natural window light.
2. Clear one corner, not the whole house. We need a 6×6 ft area near that window. The rest of the house can stay gloriously real.
3. Time it around the best nap. A fed, freshly-napped baby gives you 45 golden minutes. We schedule the session around your baby's routine, not ours.

What to dress baby in

• Solid, soft colours — cream, sage, rust, dusty blue photograph beautifully
• Avoid logos, slogans and neon
• Keep a backup outfit (and a backup for the backup) within reach

During the shoot

Let us follow the baby instead of forcing poses. Tummy time on a textured blanket, peek-a-boo over a parent's shoulder, tiny toes in the foreground — the best frames are the in-between ones. Parents: you're getting in some photos too. Twenty years from now your child won't care that you hadn't washed your hair.

One last tip

Don't wait for a "good age". One month, four months, nine months — every stage has something the next one won't. The best time for a baby photoshoot is simply before this stage ends.