Why I Never Use Newborn Photography Props

When I started out on my photography journey, I was always fascinated by capturing people, emotions and connections between people. Going into family photography was the natural next step for me, because I just LOVE the unique connection that each family has and it always thrills me that even though my photography style and sessions might be similar with each family, the actual images always reflect just that - the uniqueness of that individual family.

Of course, when you start a family photography business, you have to ask yourself the question “What about newborn photography?” and I have to be honest, I was quite reluctant about it for a very long time. The traditional, posed newborn photos you see are very cute, no doubt about it, but to me something felt off and not quite right about them. As I said, my images are all about capturing true connections and emotion and those images just didn’t do this for me.

The moment I learned about newborn lifestyle photography was an absolute game changer for me. In hindsight it seems funny that I just didn’t even consider that I could just use my own photography style and focus in a newborn setting, but - like many - I had such a preconceived idea of what newborn photos should look like that it took me a while to figure it out…

But what is newborn lifestyle photography, you might wonder. It basically captures you and your newborn baby in the comfort of your own home in natural poses that are comfortable and natural for your baby. To me, newborn babies are perfect just the way they are. There is a kind of magic and calmness about them, that is just beautiful to capture - and you don’t need fancy props to do that. If anything, I think it distracts from the true essence of those first few magical weeks.

So for my newborn photography I only need the following things to capture your baby and your beautiful connection with each other:

a room with a window that lets plenty of natural light in
a bed with neutral coloured bed sheets
a blanket or swaddle.

Below you can see a few examples of my newborn work. Don’t you think they capture the babies and their parents in a beautiful, honest and natural way?