There’s a common hesitation I often hear about doing family sessions at home, and it’s this: “my house isn’t clean enough,” “pretty enough,” “bright enough” (insert your own objection here). Families will see the photos in my sample albums and say “but these homes look like they’re right out of a magazine! My house doesn’t look like that!”

Well here’s the truth about at-home sessions: they’re actually easy to prepare for AND super fun! I promise! And your house doesn’t have to be magazine-worthy either!

The loss of baby teeth and the oncoming of adult teeth is an exciting milestone for kids (and for us parents too)! Their crooked little smiles are goofy and adorable, and it’s just as important to document as any other marker of childhood.

This blog post is all about my personal favorite resources specific to preparing for pregnancy, labor, and postpartum care, and my hope is that it helps out other mamas-to-be even the tiniest bit! This guide includes book recommendations, types of classes that were most helpful for me, and of course, when to schedule your photography sessions for maternity and newborn photos.

The following is my mini guide for choosing the right newborn photographer for you. Ideally, you will find someone whose photos resonate with you and whose personality makes you feel comfortable and at ease. As cuddly and wonderful as it is to have a newborn, there is a lot of stress that comes with it too, so make sure you find someone to work with who will make sure your session is simple, easy, and fun.

Let’s face it, everyone loves to watch one-year-olds destroy their perfect little cakes and smash them all over their faces. The messier the better, right? Particularly this year, in the age of the coronavirus, zoom birthdays have been a sight for sore eyes, watching these tiny humans cover themselves in cake and frosting. When determining how to plan for your cake smash session, here are some considerations to think about.

By having health and safety built into the foundation of my photography sessions, I can focus my creative energy into making kids laugh through verbal queues and documenting the same joy and deep emotional connection I’ve always strived to capture, even before the Coronavirus came into our lives.