Jessica Catherine Photography is proud to have been voted Best Newborn Photographer 2019 by Main Line Parent.

This article explains how our specialty, in home newborn sessions, is best for you and baby.

Why in home newborn sessions are easier for you and baby

You have just arrived home from the hospital with your beautiful baby. Maybe you’re a first time parent or maybe this is your second or third. Either way, attending to your new baby’s needs is your first priority so he or she is comfortable and happy.

You want a photographer to create your baby’s newborn portraits, but don’t want to pack up your 5-14 day old, the car seat, the diapers, the wipes, the pacifier, the burp cloths, the extra clothes, the breast pump, etc., and bring your brand new baby to a photography studio.

I hear you. Neither would I.

Partly because I wouldn’t want to be bothered with leaving the comfort of home (or my bed for a quick nap when possible!) and partly because I wouldn’t want to bring my new baby to a high-traffic photography studio.

In home sessions offer small but important luxuries: young siblings’ schedules and naps are uninterrupted, moms can pump, siblings can play in their own space.

Parents and siblings need not wait around in a studio to only be photographed for part of the session.

Moreover, pets can be incorporated into the newborn portraits.

For these reasons, I developed my newborn photography business around an in home model.

What kind of portraits can be created in your home?

The quick answer? Any, because I bring the studio to you.

Both posed newborn portraits and family portraits with the newborn can be easily be achieved in the comfort of your own home.

I do admittedly arrive at my client's homes with quite a lot of gear, but like I tell everyone: "I promise it will all be out of your house when I'm gone."

I pose newborns on a large bean bag, which is the same way it’s done in a studio.

In fact, I had my bean bag custom made and could comfortably fit triplets and probably creatively fit quadruplets on it.

Home temperature is adjusted for baby's comfort and a space heater supplements when needed.

I have a variety of tiny beds, baskets, and other props I bring, depending on the parents' preferences which are discussed well before the session.

I even bring backdrops to create different flooring options.

But what about the lighting?

All Jessica Catherine Photography portraits are created using natural light.

One advantage of using the natural light is large light stands don't need to be set up around baby.

Every single image you have seen on my website or social media accounts was created in my clients’ homes using whatever natural light was occurring that day.

A question I get asked is what if it's raining? The answer is it will be fine.

I have photographed babies in severe thunderstorms that seemingly "turn the sky black" (the portrait of the twins in this post was taken during a nor’easter!).

You would be surprised how much light there actually is in rainy weather.

Sometimes a rainy day is actually preferable to an extremely bright "not a cloud in the sky day."

Whatever mother nature is presenting us, there is a way to harness it and illuminate your baby beautifully with it.

To help you visualize how this is all possible, I created the behind-the-scenes video at the beginning of this page to demonstrate how in-home newborn photography works.

In the video, the baby is posed on a bean bag and in various props in front of a window.

You may notice that there are multiple layers of different fabrics on the bean bag - this enables me to capture different backdrops and provide my clients with a variety of looks.

These looks and styles are carefully planned at the Design Consultation during which I discuss your family's personality, home decor, preferred colors, and other style preferences.

Each in-home newborn session is customized for every client.