Welcoming Aria in a pink-themed newborn photo session in Conroe, TX
I don’t know who was more excited about Aria’s arrival – her parents or her big sister, Ava! This sweet four-year-old loves to snuggle with tiny Aria, and I was so impressed with how gentle she is with her sister. That’s not always something you see in young kids!
Soft neutrals & a precious newborn girl
After their lovely family maternity session in the spring, I couldn’t wait to capture this family of four now that there are two precious girls at home! Mama Erika created a gorgeous color palette for the family, with a light tan dress for herself, dad Eric in khaki and white, Ava in a dusty rose tutu and baby Aria in a delicate floral print newborn gown.
I adore earth tones like these colors, especially for newborn sessions, because all of the focus is on baby and the faces of her family. You aren’t distracted by loud colors or busy patterns. These photos are timeless and elegant – they’re beautiful now, and they’ll look amazing as the girls grow up together, too.
View Erika’s sneak peek video, ready just one day after this in-home newborn session!
Mama snuggled with her girls
Erika didn’t have many must-have shots for her in-home newborn photo session, but she did request a handful of sweet images! When she announced her pregnancy back in 2020, she and then three-year-old Ava snuggled together on the bed, proudly holding up a positive pregnancy test. As a nod to that happy memory, Erika again cuddled up with Ava in the master bedroom, this time also holding baby Aria instead of the pregnancy test indicating her upcoming arrival!
Although Ava is amazingly mature for just four years old, this is a wonderful shot for wiggly kiddos and a newborn. With baby safely tucked in tight against mama, she has one arm free to love on another child. If you’re not quite ready for your “big kid” and new baby to be photographed by themselves, perhaps because your older child has trouble sitting or laying still around baby, this is my go-to solution! This set up also works well on a couch or even on the floor if the master bedroom isn’t an option.
Sweet sisters, best friends
I knew after working with Ava for the family’s maternity session that she has excellent manners and follows directions very well. We went directly into sibling shots next, with Ava laying down on the master bed next to her sister.
Setting up this shot is pretty simple: I asked Ava to lay down first, with one arm bent to gently hold onto Aria, and the other hand placed on her tummy. From there, Eric gently laid baby Aria in the crook of Ava’s arm, where she is entirely supported by the mattress. With the girls cheek-to-cheek, Ava can turn her head to kiss her sister and gently stroke her cheek. In fact, the only movement in this series of photos is Ava turning her head or gently touching her sister’s cheek.
A happy family of four
A must-have shot for every in-home newborn session: a photo of the family showing off the new baby!
The focal point of Erika’s beautiful living room is a gorgeous brick fireplace, which was a great backdrop for family photos! Some mamas prefer family shots of everyone standing, while others like everyone snuggled on the couch together. I photographed this sweet family both ways so that Erika would have lots of options in her photo gallery.
When I had the family snuggled together on the couch, I asked mama and dad to smile at baby Aria, with Ava smiling up at me. I love how this photo captures everyone at the same time, while calling attention to baby and big sibling, too. This also works well when mom and dad share a quick kiss, while Ava smiles at me. Parents love it because the shot celebrates so much at once: marriage, their newborn and their first-born.
Aria snuggled in a basket
No at-home newborn photo session is complete without shots of baby in a basket or bowl! Aria wore my soft ivory mohair footed set for these photos, along with my light pink tieback and an adorable newborn-sized flower crown. Babies are fully supported underneath my cozy ivory blanket by a set of newborn posing pillows. This helps baby feel safe and secure, and it also means that once they’re snuggled safely in the basket, they aren’t going anywhere!
The Moses basket makes it simple to get full-body and half-body shots, along with capturing baby’s tiny features.
No nursery for newborn photos? No problem!
Baby Aria is currently sleeping in the master bedroom, like most newborns do for the first few months after birth. At some point, she’ll move in with big sister Ava!
This means we didn’t have the nursery as a backdrop for Aria’s newborn photos; Erika decided to skip it for baby #2. If you don’t have the nursery ready for your newborn photos, this session is proof you don’t absolutely need one! While the traditional approach to in-home newborn photography means we’d use baby’s room for at least part of the session, you can still have a beautiful photo gallery without it.
In place of a nursery, we used the master bedroom in three ways: the family on the bed, parents seated with baby in a comfy corner chair, and mom and dad standing in front of the wall of windows. We also used the living room in two ways: with the fireplace as a backdrop, and with the family seated on the couch, with the living room/kitchen softly out of focus in the background.
Wrapping up a beautiful in-home newborn photo session!
One thing you don’t notice in Erika’s beautiful newborn photo session is the number of times we paused to let Aria nurse! She was far more interested in eating than photos – and that’s perfectly fine! We moved at Aria’s pace, taking time to let her cuddle with mama throughout our time together.
As a mama of three daughters myself, I know that babies and young kids can be unpredictable, especially during big events like photo sessions. Even babies can feel a different energy in the air on the day of your session; you’re probably a little busier than normal, and you might even be feeling stressed trying to pull everything – and everyone – together.
That’s why I send my clients a copy of my Celebrate Motherhood magazine. There’s an entire section dedicated to in-home newborn photography where you’ll find a session timeline, wardrobe guidance for your entire family, tips for how to feed baby on the day of your photos, how to prep your home for magazine-worthy photos, and more! The magazine takes all the stress out of prepping for your photo session because everything you need to know is inside!
Erika and Eric have such beautiful memories to remember the early days with two beautiful little girls! No doubt they’ll treasure these moments as the girls grow up as the best of friends.
