Philadelphia Lifestyle vs Studio Newborn Photography Sessions | Heather Thomas Photography

Philadelphia In-Home Newborn Lifestyle vs Studio Newborn Photography Sessions

What is the difference between a Philadelphia In-Home Newborn Lifestyle Photo Session and a Studio Newborn Photography Session? I get the question often and wanted to sum it up here right with these precious lifestyle newborn portraits taken in Philadelphia. I’ll be short and sweet and to the point, because I realize time is limited these days, right?

Let’s talk about the three differences between the two newborn photography sessions :

Time :
- Lifestyle newborn sessions take about 60 minutes at most depending on the needs of your baby and family (Feeding, changing) Studio newborn sessions can take up to 4 hours. Though usually, it’s closer to 3 hours from the time you arrive at the time you leave. We start either outside the studio in Newtown or inside against the large natural light windows for sibling and family poses. Soon after, we’ll make sure your newborn is well fed so we can rock and cuddle him or her into a deep sleep.
Poses :
- One of my first questions, when I speak to new parents inquiring about newborn photography, is, what is your vision for the session? Do you like the posed and sleepy newborn portraits? Maybe you prefer the more natural approach where your home is the backdrop. It’s possible you’re not sure! That’s where your professional photographer comes in to help you decide. The studio newborn session is more formal yielding images of your sleepy (or sometimes awake) newborn curled up on a backdrop. Samples here. During your lifestyle session, the baby is photographed asleep or awake, whatever they decide to do during our session is captured. It’s usually a little bit of both.
Location:
- In-Home Newborn Lifestyle takes place….can you guess? Yes! In your home! I travel to South Jersey, Philadelphia, Montgomery County and Bucks Counties. Travel is available outside of these counties with an additional fee.
- Studio Newborn Portraits – The studio newborn portraits take place at my beautiful indoor-outdoor farmhouse studio in Newtown, PA. In your home, I use the characteristics of your home.

Now, let’s chat about the three similarities between the two newborn photography sessions :

Cost :
- The investment is the same for both the studio newborn photo shoot and the lifestyle photo shoot is the same. The session fee is $150 and the packages begin at $600.
Beautiful portraits of your newborn :
- Both sessions yield 50-70 beautiful portraits and often video clips taken of your little one during this once in a lifetime phase for you to ohhh and ahhh over! In-home lifestyle basket shots shown here.
Siblings and parent poses:
- both sessions do include the option for sibling and parent/family poses at the beginning of the session.
  In conclusion, both sessions are very similar. They both capture the precious first weeks of your little one including all the details that you will want to remember forever and always.I recommend thinking a little bit about what images you want to look back on when your little one is leaving for college (tears, I know!). Or maybe just on their first birthday. Do you wish you had photos of your parents with you as a newborn in the house you were brought home to? Maybe you don’t love where you live (it does happen!) and feel like your house isn’t a great backdrop for a newborn lifestyle session. Regardless, just know that your photographer will work with you to make either location awesome for your newborn photo shoot!