When I first became a photographer interested in newborns, I thought the lifestyle newborn genre was all about being unposed. The reality is that most people are not naturals in front of the camera and need some direction to achieve a natural, candid look. That’s where lifestyle newborn photographers come into play. Let’s chat about my favorite 8 lifestyle newborn poses.

Favorite Lifestyle Newborn Poses #1: The Hug From Behind

Lifestyle Newborn Pose #2: Baby on the Bed

While a crib seems like an obvious place to photograph your newborn alone, the primary bed is actually my favorite spot. There is something about a tiny baby placed on a huge bed that is just so adorable. Primary bedrooms also usually have the best light in the house, and a clean/plain bedspread is the ideal backdrop to focus on all those tiny details.

Bonus: it’s so easy to get parent interaction when the baby is lying on the primary bed because there aren’t any crib bars to block access. Once you get the classic solo baby lifestyle newborn poses out of the way, add in some parent hands in the detail shots, or a little head snuggle or kiss!

Favorite Pose #3: The Crib

Even though the primary bed is my FAVORITE spot to photograph a newborn baby, I also love using the crib. Parents have usually put a lot of thought into decorating their nursery…and that usually includes fun patterned crib sheets. You can photograph the baby from above, as well as through the nursery bars. If there isn’t a dedicated nursery and parents are using a bassinet, you can bring along a moses basket to photograph baby in. Grab their favorite muslin swaddle blanket for a pop of color or pattern and line the base of the basket under a window.

Favorite Lifestyle Newborn Poses #4: Baby to Chest

Back in the “olden days”, the days of our parents, newborn photos weren’t taken with baby’s face not visible. Formal portraiture always had everyone staring at the camera, whether smiling or not. Lifestyle newborn photography has embraced the candid and natural look. Yes, we are posing and guiding you, but the goal is to have you in natural poses that you do with your baby every single day. One of my favorites is snuggling baby in to your chest. I think every parent relates to this pose from soothing or contact napping! It adds a much more intimate feel to the gallery when you include these more emotive ones as well.

Bonus: try this same pose laying down! Have one or both parents lay on the bed with baby snuggled into their chest. Photograph from afar, up close, and at all angles!

Favorite Pose #5: Everyone sits on the Bed

I don’t know about you, but when my boys were little, we spent a heck of a lot of time chilling on our primary bed together. Our babies were in bassinets in our room for so long that it was second nature to be all snuggling on the bed. I love, love this pose for this reason. I usually start either closer up or further back and then work my way to the opposite. Use the doorway for some foreground bokeh!

Newborn Lifestyle Poses #6: Over the Shoulder

This pose works on babies of all stages, whether they are two weeks old or ten weeks! It also looks adorable whether they are asleep or staring directly into the camera. I also love to bring the other parent in to interact with baby. If your baby is awake and alert and holding their head up, bring the other parent in from the side for a kiss. If your baby is fully flopped on, sound asleep, have the other parent embrace from the back and snuggle into baby while you photograph them from the side.

Pose #7: Baby Sandwich

The baby sandwich lifestyle newborn pose is one of my favorites. This can be done in any style or size home because everyone has a primary bed! Simply place the baby in the middle of the bed, so that the light from the window falls down on them (or use my flash course so that you don’t have to rely on poorly placed windows!) and put a parent on either side like a sandwich. Have each parent lay on their side and snuggle right into the baby so their heads are all close together. Hop up onto the bed and photograph them from above, then close up, from an angle, etc!

Favorite Lifestyle Poses #8: The Stairwell

This last one is less of a pose than a location. When we think of the spots you typically see in a lifestyle newborn gallery, we think of the primary bedroom, the nursery, and the family room. One of my favorite additional spots to add is the stairwell. This doesn’t work in *every* house, but depending on light and layout, it can be a great addition. I like to stagger the parents on steps and have everyone looking at/interacting with the baby. This house had a mirror directly across from the stairwell, so I was able to photograph them through the mirror which adds depth and interest.

I hope you enjoyed learning more about my favorite newborn lifestyle poses! As we all know, sometimes it’s easy to get stuck at a session and have your mind go blank when you’re trying to think of what to do next. Keep this blog handy for some ideas when that happens next!