Many parents booking a newborn sitting do not realise there is a choice to make about where it takes place. They assume one or the other without thinking it through, and end up with a particular kind of photograph by default. Both the studio and the home work, but they produce different photographs and different experiences, and the right choice for one family is not always the right one for another.
This is a brief guide to thinking through the choice. We will cover what each option involves in practice, when one tends to suit a family better than the other, and the combined option many families end up taking once they understand the difference between them.
What is actually different
The photographs themselves come out looking different. A studio newborn sitting tends to produce the cleaner, more formal portraits people associate with the genre. The baby in a wrap on a neutral background, soft light, no distractions, a focus entirely on the child. The result is timeless in the sense that the photographs do not date to a particular room or interior style.
A home newborn sitting produces something different in tone. The baby is photographed in the room they will grow up in, the nursery is in the background of some frames, the mother is in her own bed with the baby in others, and the older siblings are climbing on and off their own couch in their own clothes. The result is more documentary in feel, and is clearly a record of a particular family in a particular place rather than a generic newborn portrait.
Neither is better than the other. They are two different photographs of the same week.
When the studio tends to suit better
For most families with a first baby, the studio is the simpler option. The studio environment is set up specifically for newborns: temperature held at 26 degrees, controlled lighting that does not depend on the weather, and all the equipment to hand without setup time. The results are predictable in a way that newborn families tend to appreciate.
The studio also makes more sense for parents who would rather keep the disruption out of the house. Recovering at home after a birth often means the house is not quite ready for visitors, and parents who would prefer not to have a photographer setting up in the kitchen tend to choose the studio for that reason.
Other situations where the studio tends to be the right answer: when the home is short on natural light, when the nursery is not finished or set up, or if the family lives in an apartment without much space for the equipment we bring with us.
When home tends to suit better
Home sittings work particularly well in a few specific situations.
Families with older children, particularly toddlers who do not transport well, often find the home is a calmer environment for everyone. The toddler can play with their own toys, nap in their own bed, and join the photographs in their own clothes without the additional pressure of being in a strange place.
Mothers recovering from a difficult birth or a caesarean often find that not having to travel is the deciding factor. We bring everything to you, and the sitting works around your pace and your space.
The home itself can be the reason. The nursery the parents prepared, a particular window where the mother sits to feed, a piece of furniture that is going to mean something in years to come: all of these get into the photographs in a way the studio cannot replicate.
Twin families tend to find the home works better simply because the logistics of moving two newborns are more complicated than the logistics of moving one.
And families who want the photographs to feel like a record of their family at home, rather than a portrait of the baby at the studio, almost always do better at home.
What the practical day looks like
A studio sitting is usually about two hours. You arrive with the baby in whatever they are comfortable in, settle in for ten minutes, feed and change the baby as needed, and we work through the sitting at the baby’s pace. Most parents are home again by lunchtime.
A home sitting takes longer, usually three to four hours. We arrive with our equipment, set up in a room with good natural light, and then work to the baby’s rhythm in the same way we would in the studio. The longer time is partly setup, partly the slower pace of working in your space, and partly because home sittings tend to include more of the surroundings (the family in different rooms, with siblings, in different lighting) than a studio sitting does.
Doing both
Some families do both, and we are happy to plan it that way. A short studio sitting for the formal newborn portrait in the first two weeks, when the baby is at their sleepiest, and a home sitting a few weeks later for a more contextual family photograph with everyone in their own space. The result is two distinctly different photographs of the same period, each capturing something the other cannot.
Doing both is usually a conversation worth having on the booking call, since it changes the timing of the two sittings and the way we coordinate them.
How to decide
If we had to give one rule, it would be this: the studio is the simpler and more consistent choice, and the home is the more personal one. Most first-time parents with a single baby end up at the studio, and most are glad they did. Most families with older children, particular family situations, or a strong preference for documentary photography end up at home, and most of them are glad they did too.
The honest answer is that there is no wrong choice, only the one that fits your family. A short conversation on the booking call usually settles it within a few minutes.
Booking
You can read more about our newborn photography on our newborn page.
To talk through which option suits your family, call us on 087 099 3990 or get in touch through our contact page.
