Heartwarming In-Home Newborn Session

There is something to be said about the beautiful intimacy that comes from having a photo session within your home. This is the place where you live, where all of your family mementos, photos, plants, and junk drawer reside. So when clients invite me into their homes to document their lives, it’s a genuinely warm, and heartwarming feeling. I get to see them for who they are at their most vulnerable honest selves and this may be why in-home sessions are one of my favorites.

I was invited into Karishma and Nil’s home earlier this year shortly after (as in two weeks after) their sweet baby boy was born to document this precious phase of their lives with a heartwarming in-home newborn session.

Being a mother myself, I have been right in this place where it feels daunting and magical simultaneously as I hold this new life in my hands full of wonder and uncertainty. All while also trying to juggle all the things, like, taking a shower and avoiding the house looking like a natural disaster ran through it. 

And yet, when I got to Karishma and Nils home, I instantly felt so welcome and at home. Flowers and plants have a very special place in the heart of their home, especially with Karishma. They are a source of joy, which is why, with a two-week-old, Karishma went to the flower market prior to our in-home session so she could pick the exact florals that she wanted in her home for their photos.

Soft greens and warm oranges filled their home and spilled into the nursery.

When we got to the nursery, there was this beautiful green elephant vase with a bamboo plant on a small side table by the rocker. Nil’s grandmother had gifted it to the couple when they had first moved into the home, and it fit so perfectly with the baby’s nursery which was coincidentally also Elephant themed in similar shades of green. This hadn’t been intentional, but after it had been designed, they realized how perfectly that plant went with the space, and also added a small piece of the family to the nursery.

I also was in love with the darling bookcase that was shaped like an elephant and the warm-toned crib they had found for the nursery as well. The room wasn’t cluttered or filled with every elephant thing possible but was done in such a way that was functional, precious, and intentional.

Motherhood and parenthood are something that is hard to whittle down and describe into words unless the person you are talking to has been there or is there themselves. It’s a unique club of worry and intense joy, sleepless nights, endless laughter and ultimately questioning oneself frequently. Something that caught my eye was the three bracelets that Karishma wore on her wrist. When I asked if I could see them, I knew I had to take a photo of them, because it summed up all of those emotions beautifully. The first said proudly, “boy mom”, with a small gold beaded bracelet in between the other bracelet that said, “you’ve got this”.

Oh, how many times have all parents needed to hear, “You’ve Got This”?! Words of encouragement during a time that sort of relays to the feeling of a newborn fawn learning to walk. Just a small, beautiful intentional reminder for this sweet mama.

It was a serious joy to be able to come and document this sweet little new life in his own home. There was such a calm spirit within this space and this baby boy just slept the majority of the in-home session. We moved slowly from the living room to the nursery, taking our time and being intentional with each of the photos and moments documented. Little to nothing was staged or posed and I absolutely loved being able to find these small moments and pockets of intentionality such as the bamboo plant or the bracelets. It couldn’t have been a sweeter time.