Preparing your home for a newborn session (it doesn't need to be tidy)

By Deep Arora · Still & Golden Photography · Frankston & South-East Melbourne

The most common worry I hear from families before an in-home newborn session isn't about the baby. It's about the house. "We haven't unpacked the nursery." "There's washing everywhere." "Can you photoshop out the pile of boxes?"

Let me put your mind at ease: your home does not need to be tidy, styled or Pinterest-ready. I've photographed beautiful sessions in homes mid-renovation, apartments with one good window, and lounge rooms carpeted in toys. Here's what actually matters — and the very short list of things worth doing before I arrive.

What I'm actually looking for

An in-home newborn session doesn't use your whole house. It uses two or three small pockets of it:

• The main bed. The single best spot in almost every home — big, comfortable, and usually near the best window. Family cuddles, feeding photos, baby gazing up at you: most of the session's favourites happen here.
• The couch. Great for relaxed parent portraits, toddler-and-baby moments and grandparent cuddles.
• The nursery. Even if it's half-finished. You spent months thinking about this room — one day you'll love seeing how it looked when your baby was brand new.

That's it. The kitchen bench covered in bottles and the hallway full of nappy boxes never make it into frame — and honestly, even if a corner of real life sneaks in, that's the point of documentary photography.

Light matters more than tidiness

If you do only one thing before the session, do this: open the curtains and blinds. I photograph with natural light, and soft window light is what gives in-home newborn photos their warm, honest feel.

You don't need to know which rooms have the best light — that's my job. When I arrive, I'll do a quick lap of the house, find the two or three brightest pockets, and we'll work around those. North-facing windows are gold, but every home has something to work with.

The 15-minute prep list

Forget deep cleaning. If you want to prepare, this is the entire list:

• Clear the bed and put on neutral bedding if you have it — white or soft tones photograph best.
• Shift clutter out of the three spots we'll use: bed, couch, nursery. Shove it in a cupboard; I'll never know.
• Open every curtain in those rooms.
• Warm the house — newborns photograph best when they're comfortable, and comfortable means warm.
• Have a feed nearby. A well-fed baby is a relaxed baby, and pauses for feeding are always built into the session.

Prepare yourselves, not the house

The photos that matter most in twenty years won't be of your styling — they'll be of you. So spend your energy where it counts:

• Wear something you feel good in. Soft, simple, neutral. There's a full guide in what to wear for your family photo session.
• Don't aim for "rested". You have a newborn; nobody expects it. You'll be amazed how little the tiredness shows and how much the love does.
• Let toddlers be toddlers. If you have an older child, don't brief them to behave. The sessions where big siblings wander in and out are the ones with the most life in them.

What if our home is really small, or really dark?

Small homes are honestly a gift — everything is close together and the session flows easily. Genuinely dark homes are rarer than people think, but if yours is one of them, we simply plan the session for the brightest time of day, or lean into moodier, more intimate light. It always works out; I've never once arrived at a home and not found the photos.

Curious how the sessions run and when to book? Read when is the best time to book newborn photos, or head to the newborn photography page for pricing and details.