How to Prepare for a Newborn Lifestyle Session

One of my most frequently asked questions from parents for in home newborn lifestyle sessions is how they can prepare for photos. I always start out by saying there is no need to worry about tidying up (you just had a baby!) and if anything needs to be moved around, I am happy to do that when I get there. You would be surprised at the beauty that can be captured in just a small corner with good natural light!

In my experience, all you need is some nice window light and a warm space where baby is happy and can be cuddled and loved. When I arrive I’ll take a look around your home for the spaces with the best natural light and possibly open blinds and curtains. Usually we begin by taking photos in the nursery and a then a living space such as a bedroom or living room. I’m always game for outdoor photos as well if the weather is nice.

I suggest that baby gets a feeding before the session if possible but I like to keep things relaxed and always allow time for feedings and diaper changes as needed. I recommend starting mid morning for newborn lifestyle sessions when babies tend to be happier and sleepier versus evenings when they tend to be fussier. Timing wise, usually a newborn lifestyle session with me lasts about an hour and a half on average.

Another tip is to lay out a few outfits, swaddles, blankets or accessories that you might like to use in photos and I can help you decide what might work best visually. I love using various cozy textures with newborns such as chunky knit blankets or stretchy muslin swaddles. I always bring a couple faux fur rugs along that are nice to lie a swaddled baby on top of. I tell mom that if she is nursing it’s wise to wear something that is nursing friendly (and I’m always happy to take nursing photos if mom wishes!) Typically lighter softer colors and textures tend to photograph best for newborn sessions (though it’s not a hard and fast rule!). Sometimes families like to coordinate their colors with the baby’s nursery or the colors found in their home.

If there are older siblings involved, often I’ll ask them to give me a tour of baby’s room, or their room or play room so they can get used to me. I’ve got three littles of my own and am very experienced with toddlers!

Below are some photos of this brand new family of four! Little Izak did absolutely great for his session, mostly slept and peeked at us for a few photos towards the end. Seeing a tiny baby in an oversized chunky knit sweater is just the cutest! And I love the soft pastel color palette they chose for their outfits contrasted with mom and dad’s tattoos.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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Lancaster Family Photography: A Colorful Fall Family Photo Session with the Trains at Red Caboose Motel

There are so many great locations in the Lancaster area for family photo sessions and the Red Caboose Motel is one of the more unique theme locations for anyone who likes trains. I have been wanting to share images from this location in a post so that others can get a feel for what a session there might be like.

If you or your kiddos enjoy trains, the Red Caboose Motel is a great family friendly spot for a photo session. Along with a small wooden train that kids can play on, they also have a petting zoo with various animals (pigs, horses, llamas, etc). And if you prefer to have some greenery in your photos as well, there is a lovely weeping willow tree along the edge of the property that makes for a nice backdrop in addition to the colorful rows of train cars.

Strasburg is a cute little town that is perfect for train lovers. In addition to the motel, just up the road is the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania as well as the Strasburg Railroad where you can book tickets for a short train ride. And if you’re looking for a kid-friendly spot to grab a bite before or after your session, Speckled Hen Coffee is one of our family’s favorites.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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A Fall Lancaster Maternity Session at the James Buchanan's Wheatland Home

The James Buchanan’s Wheatland home is just minutes from my house on the outskirts of Lancaster City and somehow I never thought to do a photo session here before. My family has enjoyed picnics here in the spring and my kids love the secret hidden fish pond. I made sure to get in touch with someone at Lancaster History (the non-profit that manages and maintains the property as well as runs tours) to request permission first of course. The property is beautiful in all seasons however the variety of trees on the on the grounds, which are a part of the Louise Tanger Arboretum, makes for an absolutely stunning fall backdrop. This maternity session was timed perfectly at peak fall (which happened to be the end of October/early November in 2022).

I honestly would have a hard time choosing a favorite from this fall maternity session, but if I would have to choose, I would say probably the shot taken with my Lens Baby Sol 45 art lens amongst the orange and auburn red leaves. If you scroll down about midway through the photos, it’s a vertical image where the couple is standing together in the center of the frame and facing opposite directions. The lens creates a bit of a blur around the edges of the photo that makes it appear so dreamy. The Lens Baby Sol 45 is manual focus only and has the ability to tilt so that you can change what area of the image is in focus. It is hands down a favorite for portraits and maternity sessions and as a bonus it is very small and lightweight. I can’t say it always works great with active children, but I do bring it out for my family sessions from time to time.

Cecilia wore a flowy sage green maternity gown and is nothing short of glowing and radiant. It was one of those photo sessions where I had a hard time putting the camera down because it was just that good! And even though that golden sun only peeked through for a few shots, the overcast sky and wet leaves made the colors even more briliant. It was a pleasure to photograph these two (who were absolute naturals in front of the camera) and I was honored to document this new chapter in their lives.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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A Colorful Newborn Lifestyle Photo Session with Baby Marino

It goes without saying that I am a huge color fanatic. When you step in the front door of our 1950’s mid-century bi-level home you will see right away that bright bold colors are my favorite. From the golden wall arch behind our emerald green couch to the teal accent wall by the piano and a shelf covered in vibrant artwork, plants and jewel-toned pom pom garlands, color is everywhere. So you can imagine how excited I was to photograph this newborn lifestyle session for my fellow color-loving friend and photographer Tasha.

Baby Marino was born in October and he is very much adored by everyone in the family, including the pups. He was pretty chill the whole time, mostly sleeping and made a few funny faces and big yawns which are always the best to capture. Big sister Estella was excited to have me as a visitor and there was some music and dancing of course. She also brought out her camera and took a few photos.

I love the deep rich teals (my favorite color!) and jewel tones throughout their home. Tasha painted the blue ombre accent wall in Marino’s nursery herself and it feels like the Caribbean to me. I had to incorporate some fairy lights of course to make it feel magical. Hope you enjoy the photos of this beautiful family of four!

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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A Summer Family Session at Harvest Lane Farm and Overlook Park

Summer time is one of the best times to have photos taken with one of the many flower fields and flower farms throughout Lancaster County. Some wildflower fields can be found at public parks and others are farms where they grow pick-your-own fields that allow photo sessions in the evenings. The tricky part is knowing how to time your session so that you hit the flower fields at peak bloom.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that golden hour is the best time to shoot in flower fields when the sun is low in the sky otherwise you’ll be dealing with bright overhead light and shadows. Since the sunset happens much later in summertime, this is something to keep in mind for littles who have early bedtimes because starting at 7 p.m. is ideal for golden hour summer sessions. Because this session was done in September, we started at 6:30 p.m. and that was a perfect start time for that golden light.

In general, June is a great month for wildflower fields but there are blooms all the way through September in some places. Sunflowers are almost always in bloom late summer/early fall.

Harvest Lane Farm in Lititz has a lovely produce market and they also grow flowers to sell. They were kind enough to allow us to do this family photo session there. These photos were taken in early September and the sunflowers were about done but there were still colorful rows of flowers to photograph in. Afterwards we made a stop at Overlook Park to take some photos in the pine tree forest and managed to capture a few sunset silhouettes.

Little Caroline was a delight to photograph. She loved playing hide-and-seek with me in the rows of flowers and just wanted to run free in the park. I adore this family and the amount of color in this session.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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A Spring Cherry Blossom Family Photo Session at Lancaster County Park

Lancaster County Central Park is one of my favorite locations for photo sessions during all seasons of the year, but especially in spring time. If you time it right, you can find flowering dogwoods, red bud trees and cherry blossoms all in bloom at the same time and it is simply glorious.

For this family photo session we began at the Garden of the Five Senses and then wandered over to a row of pink cherry blossom trees. The kids picked flowers, blew dandelion puffs and rolled around in the grass. To end the session, we went to one of my favorite hill top locations in the park for sunset silhouettes.

Spring photo sessions are not quite as popular as fall, but in my opinion they should be! It’s the perfect time for Mother’s Day portraits (hint hint: I do offer gift certificates!) and photos before the weather gets super hot. If you’re thinking about scheduling a spring session, I recommend reaching out in February/March to book.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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A Summer Maternity Session at Pinnacle Point Overlook

I am excited to share these photos from my first ever maternity session at the famed Pinnacle Point Overlook in Holtwood, Pa. If you’re looking for a dramatic backdrop for a photo session, Pinnacle Point Overlook is a great location that is easy to get to.

Kiley and Josh are expecting their first baby in July and it was so good to get to know them a bit as we wandered around taking photos. I have only been to this location once before on a hike with my family and when we went we explored the trail in the opposite direction so I had never been out on the rocky overlook before. My only words of advice are to wear comfortable shoes and watch your step. This would not be a good photo location for a family with young kids, FYI.

We also discovered a beautiful forested area covered in ferns that made for some woodsy portraits. Because this was a summer maternity session, sunset didn’t come until nearly 8:30 that day so we waited until the sun was lower in the sky to take photos at the overlook. We lucked out with blue sunny skies after a day of clouds and rain. I love the way the light filters through Kiley’s long flowy dress in these photos.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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Lancaster Family Photography: A Snowy Winter Family Photo Session at Overlook Park

It was my birthday weekend mid-March and we got one last beautiful winter snow. This was probably the only time I have ever seen Overlook Park so empty. There was not a soul in sight. The snow was still untouched and the pine forest was covered in white and was so serene.

In my lifetime thus far I have had 3 birthday blizzards. I’ll always remember the one we had when I was in 5th grade because I was supposed to have a slumber party with all my friends but due to the oncoming snow, no one was allowed to stay overnight. This wasn’t quite a blizzard, but it was very gusty so even with minimal snow there was some drifting.

I could hardly wait to get out and take pictures in the winter wonderland and when Andrea asked if I would do a 6 month session for her son Griffin in the snow I was thrilled! He was so adorable wearing the bright red gnome hat and his big brother Bailey got a kick out of pulling him around in the sled. I am SO very thankful that the timing worked out perfectly for this snowy family winter photo session.

At the end of this session, I was able to grab some silhouette images of the boys and then I photographed some of the snow covered evergreen trees around the park. Later in Photoshop I overlaid the portraits of the boys with some of the tree images to create some unique black and white double exposure silhouettes. I am always happy to get creative with double exposures if time allows (and if the client has interest).

I realize that winter and snowy photo sessions certainly aren’t top priority for most families; however, winter photo sessions CAN be possible, even with little kids. Here are a few tips on how to prepare and make a snowy winter session successful:

1. Bundle Up: Yes, it’s obvious, but make sure everyone wears layers and has coats, hats, boots, scarves and mittens if necessary. Bring blankets! They can be used as fun props too and you can snuggle together. You can always take coats off briefly for shots and then put them back on if you want to get photos in special sweaters or outfits.

2. Make It Short & Quick: Because winter is typically my slower season and because it’s cold out, I will only do mini sessions for winter time. We keep it brief, 30 minutes or less so you don’t freeze your butts off (though you may have cherry red noses by the time you’re done).

3. Make It Playful: We will keep moving; wrap in blankets, pull someone in a sled, hold hands and run through the snow, play ring-around-the-rosie, etc. Snowy photo sessions have got to be fun!

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

A Narnia Inspired Winter One Year Session with Luna in the Evergreens

I know that winter is not necessarily the ideal time for family photos but I had been wanting to photograph a session at this location full of tall evergreen trees for a while and was looking for an excuse. I believe that there is beauty to be found in all seasons, even the cold and barren ones. This winter family photo session turned out beautifully and we lucked out with a warmish December day and beautiful golden light.

I convinced my dear friend Drea and her husband Dani to model for a family session and it also worked out as one-year session since their daughter Luna turned one in December. And wouldn’t you be surprised to know that it also turned out to be a pregnancy announcement because Drea is expecting a baby in June! So of course it was an opportune time to announce that Luna is going to be a big sister in 2022!

I am slowly growing a client closet of mostly dresses for women, children and babies and so I was motivated to photograph Drea in this beautiful blue velvet gown that I had just purchased from Baltic Born. I also found a coordinating velvet flapper style dress with fringes for Luna that I love (thanks to Etsy!). And last of all I recently added a faux fur coat from Joyfolie to my client closet which I think will be fabulous for winter maternity sessions. I made a winter flower crown for Drea using mostly plants and herbs (rosemary!) that I found growing around our yard. The fur coat definitely gives this session a Narnia vibe and if only we had some snow covering the ground it would have been perfect!

If you are considering a winter photo session I’m happy to recommend some magical locations and figure out ways to be creative and keep the littles warm.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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Personal: Home Birth Story of Jonah Eugene

Home birth video of Melissa giving birth to baby Jonah in a birthing pool alongside her husband, doula and midwife. Birth film by Vanessa Joy Films.

OUR RAINBOW BABY

This is the birth story of our rainbow baby Jonah Eugene, born in the water at home on October 12th. This pregnancy and birth was special to me for a couple reasons; one being that this was my last pregnancy and two because Jonah is our rainbow baby. Two years ago in November of 2019, I had an unexpected pregnancy and miscarriage that left me feeling like there was meant to be one more in our family. When we got the news in early 2021 that we were expecting a baby in October, we were overjoyed. I knew right away that I was going to decorate his or her nursery with rainbows and butterflies. I wanted all things colorful, hopeful, bright and full of light after the dark and depressing year that was 2020.

One of my favorite maternity photos with the butterfly mobile I made for Jonah’s nursery, taken by the incredibly talented Natalie Curry Photography

BIG FAMILY CHANGES AND THE HOME BIRTH DECISION

As it turns out, 2021 has been a year of big changes for our family. This summer we sold our beloved Lancaster City row home and moved just outside the city to a home surrounded by big trees in a quiet neighborhood. I know it sounds silly, but I remember when we were touring the home we ended up buying I said to my husband, “we can fit a birthing pool right here in our bedroom!”. At the time I was still undecided about a home birth. My first two babies were born in the hospital and though I had mostly positive experiences and both were unmedicated vaginal deliveries as I desired, I wanted to try something different with this last birth (you can read our second child’s birth story here). It seemed only fitting to christen our new home with the birth of Jonah and of course because I am a mermaid at heart, I really wanted a water birth.

Jonah at one day old

My other main motivation for the water birth was to help me relax and not tear when it came time to push the baby out. In the hospital it was very clear that my doctor preferred me to push lying flat on my back and I ended up with a 3rd degree tear with my first birth and a 2nd degree tear with my second birth. I’m sure there were likely other factors involved in my tearing but I really wanted to try the water birth for that reason and that wasn’t an option in the hospital.

LABOR FALSE ALARM

Fast forward to the night of my due date, October 7th, when I woke up with my usual Braxton Hicks contractions and some back pain. My mom happened to be staying overnight and I noticed that the contractions seemed to be happening consistently so we started timing them. After an hour or so I notified the midwife and my doula that they were happening consistently but didn’t seem to be intensifying at all. To me it just didn’t feel like real labor and I was so tired so I decided to go back to bed to see if the contractions would go away and they did. False alarm!

For the next several days I was in a real depressive slump. I felt apathetic about wanting to give birth or try to get labor going. I just wanted to sleep forever and forget about the world. I was second guessing everything and doubting myself. I felt too old, too tired, too weary to endure another unmedicated labor and delivery. When I imagined giving birth in our bedroom, I did not feel excited. I just felt blah. I realized I had been carrying a lot of fears and doubts with me throughout the pregnancy. With all of our moving craziness and my daughter starting kindergarten, I really had not been able to mentally or physically prepare for this pregnancy and birth the way I had for my others.

During the last couple weeks leading up to Jonah’s birth I read bits of the Hypnobirthing book and tried to get in some prenatal yoga. I am a firm believer that the mind has intense power especially when it comes to the mind body connection in giving birth. I realized I needed to start thinking positively about the birth and stop doubting so much. So after a depressing rainy weekend when Monday rolled around I decided it was time to shift gears. I took the kids on a walk to the park and did some curb walking (said to initiate labor). We ordered Mexican food for dinner (spicy foods do the trick they say!). And I decided to paint another arch accent wall in our family room (start an involved project and you’ll go into labor they say). I also did many other things of course like eat dates and drink pregnancy tea, eat a pineapple core, etc.

Maternity photos taken by Natalie Curry Photography around 35 weeks pregnant down by the Susquehanna River.

JONAH’S BIRTH DAY

Monday night, October 11th, I finished painting the accent wall around 11 p.m. and went to bed (FYI I later decided I hated the accent wall so we have since painted over it and now refer to it as the ‘labor arch’). As per usual I woke up a couple hours later needing to pee and had my usual Braxton Hicks accompanied by lower back pain. Usually the back pain would go away once I got up and used the bathroom and went back to bed but this time it did not.

Around 1 a.m. I decided to get up and walk around the house and start timing contractions. At this point they were not very intense and I was able to talk and breathe through them just fine. After timing them for an hour and seeing that they were consistently 3-4 minutes apart and lasting about a minute, I texted my midwife and doula. I told them no rush because they weren’t intense yet but wanted them to know they were consistent. I was so worried about making everyone drive out to our house for another false alarm.

My midwife Marielle of Woman Kind Midwifery was the first to arrive around 3 a.m. She got her things set up and asked if I wanted her to check my dilation. I said yes I wanted to know but was also nervous that I wouldn’t be that far along. Meanwhile Dave had the birthing pool inflated and was starting to fill it (very slowly via hose hooked up to our bathroom sink). The contractions were still consistent and I was still able to walk and talk in between them but definitely had to stop and focus on my breathing more as they were coming.

THIS IS WHEN MY MIND WAS BLOWN: Around 3:30 a.m. Marielle checked my dilation and to my utter surprise she said, “Yep, you’re going to have a baby soon. You’re 9 centimeters”. I cried tears of relief and joy in that moment because I was so astonished. With my first birth I could barely handle the intensity at 5 cm and with my second I was dying by the time I reached 7 cm. And here I was still calm, chatting and smiling at 9 cm! When I heard that I was almost there it was a huge answer to prayer as if God were saying, “I heard your fears, trust me, you can do this”. It was also a reminder that I should never have once doubted my ability to birth this baby. I immediately commanded Dave to call our videographer Vanessa of Vanessa Joy Films (yes that means I was at least 9 cm in all of these photos and the video which still astounds me because I appear so peaceful!)

Our doula Marie of Move It Doula arrived soon after and she and Dave took turns applying counter pressure to my hips through every single contraction until Jonah was born. That pressure helped SO much to relieve the intensity of my back labor. The pool still wasn’t full enough for me to get in and I kept staring over at it between every contraction. One of my favorite memories from this birth is when Dave had to start filling the pool with our largest soup pot in order for it to be full enough for me to get in.

Like my other two labors I found that being on all fours, sitting or leaning on the birthing ball and swaying or rocking was my preferred way to do the contractions or “waves” as the natural birth folk like to call them. I also preferred to keep my eyes closed because it really helped me to focus on what felt good/right to my body and my breathing and shut out all other distractions. Hypnobirthing helped me visualize how to breathe with labor breaths. At the start of every contraction I would take a deep breath into my abdomen and then slowly let it out along with a deep open mouth moaning. My daughter overheard my moaning and later said she thought I was brushing my teeth and saying “Ahhhhhh” with my mouth open as I brushed.

Somewhere close to 5 a.m. the pool was full enough for me to get in and it felt SO SO good to float my belly in the warmth. About 15 to 20 minutes later I was feeling his head starting to stretch me open (hello ring of fire!) and the contractions were forcing me to kind of grunt as he was coming out. It took 2 pushes for his head to emerge (on the first push my water broke which basically felt like a water balloon popping between my legs) and then on the third push his body was born. Oh what a relief it was to see and hold my little screaming water baby! I was delighted to see he was born with hair on his head because my other two were bald. It is probably my favorite feature about him. Also hallelujah I did not tear this time! Praise God we had a healthy baby boy born at 5:13 a.m. weighing 7 pounds 5 ounces. If I had to do it all over again, I would hands down choose a home water birth.

All of the birth photography images were taken by Vanessa Joy Films along with the video. As I write this I am now one month postpartum and so thankful that Jonah’s home water birth was just what I hoped it would be (minus the false alarm and the pool almost not being filled in time).

I think the thing I liked most about the home birth compared to my hospital births was that I truly felt that I, the laboring mother, was calling the shots. Yes of course my midwife would have stepped in if she felt it was necessary, but it was up to me if she did cervix checks. I never once felt pressured or hurried or constrained and I was free to push in whatever position I wanted. Also I never had to wear the belt monitor though they did regularly listen to baby’s heartbeat with a handheld doppler and check my blood pressure. I love this photo below of the midwife and her assistant bending over into the pool to get his heart rate.

The other nice thing about a home birth is that you are at home! I got to climb right into my own bed after the birth. Even the first couple postpartum visits for me and baby were done at home so we didn’t have to worry about venturing out to the doctor’s office. I’m sure it was more work and stress for Dave however; he had to figure out everything with the birthing pool as well as dig a hole and bury the placenta (we put it under the fig tree in our yard that apparently has yet to bear fruit). And then he waited on me hand and foot for a full week postpartum and did a thorough deep clean of our bathroom along with keeping up with dishes and laundry etc. Given the choice I would definitely do a home birth again but alas we are not planning to have any more children.

I think you will get a good sense of the home birth experience from the photos and video below. Vanessa has this incredible ability to pull at all the heartstrings with her visual story telling and I tear up watching any of her birth films (of course I have watched ours over and over many times now).

Enjoy the birth story photos below, plus a few extras that I’ve taken in Jonah’s first month of life.

And here are a few more of my favorite images taken by me in Jonah’s first weeks of life. I am trying to savor every bit because it truly does fly right by when you look back.

Melissa Engle Photography offers portrait, family and lifestyle photography in Lancaster, York and Harrisburg PA. Please contact me if you would like to make some photo magic together!

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