Nashville Newborn Photographer | Studio posed vs in-home lifestyle newborn photography

It's 2025 and a lot has changed in 10 years. I spent many years perfecting newborn posing and having a studio. I loved every second of it. But as life goes on and people change, I too changed. I changed my purpose behind my work and I changed how I felt about what I was doing. Does that mean I regretted it? Not at all. People shift. That's life. But since I have the unique position of having done posed newborn photography for over 6 years and now having done in-home lifestyle / documentary newborn photography for the past 8 years, I thought I would write about the differences, in case a mom out there is wondering, which one is right for her.

The poses.

Let's start with the difference in poses when comparing an in-home newborn session to a posed squishy newborn studio session. In the posed situation, baby is molded into various adorable poses that place them into a perfect position. the lips are brought out, the angles are perfect, the baby is folded to create a piece of art. It's absolutely precious. But what are the downsides?

Well, for one... did that baby ever naturally pose themselves that way? Not usually. So it kind of tells a false narrative. Vs... when you do an in-home newborn session just a week or two postpartum (or longer if doing a newborn video), the baby is never intentionally posed. Everything is organic and natural and the positions he or she puts themself in, tells the story of how that baby may have positioned itself in the womb. The story is what I am after in my work - the story was what I was missing in my old style of photography. The story is what we will miss.

The photos.

In the studio, the photos are very similar to the 90s olan mills days. (the thing we don't want to admit!) Everyone is posed the same as every other family and it's a factory assembly line. Your family is family #4 for the week, and will be put through all the same poses as the family before that and before that. It is very cookie cutter. Whereas, when I go into the home of a family, everything about them is unique, and I hone in on that. The furniture, the state their home is in (moving boxes tell the story of how you just moved into your new home just before baby was born), its all a time stamp of what life was like the year you had your baby. We miss these elements of story telling in some of our modern photography ways... in the 80s and 90s, we had albums from photos that we got off of a polaroid or a disposable camera. There were items randomly placed on a coffee table, the sofa was the mess that it was - and ALL of it told the story of that year and that time in your life. The beauty of the items laying around or the imperfections is the depth of the story told.

The pacing of the session

This might be the best part. With a studio session, there is stress about getting out of the house with a newborn and trying to remember all the things you'll need. You get to the studio and the photographer definitely has a lot of patience (I hope) and you can relax and watch your newborn be posed and photographed. But she might have someone else coming in and will move through the poses as quickly as she can for you and her - to let you get home and resting again. When I come to your home, it's just us hanging out. Baby's fussy? we just sit and chat and let you nurse. Need a snack? No problem, I set my camera down (or maybe I don't) and we just chat and eat. There is ZERO pressure. Not ready when I arrive? Cool, I will just chat with the hubby or pet the dog... You get my drift. I want nothing more for you than for this to be the easiest possible session ever. You don't even have to have a clean house, I wont flinch if it's a mess of stuff. If I need something moved, we just move it. All I care about is that you are able to enjoy your day being photographed as a family with a new baby. and that I leave and you feel like that experience was so easy and fun. I usually spend between 1-2 hours, depending on the family's pace at a session. You're my only session that day and I want to come with an open heart ready to give your session 150%.

In-home newborn photography is more candid, real life, capturing things like the nursery and your home, letting you just do what you have been doing - loving on your new baby - and Im just there to hang out while you do it. And if you happen to add on a film, I will even get to capture all of those amazing baby noises and coos - and how baby responds and lights up when you talk to them. If this is something you are interested in, contact me here! 

Nashville Birth Videographer + Photographer | 5 Things No one Tells you about birth

You have dreamed of someday, having a baby, of seeing that line show up on the test, of who you might be married to when it happens. and finally, that dream has come true.

Being pregnant is so humbling. From morning sickness to growing larger and larger - it is just so hard and so humbling. It comes with an array of emotions as you process your body changing and also, that you'll have an incredible little life to be in charge of soon. It's a lot of change! You will get so many different view points that you will be annoyed by week 20. But what aren't people telling you that you might even want to hear?

1. Your emotions will be wild after birth.

After having your baby, you'll have this high of emotions. The surge of these hormones will help you to fall in love with your baby and to have the energy to be what baby needs. But those emotions will come down at some point and when they do, you'll feel sad. You might suddenly cry when your baby has their first big blow out or outgrows a newborn outfit - all of these emotions are normal. They are part hormonal and part because you are processing everything that has happened. My recommendation is to find a way to let the emotions flow. Journaling or just sitting in them, helps them to be processed in a healthier way so that you can feel more stable.

2. Birth isn't as awful as we may have heard.

Labor isn't as painful and terrible as you might have heard. It can be hard for some, definitely. But if you can take a good quality course like Bradley Method and learn how to labor well, it can help a lot. Pain can be lessened by taking lots of magnesium during pregnancy and having loose fascia. The key is to be relaxed in your body and to surrender your mind and body to the process. And of course, I highly recommend hiring a doula. A doula can make the pain significantly less! And if your plan is to have an epidural, well I would have a plan B because I had to have 3 epidurals and none of them worked and I had no way to manage the pain. I was also induced and so that was absolutely awful. My 2nd pregnancy I had no epidural and knew how to handle labor and had a doula and it was a MUCH better experience.

3. You will still looks pregnant... even after your baby has been born.

It takes a while for everything to shrink down. You just grew a whole human and your body will take a few weeks or longer to reduce your uterus and tissues back to their new size. Pack something cozy in your hospital bag or have something ready for after your home birth and just know that's part of the process.

4. Nursing struggles are normal.

I don't actually think this next one is a surprise these day, but nursing doesn't always come naturally. It can feel awkward as you step into this new life of becoming a mother and if so, just know it's okay. I think having grace on yourself is going to go so far in these first weeks as a new mother. Between oral ties and weird nipples, nursing struggles are normal. I do think it is so worth the work of pushing forward because the reward of being able to nurse is so great - from feeling confident as a nurturer to the extreme benefits breast milk has for baby - and the anti breast cancer effects of nursing - I believe that women can achieve it if they are willing to ask for help - and maybe even if they need help more than once. Get CFT on baby and mom, which can help nursing significantly and hire the best lactation consultant if needed. Let other women come help you step into this role and remember, you weren't meant to do this alone.

5. Things very likely may not go according to plan

I think it is extremely important to hold your birth plans loosely. If you are overly tied to the plans and stuck in a state of control of the outcome, it will hinder not only your ability to give birth but also the first few hours you spend with your baby, because you will be in a state of shock over how it all played out. Many of us know that hospital births are a much more challenging place to follow "birth plans" and that is why I personally, would never have a hospital birth without a doula to advocate for me while I can be in my own body and mind working hard on birth and labor. But regardless of where you choose to birth, sometimes things  like inductions and assistance are warranted. My own births were emergency C-sections (I now know I have an extremely curved tail bone, they can't even find the end of it and think that played a huge role). Having had tried for a v-bac with the 2nd baby, I can honestly say in hindsight, I would prioritize my emotions after birth over the way the birth played out because I was so upset with myself for having failed my birth plan and wish I could have been more emotionally stable and in the moment those first weeks of my son's life. So, to sum up, have plans ... but have advocates between you and the medical staff, so that you can trust the plans if they change a little better and be in a good headspace for your postpartum period.

6. Pushing isn't necessary

One thing I have learned in the many many births I have attended, is that pushing forcefully isn't actually that normal and necessary. For one, if it is unwarranted, it can ruin your pelvic floor. For two, you have a fetal ejection reflex, which is defined as "a natural, involuntary process where the body expels the baby during the second stage of labor without the need of forced pushing" .... it's pretty cool. Anyway, a good midwife will coach you to relax your pelvic floor vs pushing against tension, which will translate to a healthier pelvic floor and less chance of tearing. It's more of a breathing down into your pelvic floor and less of a forced push. It's a surrender rather than a workout.I hope you enjoyed this blog about birth! If you want your own birth filmed, please reach out to me and let's chat!  

Nashville, TN Birth Videographer + Photographer | Why you need to prioritize rest and healing postpartum

Society. Our society is so wild. They have put this expectation on mothers that after we deliver a whole human we grew from nothing, that we are able to bounce right back, look amazing, and juggle all things motherhood within a few short weeks of giving birth. And as much as society is to blame, being stubborn as women, we are to blame too.

I want to talk about the things that need to happen postpartum and why it is so incredibly important to do whatever you can to heal and rest WELL during this period.

First of all, you are healing a dinner plate sized wound in your uterus. You need REST to heal that well. You are also VERY depleted from sharing all your nutrients with a baby for 9 months AND now you are sharing even MORE nutrients with that baby via nursing. Being friends with many midwives and doulas, I can tell you that postpartum you will need 4k cals a day of food to heal and recover and renourish your body. This information is from a doula who got specific training in postpartum nutrition. The lack of these 4k cals is why women's hair falls out, why postpartum depression and even psychosis exists as well as postpartum anxiety. It's why women feel completely exhausted. We have somehow managed to normalize waking up, drinking coffee first thing, eating nothing until noon and then barely surviving the day and wondering why we feel the way we do.

Whether you hire someone to help postpartum, or your husband and you have a plan that involves food prep, etc - PRIORITIZE getting nutrients in. It has even been said that mom doesn't even need to be drinking plain water, because ideally, she is drinking raw milk and bone broth - liquid calories - during the day, rather than water.

Your ONLY job postpartum is to rest and snuggle your newborn for AT LEAST one week. (per midwives' recommendation). When mommas are out of bed too soon and moving around too much, they run the risk of hemorrhaging from that dinner sized wound I mentioned earlier. The general rule of thumb in a home-birth setting is 5-5-5. Five days IN the bed, five days ON the bed, and five days NEAR the bed. To rest, to eat well, to learn about your baby. Have help mama, ASK for HELP. Find someone in your family or friends to come help. If possible, have a mother or mother in law come stay for a few weeks, and if that doesn't work, find friends to rotate through. Teach your husband about postpartum and set up plans for postpartum healing. Have a cleaning person, etc. Whatever helps you feel calm and rested. Because, you do not need to be stressed postpartum either - as your nervous system regulates the baby's.

These first few weeks with your baby go by SO incredibly fast. SOAK THEM IN. Don't try to do it all and miss this time. The laundry will aways be there waiting for you, but a 1 week old won't be, because he will turn 2 weeks shortly. So stare at your baby, be calm entering motherhood and set the stage for those first few years of mothering that baby. Start off in peace and love and being loved on.

We weren't meant to do this alone, ever. We weren't meant to be SO damn independent that it comes at a cost to our central nervous system. We were meant to be cared for and loved on during our pregnancy and postpartum periods.

I should also mention how much how we handle this time period can affect the future. If we aren't nourished well postpartum, this will greatly affect us when we get to be in our 40s. What happens is, women enter perimenopause very early and have a much harder menopause transition.

How we feel, in our nervous system, those first few weeks makes a HUGE difference in baby. If our fascia is tight because we are stressed, baby's fascia is also tight. Which then affects baby's ability to latch and nurse. I highly recommend having a provider come to the home if possible to give you and baby some CFT (cranial sacral fascial therapy) (which is not the same as CST). It is called the Gillespie method and it loosens fascia for baby and mom (because baby mimics mom) and can dramatically help the body be calm and relaxed. I hope midwives get trained in it so they can provide this service to their mamas.

You can enter motherhood in peace and love and become the mother you want to be. But it actually comes from doing LESS those first weeks and not from doing MORE. Put down the stubbornness and surrender to motherhood, the most amazing ride you will get to go on. You are amazing for prioritizing your health which then prioritizes your children's health.

Warmly,

Jennie

Nashville Birth Videographer + Photographer | 7 Questions to ask your birth photographer

What does on call time look like?

I go on call at 37 weeks and stay on call until 42 weeks or until baby arrives. Every time I leave the house, I have my birth bag and camera with me, in case I get called. I am ready to go 24/7 and will discuss in detail with you when to let me know you are in labor.

What if you are not able to attend my birth?

I most likely will not miss your birth because Im at another birth, because I do not take births that overlap much. I spread out my clients by at least a few weeks. Because it is that important to me to be at your birth, as I realize that I am one of very few birth videographers in the Nashville area. The only way I would be unable to attend is in the case of severe sickness or a life altering event. If that did happen, I would credit you for the amount paid to be applied for future family sessions.

What happens if baby arrives before you get to the birth?

Sometimes, babies come faster than expected! Birth is wild and unpredictable sometimes. In most cases, I trust my intuition and head out sooner rather than later... even if that means I am there a bit longer than necessary. In the event that your baby arrives faster than expected and I do miss the actual delivery, I’ll be on my way just as quickly as I can to document the amazing first few hours of you with your new baby.

Do you have back up gear?

I do! I have backup microphones and a back up camera. I have multiple batteries, charged and ready to go.

Can I see a full gallery?

If a client has given me permission, I am happy to share a full gallery with you. There are also many images on my instagram and website!

Will you share my images?

I am SO grateful to the mamas who do let me share their photos and or film. Because it provides potential clients the opportunity to see my work. However, birth is incredibly sacred. Even if before your birth you have given me written permission to share anything, I text you images first and ASK permission. Every single time a birth photo or video is shared, I ask... because they are YOUR memories. Also, my clients see sneak peeks and their film before anyone else does. This is incredible important to me, as memories are sacred.

Are you a doula?

I am not! and Thankfully so. I do not believe that a GOOD videographer has the capacity to capture your story fully AND be there for you like a doula should be. I have had two births and have attended many births. I had to learn all about labor and delivery in college, during my degree in developmental psychology. I myself, took the Bradley Method Birth course during my 2nd pregnancy. I feel extremely informed about birth and come highly recommended by many doulas and midwives in the area.

Nashville Family Photographer | The Aiken Family

I have been dying to spend time capturing this family. Not only are they so intentional with their lives, but they have such a fun dynamic with kids ranging from 2 to nearly 12! I loved capturing the smiles and laughs but also the sibling rivalry and emotions. I think the whole range of emotions in a family matters - it tells the WHOLE story of how deeply they love, even on hard days. This family did their normal routine of playing a game, starting the garden, playing on the swing set. Dad taught his daughter how to make pour over coffee. They have this cat that has chronic illness - they keep it because it's the right thing to do but sort of dislike the whole situation because it's a lot. The interplay of this sick cat and the family is rather hilarious. Multiple times, I went to capture a sweet moment with a cat in the frame for the cat to start hacking mucus up. We all just laughed at the juxtaposition. If you want your typical day captured, find me here!

Nashville Family Filmmaker + Photographer | The Gerhart Family

I filmed the birth of their second son back in 2023. I also captured a maternity session before that... Through those experiences with this family, I genuinely fell in love with them. The intentions behind how they live and the life they have created for their family and future generations is awe inspiring. I was overjoyed when they asked me for a family photo session in 2024. Joy had really desired a family film but her husband just couldn't get on board. As the time for their photo session approached, they talked about it more and something really shifted in her husband's mind and they bumped their session up to do a film and photos session. Now that they have seen their film, they are completely obsessed with it. Im so incredibly glad they did a film, because photos would not capture their life of loving and farming and soccer nearly as well. The sounds of their giggles, the audio of "GOALLLLL" when they play soccer with dad. The visual of the leaves falling, the sound of their mama's voice reading to them and their little replies to her... it's all so incredibly valuable. Films increase in value year after year, they are the greatest investment a family can make. If you want to explore having a family film, please reach out to me here and let's chat!

Nashville Maternity Photographer | Sarah

Capturing maternity in the way that I do - a mix of family and a bump - brings me incredible joy. I love making maternity sessions more than throwing on a dress at sunset - as gorgeous as those images are - they lack story, personality - real memories. I want to remind of you this time when you were pregnant. Were you in the middle of a Reno? If it was 1985, that Reno would be in the photos! Were you just moved into a brand new home? Maybe, you are in the middle of decorating the nursery - how amazing would it be to show your child when they grow up what life was like? Photos are time stamps and I think that got lost when social media made sunset photos all the rage - don't get me wrong, those images are amazing - but they miss the story telling part of our lives.Sarah is a local chiropractor, she owns Homestead Chiropractic in Franklin, TN. She has one son and is expecting her second child very soon!I had no idea, when I showed up at Sarah's house, HOW amazing her windows would be. I totally lucked out and they basically became a character in the story. The light was brilliant too. If you want your family captured with a side of your bump, please contact me!    

Nashville, Tennessee Birth Videographer + Photographer | The Tubina Wild Milky Birth Tub vs Earthside Birth Pool

Having attended home births for going on 4 years now, I have seen many tubs in action and have many observations about them! I prefer clients to choose the white tubs over the blue tubs, simply because the white ones reflect light onto baby's face and the blue ones do not. In addition to that, the blue ones cast a blue hue onto baby. Many times, newborns are already less magenta and pink when they are born, so this can accentuate that or make bruising appear worse than it is. I can edit only so much out, and hardly any of that out of video, so it is ideal to get the best scenario in real life.A few years ago, Earthside tubs came out and everyone flocked to them. The white was new and innovative and beautiful. I have not enjoyed my interactions with Earthside, they come off very closed off - they don't ever want to collaborate or share other photographers' work. That is their prerogative, but from my perspective, sharing more = more followers = more sales AND better community. People love you and feel connected to you. Tubina has been entirely different from this stand point. She loves working with all kinds of birth workers and photographers and will share anyone's posts using her tubs. She seem so incredibly grateful and in love with her job. She comes across authentic and kind and happy.Now to compare the actual tubs. The tubs themselves, the Tubina has this amazing arch shape that I LOVE. It really gives this amazing wall for momma to lean against and labor and or birth and an arching circle for her birth team to gather around and assist her in anyway. It also gives so much space for a videographer to have a place to shoot from, with many angles. There is no "seat" in it, but I personally think thats a plus. It kind of gets in the way, I have never seen a mom use the seat in the Earthside tub - and you never know where mama will want to be. The Tubina also has a 3 tier design that really displays the higher quality (despite the $100 cheaper price!) The Tubina is SO incredibly elegant. It is thick and sturdy. With the earthside, I have seen sides cave in, the liner didn't fit well and it was just a hot mess. The Earthside is small and doesn't feel like it will last. The Tubina is solid and I think could last for multiple pregnancies. Also, the Tubina could allow a child or husband into the pool, whereas the Earthside is too small. The liners for the Tubina are TOP notch and you do not even notice them - I have never experienced this at a birth, they are usually very obnoxious both in look and in function.Tubina Wild Milky Birth Tubhttps://www.instagram.com/tubinawild/

• Outer Dimensions: 67" x 60" x 27"
• Material thickness: 0.4mm
• Price: $175

Earthside Birth Poolhttps://www.instagram.com/earthsidebirthpools/

• Measures (inflated): 65.5 in x 59 in x 27 in
• Professional grade thickness: 0.5 mm
• Price: $279