Lifestyle Newborn Academy
The A-Z Course for Lifestyle Newborn Photography
Story Time
I remember the very first newborn session I ever photographed.
I had heard enough from other photographers to know I shouldn’t attempt “posed” newborn photos without being safety trained, so when the mom inquired with me, I told her I could do lifestyle newborn. I only charged $75.
I studied sooo much before hand but I still felt like I had no clue what I was doing when I showed up. I used the cop out of being a “lifestyle” photographer as an excuse not to touch the baby. I asked the parents to do all the swaddling and dressing.
I had no idea how to calm baby down when she got fussy. I was too scared to take control of the session, so I mainly took candid photos. I did come with a few cute posing ideas, and we got a few good photos that I know the mom still loves.
But the parents were more stressed than they should have been.
I, as the photographer, should have taken control of the session and handled everything for them to alleviate any stress on new parents.
And the photos were not as good as they could have been if I had the confidence to take control and the knowledge to take amazing lifestyle newborn photos.
Even for years after that first session, I continued to lack confidence with newborn sessions. I was timid, and thought that being a “fly on the wall” photographer would make the session less stressful for the parents, but it was actually doing the opposite.
But here’s how everything finally changed…
I finally learned how to swaddle and wrap babies. I learned how to calm fussy babies. I learned how to use natural light and make it look stunning in any home or any situations. I learned how to pose babies in a way that felt natural and authentic. I learned how to make postpartum mamas look and feel beautiful in their photos. I learned how to getting toddler siblings engaged and excited during the session. I learned how to help stiff awkward dads relax and enjoy themselves. I learned how to educate families in a way that felt immensely helpful without being overwhelming.
I finally gained the confidence to take control of my newborn sessions. Which allowed my families to finally start relaxing and fully trusting me with their tiny babies. I started building my client closet for mamas and babies and my collection of simple, authentic lifestyle props. This took even more stress off the shoulders of new parents.
When I made these changes, my bookings SKYROCKETED. I was finally able to switch my niche from weddings to newborns, while working less than half of the amount of hours and making even more income than I did from weddings.
This can be your reality too!
Don’t take the long way like I did. It doesn’t have to take you years to learn all of this. I’ve compiled everything I’ve learned over the last 10 years (which is when I photographed my very first newborn session), and I’m teaching it ALL to you here in this course with absolutely NOTHING held back! You’ll have all of the tools you need to be successful in your newborn sessions after this course!
Watch me Photograph These Newborn Sessions!
Come with me behind the scenes and watch me photograph these lifestyle newborn sessions! You can hear exactly what I say to moms, dads, and siblings to achieve each pose. Watch how I wrap and pose babies. Watch in real time as I deal with difficult situations such as fussy babies and posing older newborns.
What you’ll learn
Let’s be Honest
Lifestyle Newborn Photography gets a bad wrap.
Like that it’s only for the beginner photographers that aren’t as good as the posed newborn photographers. Or that you don’t need to learn anything new in order to photograph lifestyle newborn sessions.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
While we fully respect the talent of posed newborn photographers and see the beauty in what they do, we choose to become lifestyle newborn photographers, because we value authenticity and the connection between the whole family while still focusing on all of the sweet close up baby details.
With the right education, you can create lifestyle newborn photos that are just as amazing and beautiful as posed newborn photography, just a different, more natural and authentic, style.
✨ The Bonuses ✨
My Newborn Session Prep Guide
Get the guide that I send to families after they book their newborn session with that teaches them how to prep the family, the home, and baby before I arrive!
Client Closet List and Links
Peek inside my client closet and get links to my top recommended dresses for mamas and outfits and swaddles for babies.
My Posing Deck
Take my posing deck with you to your sessions to literally have right in your back pocket!!
Virtually Shadow Me!
Virtually shadow me at four full family sessions behind the scenes. And see the full galleries that I created for my families from those sessions!
Watch me photograph these sessions!
Here are the newborn session videos I created for the sessions that you get to watch me photograph!
Don’t take it from me. Here’s what other photographers are saying:
Kaylee Creighton Photography
I absolutely loved Michelle’s newborn photography course!
It was such an easy and enjoyable watch, and I really appreciated the video format that allowed me to both listen and read along.
Michelle covered everything—from lighting and locations to posing and swaddling—and I found her behind-the-scenes videos especially valuable.
Watching her apply what she taught in a real newborn session gave me so much confidence to implement these techniques myself.Beyond the technical aspects, I also loved the bonus resources, like her prep guides, pricing guides, and client closet links. Michelle truly holds nothing back—she shares her entire system and workflow without gatekeeping, which I really appreciated.
This course has given me a newfound confidence in posing and creating a more diverse newborn gallery, and I can’t wait to put everything I’ve learned into practice!
Rachel Marie Photography
If you're wondering if this course is right for you, then you should definitely invest!
If you feel nervous going into newborn lifestyle sessions, this course will help build your knowledge, skills and abilities so that you can walk into your clients' homes with confidence and direction! Michelle is so helpful and provides so many examples that you can easily replicate at any session you walk into!
I loved that the Lifestyle Newborn Academy didn't just tell you how to photograph a newborn session, it showed you how with countless photo and video examples of all of the information shared!
This course makes it so that photographers who don't have children of their own can still feel confident and knowledgeable while they are working with and photographing newborns!
Michelle is so warm and helpful in all of her videos! She doesn't withhold any information that would stop you from replicating the same beautiful images that she does at your next newborn session!
This course helped me approach newborn sessions with a lot less nerves and a lot more confidence and also excitement! The Lifestyle Newborn Academy has given me so much more confidence to go into my newborn sessions with a (flexible) plan that will give every family a wonderful experience and a beautiful gallery!”
Meet your instructor
Michelle Poteet
Hey there! I’m Michelle. A wife, mama, photographer+videographer, and photography educator.
My absolute FAVORITE part of what I do is getting to teach photographers like you how to elevate your business, love and serve your clients well, raise your prices, and bless your families with your business.
I’ve been where you are! I remember the days of being SO nervous before newborn sessions. What if baby was fussy? What if I failed miserably at wrapping baby in front of the parents? What if the home had terrible lighting?
I’ve spent the last 10 years honing my craft, learning how to love and serve families (and photographers) well. And I’m ready to share everything I’ve learned with you, so you can take the short cut to success instead of the long way!
What’s inside
Enroll Now
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Enroll Now ☆
Launch Week Sale 👀
30% off ends April 4 at 11:59PM
Normally $400
What if you could:
FINALLY feel confident at your newborn photoshoots
Create STUNNING images that make mamas cry happy tears
FINALLY make newborn photography your primary niche, giving you so much time and financial freedom
Speed up your newborn sessions by working more efficiently
Eliminate stress on new parents
Create the life and the business you’ve always dreamed of
The Lifestyle Newborn Academy will give you ALL the tools you need to successfully photograph lifestyle newborn sessions.
Want to shadow me at a Newborn photoshoot? How about shadowing me at TWO different photoshoots?!
I get messages from local photographers all the time asking if they can shadow me at my sessions to learn how I pose newborns, how I structure my sessions, how I handle difficult lighting situations, and how I deal with fussy babies or cranky toddler siblings.
And while I don't allow photographers to shadow me at my paid sessions, I do offer a service like this as part of my in person mentor sessions ($800 value). I set up a styled session and we photograph the session together, helping my mentee through posing, safety, lighting, editing, working with clients, etc.
But what if you could virtually shadow me at my sessions (and for a MUCH cheaper price tag)??
You CAN virtually shadow me! Inside of The Lifestyle Newborn Academy, you can come along to my newborn sessions behind the scenes, watch how I photograph my sessions from beginning to end and see the photos and videos that were delivered to the clients!
Ready to Create the stunning newborn photos that you’ve always dreamed of??
Enroll Now
☆
Enroll Now ☆
Normally $400
What Makes Lifestyle Newborn Academy different from other Lifestyle Newborn Photography courses out there?
I’ve taken several lifestyle newborn photography courses. And to be honest, I’ve been disappointed by all of them. That’s when I first started desiring to create this course!
When I couldn’t find courses that taught what I needed to learn, I vowed that after I figured it out myself, I would create a better course to teach everything I wanted to learn when I was in your shoes!
I remember one course in particular. I loved the instructor’s work. But in her course she said things like “learn how to wrap babies” instead of…you know…teaching you how to wrap babies.
Most lifestyle newborn courses only teach ONE aspect of lifestyle newborn photography such as posing or lighting. But, I set out to create an extensive A-Z list of EVERYTHING you need to know in order to become a confident newborn photographer!
✺ Frequently asked questions ✺
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This is a video based course! You will see my face the entire time while I teach you about posing families! You will also get to watch me photograph four FULL family sessions behind the scenes as if you’re virtually shadowing me!!
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As long as you need! This is a self-paced course. You will always have access to the course, and you will receive any updates I make to the course forever!
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All skill levels are welcome and encouraged to take this course! If you’re a beginner - you will learn SO much! And if you’re an experienced professional, you will STILL learn so much. You can never know so much that you’re ready to stop learning. This course goes through EVERY aspect of lifestyle newborn photography.
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You can schedule a mentor session with me here!
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I teach lifestyle newborn photography. I do not teach lots of extensive wraps or putting baby into unnatural poses. While you will learn about simple wraps and photographing baby alone, you will also learn about posing baby authentically with family. You will learn about using natural light and working in family homes, outdoors, and in studios. Although we mainly focus on in home newborn sessions.
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Yes! You can see all of my education here! Want a course you don’t see? Reach out and let me know!
