Having a baby is a joyous, but chaotic, time of your life. There’s so much to make sure you’ve taken care of. Safe sleep space? Check. Car seat? Check. Going home outfit? Check. But for many people….newborn photos? Ummm… Photos tend to slip through the cracks until baby is already born. However, the best time to book your newborn session is before your baby gets here!
Much like When To Book Your Maternity Session, the exact time can vary a little bit based on how far out in advance your photographer books. For my business, I like it when clients reach out about 30-35 weeks. Though reaching out earlier can be OK too!
Even though you don’t always know exactly when baby will be born, it’s always a good idea to get on the photographers calendar early so you are pretty much guaranteed to be worked in before baby is out of the newborn stage. Personally, I write down your due date and know that 1-2 weeks around that date either way is when baby will most likely be here. Then once baby is born, all you have to do is let me know and we can get it scheduled. Every other part of booking the session will already have been handled (like the info guide, session fee, etc…).
If you have a c-section or induction date, I will go ahead and schedule your session based off that day. And of course if it changes, we change the date!
The First Two Weeks
The newborn stage is considered the first month of life. Ideally, I prefer to see babies in the studio in the first couple weeks after they are born. There’s several reasons for this:
- They are more poseable. They have that newborn flexibility from the womb so I can curl them into these poses.
- They are more likely to fit into my newborn props. Some older/bigger babies will not fit into some of my props, limiting the props we can use.
- Doing the session soon after birth means we can usually schedule while dad is off from work too.
- They are sleepier. Sleepier babies let me more safely do some of the poses.
Of course, some babies need the NICU or have issues that may delay their trip to the studio and we always adjust and work with that as needed. And scheduling your baby in early means that if someone should end up sick or we all end up snowed in (looking at you, KY weather), there’s room to reschedule before baby gets too big.
Older Babies
Do I take older babies? Yes, yes I do. I will attempt a “newborn” session up to 6-8 weeks old. Though depending on how baby tolerates it, we do sometimes have to shoot them like an older baby. Older babies may not tolerate being swaddled, they may be very awake, etc… If you decide to wait and bring in an older baby, I can get photos, but please be prepared to adjust your expectations as they may not look like traditional newborn photos – though I will do my best.
Your new baby is going to change FAST. Get those newborn photos while they are still little!
Ready to book your newborn session?
