When to Schedule Your Newborn Photos
When I first started photographing newborns, I was not a parent. I was still several years from becoming a parent, in fact, and while I’d held newborns, babysat babies, changed diapers, and fed babies bottles, I had no idea about the nuance and complexity that goes into actually keeping a newborn alive. I mean, I don’t think I’m the only new parent to be surprised by the chaos a newborn brings. I dunno. Maybe I am.
But when I was putting my business together, I needed to be able to tell parents when to schedule their newborn sessions. And like many things I did when I was first getting started in my business, I looked to see what lots of other photographers were doing, and I did the same. Lots of other newborn photographers said to schedule the newborn photos within 2 weeks of birth, so that’s what I said, too. There’s nothing wrong with scheduling newborn photos within 2 weeks of birth, but there’s a reason why some newborn photographers prefer that 14 day window for their business: they’re posers. No shade thrown here; I mean they literally pose the babies, with beautiful backdrops and handmade props, and babies scrunched up into pretzel-like positions that are only possible within 14 days of life (and even still have to be done with composite images and lots of Photoshop to complete the illusion of perfection).
But I don’t do posing. At least not like that. The posing I do for lifestyle newborn photography is to help a new mom switch to a more comfortable position while she’s holding said newborn. Or to tell a dad to scoot in closer. No pretzels included. So there’s no really important reason for my business to schedule newborn photography for that 14 day window. And there are arguments for actually avoiding hitting that 10-14 day window. Like because you’re still trying to figure out if you’ll ever sleep again.
So maybe consider scheduling your newborn session for a bit later, like 3-4 weeks after birth. When you’re out of the first growth spurt, and haven’t quite hit the second. You’ve had more time to heal from the birthing experience. You’re possibly finding a rhythm to your days and nights, and are able to better anticipate how your mornings might go.
Then of course, there are still good reasons for scheduling your newborn photos for earlier. Reasons like your partner only having 2 weeks of parental leave. So I get it, and like I said, the two-week window has been working just fine for lots of families. But if you have extended parental leave, and want your newborn photo session to go just a little bit easier, I suggest pushing your newborn photography back by a week or two. Don’t worry, your baby will still be itty bitty.
Regarding this particular session: All of these photos were taken when this darling was 30 days old. We needed to reschedule twice due to illness, which pushed us back from our originally-scheduled 3-weeks-old session. Mama specifically wanted a 3 weeks session instead of 2 weeks, to allow herself more time to heal. I love that she advocated for herself in that way, and knew exactly what worked best for her family.
If this is your first rodeo, you might not know yet what works best for you and your family - and that’s okay. When I book newborn sessions, we don’t solidify the date until after the baby is born, but you can rest easy knowing that we WILL have a session, because we have a signed contract. (Yay, peace of mind!) And you don’t have to wait for me to take itty-bitty-baby photos. Here’s a list of photos you can/should take in the hospital (or birthing center) yourself.
