Newborn photography can be a beautiful way to capture the joy of your newest family member’s arrival. But, when is the best age for newborn photos?
I generally recommended that newborn photos are taken between 10 and 21 days after their birth. This time frame provides a great opportunity to capture all the wonderful details of a newborn and their unique personalities.
At this stage, newborns tend to be more alert in the afternoons when they are fresh out of sleep so I try to ensure a morning session to get those sweet sleepy poses, towards the end of the session your baby starts to wake and this is a great time to capture those sweet expressions that you want to remember forever. Additionally, babies tend to curl up into tight positions during these first days which help create beautiful photos that look natural and effortlessly sweet.
Babies this age also tend to sleep more soundly, allowing for a smoother photography session. This is important because newborns get overstimulated easily — too much change or noise can disrupt the whole process and make it difficult to capture those fleeting moments of the newborn’s life. I use a lot of different tools and tactics to mitigate these things as much as possible to ensure a smooth portrait session with you and your baby.
Can family members be part of the photography photoshoot?
In addition to capturing the unique beauty of a newborn baby, I also focus on creating family images that show the special relationship between parents and their baby. I like to keep it relaxed and natural so that everyone involved is relaxed, I tend to treat every portrait session as a family photoshoot regardless of main subject, in this case a newborn baby…When mum, dad and siblings join in, it creates a family portrait that will be cherished for years to come. In fact even grandparents coming along is a welcome addition. This way we can capture the newborn surrounded by the family and familiar faces.
It’s best to plan ahead for these sessions as it can be difficult to coordinate everyone’s schedules on a strict timeline. I recommend booking your session as soon as you know your due date so that there is a guarantee of a space in my diary. You tend to be given your set due date at your 20 week scan.
How much should I spend on newborn photography?
Most quality and highly trained newborn photographers charge similar fees in line with their cost of doing business and training level, so it’s important to remember that you get what you pay for. Most clients budget between £600 - £1000 for this one off cost. For these costs you will get a bespoke photoshoot, high end editing (retouching) and beautiful hand crafted products that you cannot purchase on the high street. I regularly check if my products are available to general public and as times change and these things naturally change, I also change too. I do not want to offer my clients a high street experience. Only high end products for my art will do. I work closely with wonderful labs who produce the most gorgeous pieces.
When is the best time to book a newborn photographer?
(As soon as possible - ideally within your first trimester)
It's so important to book early, as newborn photographers are usually booked out months in advance. Many families choose to do an announcement session to capture the special moment when they first announce their pregnancy, and then book a newborn session for once the baby is born. Booking in advance ensures that you have an experienced photographer available for your newborn session at the ideal time of 10 – 21 days after birth.
Newborn photos are a great way to preserve those fleeting moments. Time really does fly by. Your pregnancy may well feel like a lifetime, but motherhood whizzes by at an incomprehensible speed. I have had many mums tell me how sad they are that they didnt get these portraits of their first baby and can we include the sibling in the portraits too… my answer is always the same. Forget the mum guilt what is done is done, let’s focus on capturing this new wonderful sibling relationship and get some amazing portraits of both children and family. I try hard to spin it another direction as Mum guilt is a very real hard thing. Even if you do you utter best, you will still be hard on your failing as unless you are the impossible superwoman mum, you are going to mess up but hey thats a whole different blog.
I myself do not have the gorgeous newborn portraits of my baby who is now 8…. She was my learning subject and my gosh I owe her an apology for the god awful portraits I took. In fact here she is, modelling for me on Christmas Eve age 15 days giving me the what are you doing to me mummy look V her last year. AND not to forget my actual work now. She paved the way I guess :) SORRY BABY Mummy owes you Disneyland x
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