When is the best time to book a newborn session……?
So this is a question I get asked practically EVERY newborn session.
There are definitely some ‘industry’ thoughts the subject. A quick google will reveal some pretty strong opinions on the best time to book a Newborn session. Generally(and this is more the case for studio/posed photography) as soon as your baby is born and at least before your baby is 10 days old.
Of course there are some reasons for these timelines but again they are generally are more applicable to Studio/Posed sessions. The reasons to book as soon as possible are:
1) Babies are usually very sleepy in the first 10 days of life which makes them pretty well settled and makes for a much more relaxed session (usually)
2) Babies are very bendy(for lack of a more technical term) when they have just come out the womb. So this is critical if you are planning on posing Newborns and/or using props.
So now for my expectations/recommendations……
NONE!
That’s it.
I feel that my photography is unique in that I do not set any expectations before a session either from my families or myself. I simply try and gage the families personalities, expectations and unique circumstance and then we move forward from there. So how do we tackle the question then.
Simply put it’s completely up to you! But of course there are a few things to consider:
1) What age, do you feel, is most important to capture?
Fresh babies are adorable they are teeny tiny and of course they will never be this small again. After a few weeks of life however your baby also starts developing more of a personality. At around a month they are much more alert. They notice everything going on around them. After a few months we can even start capturing some smiles. At about 6-8 months they start filling out a lot more. You just can not beat the baby chubby cuteness. All those little chubby rolls, fat fingers and toes! Also at this time babies start sitting and crawling. We also get a lot more giggles and personality.
So really in my opinion there are so many more cute phases than JUST the teeny tiny Newborn phase. I have done many 5-9month baby sessions, and they are by far my favourite. I get cuddles and I am always sad to leave!
2) Mum’s recovery.
This is a very big reason I don’t put any pressures on mum’s to book their sessions ASAP after the birth. I feel like our own wellbeing is just as important in the whole process. It is clear that I think any age is the perfect time to capture your memories and so I think it is very important to take care of yourself first.
The two points above I think are the most important considerations. But here are two other minor things to consider:
3) Maternity/Paternity leave. When would be most convenient to book a session.
And lastly:
4)The dreaded MILK SPOTS.
A few weeks after babies are born some of them may develop a slight rash or milk spots on their faces. It is very common although not all babies will develop it and the severity differs from baby to baby. Some babies might even be born with the odd milk spot. So how do they affect your session?
Since this is another common concern I get from mum’s, I thought it would be useful to include a very recent gallery where Baby Edward had quite a severe rash on his face and some milk spots.
Amelia was keen to get some photo’s while baby Edward was relatively new but wanted to give herself some recovery time. So we decided we wait a few weeks before doing their Newborn session.
Of course just before our session baby Edward did develop some spots and there was a slight concern that this would affect the photo’s. My thoughts are, that this isn’t the case and that these ‘imperfections’ still make up a very important part of the overall family story. But I think you can decide for yourself whether this something that YOU should consider before booking a session.
Hopefully you have more clarity on when to book your newborn session. Finally please enjoy this absolutely stunning session from my in home newborn session in Mentone. Even though Baby Edward was a month old, I certainly felt all the LOVE hormones and I left this session thoroughly loved up and clucky.
