When is the best time to get newborn pictures done?
When clients get in touch with me this is the question they always ask! And great that they do! The BEST time to catch a newborn is 7-14 days. It varies every so slightly depending on who you ask, all photographers will call on their experience so may get a slightly different answer.
The first few days a baby is sleepy but very hungry. Mum’s milk is just coming in, or just finding their routine with the bottle or feeding is just a plain a challenge! New mums need some time to recover and lets face it, find out what the hell they should be doing!! After 14 though, they can get very fussy. They are a bit more awake, they know who mum is… and they know when she is not there!
Fussy babies cannot always be avoided. Some are gassy and don’t like being on their backs, or just love to be held by mum or dad. And thats fine too! My style is a natural style so I always work with what the baby is doing.
How does a typical session go?…
Typically, they fall asleep in the car, which mean when they arrive they are asleep! If they arrive in their white vest as requested, we can get a magic few sleepy shots when they arrive before they wake up and the fun starts!
If the baby has been settled by mum or fed, we can then move on. If they are awake then we do some family shots with the baby held or on the bean nag with parents hands on them for comfort. Awake or asleep, these shots are gorgeous and show a lovely connection as well as how small they are!
Normally it is later in the session when the baby is more settled. I can then either swaddle or gentle wrap the baby and move them around on the bag to get the gorgeous shots we are after.
If the baby is happy then we undress them and then get some more shots with just diaper on and some warps or blankets.
However the session goes we always get results! (touch wood…) There is always plenty of variety!
If you are looking for a Newborn Photographer then do get in touch! I am happy to chat about what I can offer and we can see if we are a good match.