You are wondering what the perfect time for Newborn Photos is? Great Question!
It's quite simple: there is no perfect time.
But Let me explain it a bit to you.
48-hour session.
This is a session I love. As the name says, its in the first 48 hours of the birth. Usually, it's at the hospital or birth centre. Clients of mine typically like to book it as an add-on to the full Newborn pictures as an easy way to quickly share the news with family and friends. I document little hospital tags, bonding or even baby meeting his siblings. This is a short session to make sure not to exhaust anyone. The good thing is that we can hold off with the newborn session for a bit, let everyone settle in at home, and we still document the newness and all the teeny tiny details.
0-3 weeks.
Ultimate bliss for some, worst weeks for others. Some mothers soak those early weeks in, cuddle and bond, mostly in bed. Other's have the baby-blues or a very unsettled baby. This is either a relaxed and warm phase or a teary and stressful time for mother and child. If you don't want a 48-hour session, this is a good time. I recommend week 2-3 just to make sure baby is not cluster feeding and therefore too attached to you. If you plan week 0-3 and it's your first child feel free to adjust this time two to three weeks back if you don't feel ready yet, just give me a call and we can change the date.
Week 4-6.
This is the most commonly used time to take newborn pictures. They are tiny and still sleepy, but everyone has settled in, things are slowly getting a rhythm. For breastfeeding mothers, I usually recommend week four or five and not week six. Usually somewhere in week six, the second cluster-feeding kicks in.
6+ weeks.
Typically, this is not seen as Newborn Sessions any longer, but I had some beautiful galleries at that time. I'm happy to go up to week ten, but later than that, I think its worth to wait until they can sit for some beautiful sitter pictures or a darling "I can walk" session.
As you can see, there is no perfect time that fits every family. What I can tell you is the best time to book a Newborn Photographer. It's around 3 months pregnant. As soon as you secure your session, I add you to my calendar for a four-week timeframe, around your due date. As soon as your baby is born, you let me know, and we will arrange a time and date that fits you and your family. I am incredibly flexible with this because I know first-hand how important this is for future parents and especially mothers. With my firstborn, I had a set week booked months in advance, precisely two weeks after the 42week mark (this is how far most hospitals let you carry the child). My son was born at 41+5 and had a NICU stay, and afterwards, we had a week at the maternity ward. We came home late in the afternoon, and the next morning we had the baby session. I was not prepared, ready and I did not feel good. I tried to postpone it but was bluntly told to either take the date or loose my deposit. While I understand that photographers are booked out far in advance, and we can't make everything happen, there are moments where I think we can show a bit of understanding and sympathy. I'm here to help anytime and guide you and your partner to make sure our decision fits you and your family. I want you to enjoy the session that we archive pictures with feelings and emotions