Newborn photography has been popular for a long time now – I think I’ve been doing it as one of my main photography types for more than a decade!
Still the one thing that is still true is that, although fashions inside the industry change, we are all still enchanted by those beautiful sleepy early days baby images. Your baby will never change so fast as they do in those first few days and weeks so it is truly a special time worth capturing and preserving.
If you’re planning on booking a photo shoot for your new arrival, then here’s some answers to what are the top five questions that I get asked.
What’s the Best Age for a Newborn Photo Shoot?
Ideally when your little one is between 5 – 10 days old although that period can be extended to 14 days (and a little longer if your baby was an early arrival). It seems a bit ridiculous to say that a baby at three weeks old is too old for anything but they become aware of the world around them so fast that, although they sleep a lot still, it’s largely because you’re leaving them alone. Posing and reposing – however gently – is likely to disturb them. Also, they’ll naturally start to unfurl past a couple of weeks old as they realise that there is a lot more space to stretch into than they’re used to which means that the tummy tuck poses are much harder to achieve.
How Long does a Photo Shoot Take?
As well as depending on what you’d like to do during your session, it really depends on how your baby feels, they’re the boss! These photo shoots are led by your baby’s comfort and preferences. I schedule the studio for two hours to give us lots of time to play with and I don’t ever take back to back sessions so we’re under no pressure if we need a few extra minutes.
How do you Book a Session if your Baby isn’t Born Yet?
With only about 5% of babies arriving naturally on their due date, it’s a sensible question to ask. How it works is we book for your due date plus seven days and then just adjust your shoot date as needed. I’ll be in touch the week before to see if they’ve made an appearance yet and you should get in contact with me if they make an early entrance into the world so we can bring your session forward if we need to. I don’t recommend waiting until they’ve arrived to make your booking (though I’ll always try to make space for you if I can) because it’s pretty easy to get into the newborn bubble and, by the time you come up for air, you’ve missed the two week window. In addition, newborn sessions need to take place earlier in the day to give use the best chance of success so it’s common for the calendar to be full and I can’t find a space for you. Sessions are guaranteed after we’ve got you in the calendar and you’ve sent through your deposit of £20.
What if my Baby Cries or needs Feeding during the Session?
Well, they probably will. I can count on my hands the amount of babies in the last five years that have turned up asleep and stayed that way for the whole session. Sessions are always designed to accommodate settling and feeding time. Breast feeding is of course completely fine – basically you should treat the studio as your home for the time you are there. If you’re bottle feeding then I’ll take care of that on your behalf as they’ll be less regretful to leave my lap as a stranger than they will to leave yours. Babies might be unpredictable but full tummies, a warm and cosy space and lots of soothing is pretty much guaranteed to get them into the land of nod in the end.
The Naked Photos are Sweet but what if my Baby Pees or Poos?
Your baby doesn’t need to be naked at all in their photo shoot – in fact if you select the Lifestyle type of newborn photography, they won’t be. It’s totally up to you but don’t let the thought of them peeing or pooping be what holds you back if you want those photos. They probably will, they won’t be the first and they won’t be the last. Everything in the studio is washable including me and it’s genuinely no big deal – we just clean up and move on.
I have Older Children that I’d Like to be Part of the Shoot
Mums, dads and siblings are always welcome to be part of the shoot. For very young big brothers and sisters however, a photo session can be a very dull event so it’s normally an idea to have them join in either at the start or the end of the session so they can go off with a parent or grandparent and do something far more fun while we capture images of the newest arrival. This is especially true when we are talking about children under 4 – their cooperation in getting in photos will be improved (though not guaranteed which you’ll understand if you’ve met one of them!) if they’ve not been bored and watching the new baby get a ton of attention beforehand. I don’t offer after school newborn sessions as they will run dangerously close to the ‘witching hour’ and they have a very high failure rate. Long weekend appointments can be difficult to get although I’ll open the studio on a Sunday for you to make it work if I can. Where none of these options are available, and you’d like school age children to be involved during term time, what I recommend is booking a newborn session and then popping into studio at a weekend for a short sibling session. These aren’t as time critical and they’re short so we can usually find time to do them.
Of course if you have questions that aren’t included here, then just get in touch and I’m always happy to chat. Alternatively, you can take a browse through my dedicated newborn Frequently Asked Questions page using the button below.
