When looking to book your newborn photo session you may have noticed that the recommended age for pictures is when your babe is between 7-14 days old. And the question you may ask is “why so little?” It seems like such a short period of time to be able to get posed newborn photos taken, do an extra few days really matter? The answer is YES!!!!

I know as a parent, that your baby feels tiny and small and still so brand new for at least a couple of months after they’re born. And while that “newborn” stage feels like it lasts a long time (with the constant feedings, little sleep, figuring out wake windows), in terms of posed newborn photos the newborn stage is actually quite short. There are a number of reasons for this.

Sleepy Babe

First is a baby is the most sleepy right after they are born. For a newborn it’s quite an adjustment going from being all safe an cosy inside their Mama to in the big and loud outside world. Those first couple of weeks your baby will sleep a lot because having to adjust to their new world is EXHAUSTING! But the longer they are on the outside the more alert they become and the more curious they are about their surroundings. This can make taking all those cute sleepy newborn shots a lot more difficult. While there are definitely always exceptions (sometimes I’ll get a 7 day old that doesn’t want to sleep, or a 3 week old that only wants to sleep) this typically isn’t the norm.

All Cuddled Up

Secondly a baby is the most flexible within their first couple of weeks. If you think about it, this totally makes sense! While on the inside babies are in all kinds of positions, and are used to be all curled and cuddled inside their mama. Once outside though they are able to stretch out, they begin to gain muscle and tone as they grow, and they begin to lose that flexibility. There are a lot of newborn poses you’ll see that mimic this in how the baby is curled up, and they are quite comfortable being in that position. But as they get older those positions become not as comfy and not easy or natural for them to do.

A Little Tummy Trouble

Thirdly different issues can arise as babies get older. In some ways I think of those first few weeks as a grace period because as a parent you’re so tired and you’re just trying to cope with your new normal, you’ve got enough on your plate. After the first couple of weeks some babies will develop many different things like reflux and colic. If you’ve ever had a reflux or colicky baby you’ll know that it’s HARD. They may not settle easily because of an abundance of gas, they may cry for hours without you ever fully knowing the cause, and they may have a hard time keeping down their feedings. My daughter was like this and it was awful (if you’re dealing with this my heart goes out to you)! In terms of getting newborn photos done, a newborn photo session is already a long affair, lasting anywhere from 2-3.5 hours, but when you have a baby with reflux and colic it can make the session last even longer and a lot harder to get a decent variety of photos. And your baby is always my number one priority, my sessions are always baby-led, I never want to force a baby into anything they are not comfortable with or push them to do more during a session when I can see that they’re upset.

I hope this gives you a better idea as to why that window for posed newborn photos is so short. This is why I try and book your newborn session while you are still expecting, because once baby arrives I have a small window in which to do those photos which is why I only book a limited amount of newborn sessions per month to allow for this. While I have done photos after this golden window and can still get some great newborn photos of your baby up to 1 month old (as you’ll see in this session), you may not get the same variety of photos or it may turn into an all-wrapped session because beanbag poses may not be an option. As a newborn photographer, I want to give you the best and most variety of photos of your babe that I can!