Alert – this is a bragging post 😉 but there will be also lots of praise and admiration for the subject of this post.
Photographing newborns – the time frame
If you have ever enquired or looked into newborn photography you may have heard that it is best to photograph them in the first 2 weeks of their life. The reason for that is quite simple – they are very sleepy during this time. They are making the transition from an idle fetus life to a new baby life. All the feeding, pooping and crazy pace of growing are taking a lot of their energy hence they need to sleep a lot to make up for that. And when they sleep they are also more flexible and generally easier to pose into these cute curly poses. They still remember the life in the womb where they were all curled up, nice and cosy.
What if they are older?
Every baby is different and there is no hard telling how the shoot will go but there are some general facts about babies that are over 2 weeks.
- The older they are the more awake they stay during the day,
- They are also stronger – hands and legs are more active and posing them may be a bit more challenging,
- The older they are the harder it is to fit them into newborn clothing and props such as baskets, buckets etc.
That does NOT mean that you have missed your chance of a newborn shoot. Not at all. Read on for some evidence 🙂
Baby Elsie – a three months old beautie
When Elsie’s mum contacted me enquiring about a baby photo shoot I explained all the above and made her aware that things can go amazingly and we may be able to get some gorgeous shots. However, expectations needed to be managed and Elsie’s mum was aware that it could have gone the other way and Elsie could have not played ball.
I was a bit apprehensive at first but Elsie’s mum assured me she understood the challenges and was keen to have a go regardless. And oh boy, did it go well?
Elsie’s mum and dad needed to wait many many months to finally hear the great news and then patiently wait for their miracle baby. No wonder they wished to celebrate her arrival in great style and document these precious early days (or weeks to be precise).
Elsie was my first 3 months old newborn and I must say – she left me speechless. She was a true gem, absolutely gorgeus and so smiley. Just look at these beautiful blue eyes. It felt very unusual to get conscious smiles back (I’m telling you, two weeks old ones don’t do that 🙂 ) and capturing them couldn’t have been any more enjoyable.
Anyway, check it out. A complete gallery from Elsie’s newborn photo shoot with me 🙂 I feel a bit smug about it but I know I was just a fascilitator and all the hard work of looking pretty was done by my models 🙂
