Timing Your Newborn Shoot

Meet Baby Penny. The baby with the raddest hair ever!

Babies are finicky little things. Sometimes they're tired and perfectly ready for a shoot and sometimes they're crying so much that you don't know if you'll ever hear silence again, let alone have any photo (professional photography or iPhoneography) without tears. 

For newborn shoots, I recommend scheduling these shoots between 7 and 14 days after birth. In this period, newborns are still pretty sleepy and more willing to cooperate. They may still like swaddling, and this makes for cute pictures of tiny baby potatoes wrapped in beautifully patterned fabric. With my own daughter just past the six-month mark, I know how these go. Sometimes everything is perfect and sometimes it isn't. Our time limit isn't set with a newborn shoot. If you need to stop for a bottle or diaper or nursing, this is fine! If you want me to keep capturing these moments, I will. If not, I can step away for a little while and let you have your privacy. Whatever you prefer. 

Another reason to capture these photos early is that they get so big so fast! In a little under one month, my monster of a daughter was out of newborn clothes. By three months, she was in six-month clothes. Now, finally, at six-months, she's still in those six-month clothes and starting to wear some nine-month items. So maybe there's a hope that I didn't give birth to the next Andre the Giant. With everything changing so quickly, you'll want to capture that tiny baby phase with the cornflake skin, peach fuzz hair, their tiny hands holding onto yours, and the peaceful look of their sleep.