When is best to do the newborn photoshoot? Why does it matter and what should you expect from the newborn photography?
Coming home with a very brand new human being (exciting, scary, unknown)! with all the thoughts and concerns, all the rush of excitement and joy.. some pain and discomfort of all your body has gone through lately……..
and
Oh! Baby is crying!!! no more time to think
let’s get on with this whole new world.
Have you ever wondered about having a newborn photoshoot? Why in the first 2 weeks? What to consider for a newborn photography? How to find a good photographer and lots more.Then postpone it for a while just because there are so many unanswered questions! On top of that, Having a brand new newborn leave you with no time to look for the answers and in a blink of an eye the time passes by, your tiny littlest one is much heavier now that you can barely hold them for a long time, full of face expressions and wriggling none-stop! Then you may think: “Shame! we haven’t had a chance to do the newborn shoot. we were just so busy and … I wish we had done it. Surely for the next one!”
That’s when you notice how short is the newborn window and how quickly changes are happening and they grow up, but it is late and a totally new stage has already begun.
During those first days of being newly parents, with all the new responsibilities and lifestyle it brings along, it can be challenging to think about one extra-not necessarily urgent-task, called: newborn photoshoot!
Why not doing it next month when everything is settled, when we have more routine and may have slept a little better so hopefully looking much happier in the photos.
So why should we do the shoot now! Not even next week?
I have this conversation with most of the mums before the birth, giving them a heads up as during the first week the thing they may be least inetersted to hear is the photoshoot! (sometimes!) No matter how excited you are before, it can sometimes look easier to postpone the photoshoot if you are newly parents and yet have no idea of how quickly everything will change, so as your tiny little newborn. I mean so quick, even 10-12 days and they are already much bigger than the week before!
What makes me more determined to keep the appointment and encourage you to go ahead is simple comments I hear from the parents after a few months:
“You can’t believe how much She has changed and grown up in one month! I am so glad we took those photos, he is big now!”
“I could not remember much of him of those early days if we haven’t done the shoot”
Having a newborn is the beginning of a new stage of life, much worth being celebrated and kept. By photographing the arrival of our newborn,
we capture and keep this new life-changing stage of our life,
for us to remember and for our children to come back to those moments
later on during their adult life.
So Why Newborn photography is better to be done
in the first 10 days of life?
There are several emotional and physical reasons as far as I experienced. The one that is more precious for me is that it is the beginning and new:
It is all about EMOTIONS and FRESHNESS:
Photography is all about capturing the emotions, so the most important reason for me is the high dose of emotion at this time. You have just arrived home with a very tiny bran new human being, no idea yet how to cope with all that will come along with this stage, overwhelmed, hugely in love and of course so tired! The time will pass and you will soon get used to it, like every other stages of our life it becomes normal to be 3 of you very soon. So it is priceless to capture those fresh emotions, love to remember the beginning.
Photographs are there to take us back in time, so all the emotions will be back simply by looking at those albums.
TININESS:
Your little newborn is unbelievably tiny and they grow up faster than you imagine (in less than two weeks). It is so wonderful to be able to remember how tiny they were, how easily they’d curved and fit in our arms, those tiny toes and fingers. Also they still love to be curled up and be adorably posed while sleep for photos. Being able to capture and keep this tininess on your supportive hands, resting on your chest, or simply lying down is a beautiful works of art to be up on your home wall and remind them how precious they are in your life.
These days are the only times that they fit like this in your arms.
Sleep:
The fresh newborns sleep is deeper and they tend to sleep longer hours. So having a deeper sleep makes it much easier to photograph than a wriggling 10 weeks-old who’s sleep can simply be disturbed with a single touch.
When should we think, decide and plan for a newborn photoshoot?
It is always ideal to think, research and plan while you are still pregnant. You are more relaxed to find a photographer who’s style you like, plan with them, organize the outfits and decide about how you want to display them afterwards so everything is set and ready before you newborn arrives.
I’d like to give my expecting mums the most flexibilities so usually book you for 2 different date. So depends on how the birth goes we are flexible for a few days to move the shoot and make sure you are all settled and ready before your photography experience.
What if your little one is already here?
Congratulations 🙂
4-6 weeks old baby and should we still do the photoshoot?
Your newborn is at home for a few days (or even weeks) and you are wondering if it is late for a newborn photoshoot?
I’d say never is late. Yes, you may have missed those first 2 weeks but your little one is still tinier and fits in your hands more than next week, so the sooner you decide the better. Just get in touch and talk to the photographer you like their style, and they will take you through what to expect at this stage, how to prepare your little one and would plan for your photoshoot.
Also babies are very different, so there may still be a chance of getting some newborn style photos.
What happens next?
Having a family photoshoot is so emotional, every baby and family is different so as the photographers! The best is for you and the photographer to know each other better so you both know what to expect and how to be prepared. To do so, there are a few steps before your photoshoot, including filling a simple questionnaire about all you have in your mind, your home style and all you like to do with the photos afterwards. A pre-session consult, to chat about all your final questions and concerns, review your daily routine and confirm all the details.
What to expect from a photoshoot? How do I shoot and style a newborn/family lifestyle photoshoot?
My style is simple and relax, my aim is to capture your simple, daily life now, with all the details, special corners of your home and the simple family habits you have, for you to remember every single details in future and for your little one to be able to come back to one day of their life and see how a day would go by.
I usually start with photographing you as you are, cuddling, feeding or putting your newborn to sleep, warm up time to help you get used to the camera and a photographer so you can be more relaxed for the rest of the shoot. Time of the photo-shoot is already planned considering your little one’s sleep routine, so hopefully at this stage they have just been fed and ready to go sleep. (Babies are different so do not worry if your little one was a bit fussy and not willing to sleep, we always go with their flow).
Having a sleep baby, we’d capture some natural, simple moments in your favorite rooms (The nursery, master bedroom or living room). Beginning with you holding him/her and those mummy/daddy and baby moments, slowly having grandparents or other siblings one by one and swapping the baby to the other adults. So now we know we have lovely shots of everyone with the baby and some group shots.
At this time usually they wake up and are due feeding or changing. After being fed, we have a short awake window of time to capture those lovely wide open eyes. Babies tend to get a little fussy at this stage, as are disturbing their usual routine and do not let them be relax and go back to sleep, so it is a good time to have a break, maybe half an hour so mum can put baby back to sleep with no one around.
Then I usually set up lights and we will now shoot with a white wall as the background, to capture some more timeless photos with no distraction. I love these photos as they mainly concentrate on you and your emotions and how attached you are all at this memorable stage. At this time we are nearly done. Depends on how tired everyone is and how the baby is doing, we can do some more shots around the house if anything is missed or you like to add. As we are all now relaxed that it is over and we have the shots we planned, it usually happens that you’d remember some new poses or moments to capture.
And it is all done, we have beautifully captured this new stage of your life!
All what is left is to design the photos and put them up on the wall!
