Photographing newborns is without a doubt our favorite thing to do when it comes to shooting sessions. From planning the colorful setups to snuggling and wrapping the squishy babes, we just can’t get enough! And that makes it especially hard to turn down a booking just because baby is creeping up on that small 2-3-week window that is widely considered the ideal age range for posing newborns. So how old is too old exactly for newborn photography?
Babies grow so fast, and with each new day, they become a little less flexible and a little more alert. And by the end of the second week, they are already starting to develop FOMO (fear of missing out 😂) and fight sleep a little more. Naturally this makes posing a little more challenging when it comes to photographing newborns that don’t want to sleep. However, because we understand just how fleeting this time is, we also know how important it is to document, and we don’t want anyone to miss out!
That’s why instead of strictly capping newborn sessions at 2 or 3 weeks, we’ll photograph newborns up to 6 weeks (and jokingly call them oldborns instead of newborns. Yeah, we’re dorks 😜). To ensure baby stays sleepy and comfortable throughout a 3-hour or so long session, we have quite a few tricks up our sleeve, including a really warm room and lots of shushing. We also have a master newborn swaddler on our team (shoutout to Julie!) who can get any baby to sleep with the right wrap. Naked poses are a little harder to get with older newborns though, so those aren’t always attainable. However, older babies do usually give great eye contact much more readily during their sessions, and they tend to have more expressions and smiles.
Our calendar does fill up about 3 months in advance though, so squeezing in a last minute session can be hard or even impossible sometimes, and that’s why we always encourage expectant parents to book their newborn sessions once they make it to the second trimester. We won’t select a date until after baby is born, but this way we make sure to leave room on the calendar around your due date, and stay in contact to make any necessary adjustments as your pregnancy develops.
Sweet Emmett was about 6 weeks for his newborn session, and he absolutely nailed it!! I see a future model in the making, how about you?
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