Wondering when is the best time to schedule a Newborn Session? You don’t want to miss the opportunity on that small “sweet spot” window to capture all those precious moments. Read more below about when to schedule your in-home newborn or studio photography session and how to prepare for it.
Ever wonder how photographers get babies to be so cooperative and posed perfectly for their newborn session? There is a short “sweet spot” window that you want to ensure you book your newborn session during in order to achieve the best images. This window is 6-16 days after birth (21 at the most if baby was not born 9+ lbs).
The first few days, baby’s features might still be swollen (eyes, nose, lips) and their skin is adjusting to its new environment so blotchy/flaky skin and baby acne bumps are visible. Most likely your milk also has not come in yet so baby is snacking a lot and may not be content. Not to mention, everyone is exhausted from the birth so you need a few days to recuperate.
Between the 6-16 day mark, baby is very sleepy and can easily be moved around without disturbing them too much. They have not adjusted to their environment yet and so they are heavy sleepers, as long as their belly is full. Their muscles are also still loose and flexible from being squished in the womb, allowing them to be put into tight poses to fit in a basket, tiny bed and more. The older they get, the stronger they become and the more stretched out they want to be. Because of this, it becomes more difficult to pose them into the positions that you see for newborns. Also the older they are, the more they grow and thus might not fit into the props or outfits that are specifically designed for newborns. Even though you can still document their newness after 14 days, you might not achieve the desired results that you were hoping for. It might end up being more of a family/life-style session because babies that are 3-6 weeks old are easily irritated and tend to not be very cooperative to allow several wrap and stylized set changes.
To ensure your baby is photographed with in 6-16 days, you want to book your photographer early to ensure they are not fully booked with other clients or on vacation/traveling when it is your due date time. I have had clients call me to book their session 7 days after the baby has already been born and it can be very difficult to fit them in without any notice and only a 7 day timespan left to work with. I recommend for my customers to book their session at least 2-3 months in advance and schedule it within 7-10 days after their due date so I can keep my schedule clear to hit that sweet spot window. If they deliver early or late, we can always adjust the session to ensure it falls with in 5/6-14/21 days, but this way I know not to schedule any major vacation time or over-book myself close to their due date, allowing room for any needed changes. It also allows me time to order anything that might be requested, if I don’t have it on hand already. Now that you read about the best time to schedule a Newborn Session, reach out below to get your session booked with Jenni Nikki Photography. My studio is based in Woodstock, GA but I service the entire Greater Atlanta area for in-home sessions as well.
Atlanta Newborn Photographer
