What Age Is Best To Do A Newborn Session?

The most common question I get, as an experienced newborn photographer of 12 years, is when it comes to newborn photography, what age should a newborn be for newborn photos? When is the best time to have a newborn session? The trouble is you will get so many differing opinions depending on the experience of the newborn photographer, the style of the newborn photographer and simply their personal preference on how old a newborn should be for their newborn session.

How Old Should A Newborn Be For Their Newborn Photography Session? At What Age Is Best To Do A Newborn Session?

The most common answer across the newborn photography profession is under 14 days old. Most newborn photographers give this approximation as it is generally the easiest time to do a session for photos that are posed, sleepy, peaceful and relaxed looking as newborns are generally at their sleepiest under two weeks old.

Why Do They Need To Be This Young For A Newborn Session?

When asked how old a newborn needs to be for their newborn photoshoot, I always recommend under three weeks old as the ideal age for a natural newborn photography session. However, it is completely down the the style of newborn photography and personal preference of the newborn photographer.

Newborns under two weeks old typically sleep a lot. They sleep a lot and deeper than they do after they turn one month old. The older they get, the larger their wake windows are and the less “fresh” and curly they look.

To get beautiful images that evoke calm, peace and a relaxed baby, newborn photographers want a sleepy baby. This is because it is easier and safer to pose a sleeping newborn than with an awake baby. You can get so much more variety in a gallery of images when a baby is calm and sleepy as this results in more poses, happier faces and different outfits.

With an awake newborn, even if they are happy whilst awake, it is harder to get much variety for the gallery of photos because there are limits to how much you can safely pose a newborn baby and also there may be many awkward faces and positions as an awake baby squirms about. The likelihood is that an awake newborn soon becomes hungry or windy and agitated which makes it harder to get a large variety of images. Even for the most natural of newborn photos, it is much easier to have a sleepy baby.

The older a newborn gets (approaching one month old and 5 or 6 weeks old), the less womb-like their body gets and the more awake they get which means it can be harder to do a more traditional posed newborn session. If you prefer a family focused session with your newborn then this can be done at all ages.

Ultimately, the point of newborn photography is to take beautiful images of a newborn at their freshest and smallest. The cliche stands true, “they will never be this young again.” The appearance of newborns changes daily as they grow and become accustomed to the great big world. So when asked how old a newborn should be for their newborn photoshoot, I always recommend under three weeks old if the mother is feeling physically well enough.

How Early Is Too Early For A Newborn Session?

On the contrary, when asked the perfect age for a newborn photography session, how early is too early? I recommend a week old being the youngest for a newborn session if the mother is feeling up to it so it gives her a chance for her to recover, get accustomed to life with a newborn and to establish breastfeeding properly to ensure she is comfortable.

Is It Unsafe To Do A Newborn Session So Young?

When asked the perfect age for a newborn photography session, is there an age that is too young? Is it unsafe? As long as a newborn has been sent home from the hospital it is safe to do the newborn session, however, you want to ensure they have established feeding properly and the milk has come in. Having breastfeeding established will help ensure baby is happy and healthy during the newborn session.

How Newborn Photography Style Effects The Required Age of For Newborn Sessions

The recommended age a baby should be for newborn photography is completely dependent on the style of newborn photography. Yes there are different styles of newborn photography!

Natural & Lifestyle Newborn Photography

This style is most aligned with the style of Little Crumpets Photography, due to its emphasis on relaxed poses, natural moments and very minimal (if any) use of props. Due to the more relaxed posing, it isn’t as important that a newborn sleeps deeply for poses or has a more womb-like shape. I love to photograph newborns up to one month old for this style as they don’t need to be asleep for the whole session (in fact, I love getting gorgeous awake shots filled with adorable expressions).

For lifestyle newborn there really isn’t a time limit as lifestyle focuses on the most natural poses such as parents holding the newborn so this tends to be more family focused. Of course, if you are eager to capture the newborn stage as a memory, it is important to still try to capture your newborn under three weeks old as they change so much week to week and you want to remember them at their smallest (before time gets away from you and it all feels like a blur).

Posed & Prop Focused Newborn Photography

As this style is very posed and usually involves putting newborns in props like buckets or bowls asleep, it is more important that a newborn is under 14 days old because they normally sleep deeper at this stage and because they are more womb-like which means it is easier to pose them in the various poses like the “froggy pose” or being posed in buckets. As a result, there is definitely a stricter age limit to this style of newborn photography.

Is My Baby Too Old For A Newborn Photoshoot?

Is my baby too old for a newborn session? If your baby is over four weeks old, they might be too old for the “traditional” newborn session where they are posed, curled up or swaddled but a baby can be photographed at any time. It is so important to capture every stage!

What Happens If My Baby Is Too Old For A Newborn Photoshoot?

If baby is too old for a “traditional” newborn photography session, ie.one where the newborn is posed in props or super posed on a beanbag, consider doing a natural newborn session that focuses on capturing your baby’s unique expressions and family focused images. The natural moments are where the memories happen!

What Other Types Of Milestone Sessions Can I do In The First Year?

2-4 Month Milestone Photography Session

If you just weren’t up to a newborn session due to the sleepless nights or your physical recovery, a lovely stage to photography is the 2-4 month milestone. It is an age that isn’t photographed as much but I love photographing due to the adorable expressions and personality emerging. You even get some gorgeous little smiles!

Sitter Session

This is my favourite type of session after newborn! Sitter sessions are captured when baby is 6-9 months old, when they are first sitting comfortably. They are the most adorable sessions as they are chunky, super smiley and filled with laughs. This age is just the best! I love putting them in adorable organic outfits and adding some family images in the mix. It’s so important to capture every stage.

First Birthday Session

Now over the years I’ve stopped doing cake smash sessions as I find it extremely rare that babies enjoy a cake smash (it usually results in tears) but I love capturing the first birthday celebration. Think an adorable organic sweater with “one” on it and lots of gorgeous family images! The perfect end to all those amazing first year milestones!

Family Sessions

I recently had someone comment on an Instagram post of mine that showed a beautiful newborn session, they wrote, “Oh I wish I had done this for my baby when she was this little.” The most important part of photographs? They capture memories that you will soon forget or hold a record of the loved ones that have left us. It doesn’t matter the age or the milestone, it is just important to create some beautiful photos together as a family and capture every age!

How old should a newborn be for their newborn session? I definitely recommend under three weeks old to help remember them when they were at their tiniest. When they are covered with soft downy newborn hair, they have the tiniest of fingernails and they still curl their legs up like they are inside the womb still.

If you’re interested in a Southampton Newborn session, contact me here.