When To Schedule Your Newborn Session & Why You Even Want One

You're having a baby! Congratulations!!!! You have a lot of things to be thinking about (kind of like after getting engaged) and even if newborn photography is on the list, you probably have it waaayyy down there near the bottom because, after all, you don't need to worry about it for nine months, right?

Even if you yourself are not expecting a baby, you might know someone who is, so this might be helpful to them :) Keep reading for my reasons why you might want to plan your newborn session sooner rather than later and my thoughts for people who aren't sure if they want to do a newborn session or not.

For those expectant parents who know for sure they want newborn photography, I would like to offer some advice - plan your session several months before your baby arrives! Why? There are several reasons.

1. It gets one more thing off your plate. The closer you get to your baby being born, the more little things have to be done and decided. You'll start getting tired and uncomfortable and you don't need one more thing to plan! You just want to focus on meeting your little one soon!
   
2. It helps the photographer plan. I don't know what all photographers do, but what I like to do is "block off" two weeks before and after the due date to plan to be around. Some babies come early and some come late but it helps me plan my life and other sessions if I know a few months in advance that you want to hire me and when your baby is due.
   
3. All you have to do is let me know when the baby is here! Rather than doing all the scheduling work right after you've had a baby (you'll be a little bit tired and otherwise occupied :), if you scheduled the general details of the session in advance, all you now have to do is let your photographer know that your baby is here and exactly what day you want to do the session. Most photographers (myself included) like to do newborn sessions in the first week after the baby is born, but we also understand that you might need a few days to get settled.
   

How far in advance do I recommend? I would say at least two months before the due date. You probably don't need to do it eight months in advance, but just a month before doesn't leave much time if the baby were to come early. Probably somewhere between three and four months is a good bet. The earlier the better if you are contacting a photographer and absolutely HAVE to have them. If someone had their heart set on me doing their newborn session, I would want them to contact me pretty far in advance because then I have the best chance of being available for them.

Now, for people who aren't sure if a newborn session is for them - I understand. You have a new baby. You're adjusting to a new normal and you're probably pretty tired. Do you really want to go to all the work of having professional photos taken just a few days after having a baby? I would say "yes" and here is why.

This is such a short time and you're going to miss or forget a lot. When life changes drastically (as it does when a new member of the family arrives), details get forgotten or missed altogether. Newborns are precious and we love them but we can also be in a sort of survival mode sometimes. Photos capture and save this beautiful, memorable time so that you don't miss or forget it. You'd be surprised how quickly your baby will change in just a few weeks! You will love having photos to look back on.

A quick word to moms - I really believe that the work of getting "photo ready" will make you feel good. It might seem like too much to do, but just do the level you want. I know lots of women who say they "put on their face" when they do their makeup. If that's you, then it will probably feel great to have a reason to put on your makeup, do your hair, and wear something nice.

I hope you found this helpful! Feel free to ask questions in the comments or send me an email at [email protected]