Who loves baby cheeks? | Baby photography

Oh friends – when I see cheeks and lips like these!! I mean, you can just smell the sweetness of this little man. Is every baby who visits my studio this adorable? Why yes! There’s something about the tiny fingers, toes and LASHES! My goodness I never grow tired of the newness of my littlest clients.

This little guy slept through most of his session, and that is absolutely ideal! Newborns who are photographed within the first two weeks of their arrival and more likely to be content and sleepy – which makes for poseable, adorable portraits! I am often asked why many photographers refuse to shoot newborn sessions beyond this timeframe. While I don’t decline the sessions myself, I do understand the reasons and encourage parents with babies who are 4-6 weeks old to wait for the 3 month milestone. That can be tough for parents to absorb – of course we don’t want to miss a single moment of that newborn sweetness.

There are quite a few reasons why it’s best to avoid that “in-between” newborn to baby stage. Nearly every baby will go through a growth spurt right at the two week mark. You will notice he doubles his milk intake and enjoys staying awake for longer periods of time. This creates about double the amount of “feeding breaks” during the session, which of course increases the amount of “diaper changing breaks”. It’s almost a guarantee that we will be able to capture far fewer images than a typical newborn session. Aside from this, babies are most likely to develop baby acne during this time – so skin many appear redder and bumpier than the early days. The startle reflex is still strong, so when an awake baby sees the flash of light from the strobe the result is often spread out limbs and crossed eyes.

Many of these issues resolve by the time baby reaches the 3 month milestone. They can also make eye contact and smile in response to my smiles and telling them how adorable they look! And don’t fret- this milestone still has beautiful accessories and prop setups.

If you are expecting or have a newborn who’s just arrived, contact me soon to get your session scheduled!