You’ve seen all those lovely curly newborn shots and got your heart set on getting you some of those for your little bundle of joy - once he or she arrives, right? But you may not realise that most of those shots are only possible during the first 10 days of life, and in some cases the moment passes even earlier.
When babies are in utero they are all curled up and snuggled-in being very flexible and comfortable surrounded in amniotic fluid in their own comfy little cocoon. But once they are born they slowly start to adjust to life on the outside and gradually “unfold”. As they stretch out in their new found expanse and explore the world, their muscles and joints get stronger and less flexible, and you will find it more and more difficult to encourage them to curl back up again. For some babies this can happen within just a few days, but it’s generally accepted that up to about 10 days old is the ideal time to photograph them in those cute curly newborn poses - the earlier the better! So if you don’t book ahead of time you may miss the boat on those. That’s not to say all is lost and you won’t get lovely shots of your newborn, you will, they just won’t be the ones you had your heart set on.
The other reason to book ahead is that good quality newborn photographers are often in demand, and will provide a 2 - 3 hour session, yep that’s right, no 30 min whip-in-and-out here. The baby needs to be calm, comfortable, fed and sleepy, and this can take time, lots of time. You don’t want to be rushing your baby or yourself for that matter! Your ideal photographer is well trained in safe handling and posing of newborns, and in my case is an ex nurse, ex ambulance officer, ex primary school teacher, a mother of 5 and grandmother of 7 - so your baby is in very, very safe hands. The time and care spent on newborn sessions means that session availability can be limited and you may find that your preferred photographer won’t be able to fit you in if you don’t book ahead. “Ahah”, I hear you ask, “but how do I book in when I don’t know exactly when my baby will arrive?”
Babies are unpredictable and will come when they are good and ready, sometimes early, sometimes late, and a few surprisingly on time! I generally book my clients in for 5-6 days after their due date to give them time to bond with their baby and be getting out of hospital and settled into a routine at home. This booking is made with the understanding it’s flexible and will be confirmed once the baby actually arrives. I encourage my clients to keep me posted along the way, as babies can be unpredictable and also come earlier than expected. This is not only for scheduling purposes but also because I get so excited about the arrival of “my babies” - seriously do I have the best job in the world or what? Ultimately, as soon as Bub arrives I like my clients to let me know and I then can firm up your newborn shoot date from there. This flexibility can only be offered to those clients who have already booked in with me, its just not possible to offer it as a general option because I naturally have to give preference to my loyal clients first - and to be honest that’s enough balls in the air to juggle.
If you were booking a wedding photographer you would be doing it in advance to secure your preferred date, right? A newborn shoot is just the same - secure your date now! You won’t regret it!
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