When you have a baby, your whole life changes instantly. The coming weeks, months and years will be consumed with many wonderful memories as well as challenging times. Life seems to launch into fast-forward the moment you bring your new babe home. As you are planning for the arrival of your precious little one, a newborn photo session may not seem like a top priority. However, for a number of reasons, we recommend that you schedule your session within the first two weeks of your baby’s arrival.

Once infants get through their first few weeks of life, they become much more alert. They spend less time sleeping and more time observing their surroundings. If you have your photos taken within the first days, they will be much more likely to soundly sleep through the whole thing.

Positioning is another reason to schedule earlier rather than later. After a few weeks, your little one won’t be curled up as much. He or she will be too busy growing and getting used to moving and stretching their limbs. It’s much more difficult to get a wiggly month-old baby to stay still, whereas, within the first days, your curly baby will be easy to pose and likely to stay still for photos.

Of course, with the craziness of planning for a baby, things can easily become forgotten – like scheduling your photo session before it’s too late. One good rule of thumb would be to pencil in a time about one week after your baby’s due date. This leaves a buffer of a few days since you don’t know exactly when your newborn will arrive. Scheduling in advance not only gives more flexibility for obtaining your prime time slot, but it also saves you from scrambling as you near your baby’s arrival and life gets crazy.

Although the “ideal” timeline to photograph your baby would be within 14 days of the birth, there is no wrong time to do so. Things happen, and special circumstances are sometimes needed. Capturing moments of your precious child will be special no matter how long after he or she is born. If you miss that short window, don’t write it off altogether. Photos taken when your infant is a little bit older, albeit more challenging, are often a good opportunity to capture more of their personality. Because a baby older than a couple of weeks is more likely to be awake, you can expect different types of poses, depending on the level of cooperation.

Photos taken at any stage of life will be valuable and meaningful, whether your baby is 3 days old or a couple of months old. Little ones grow up quickly and it’s important to capture those moments while you have them. Pure7 strives to help you remember each stage of your family’s life by creating beautiful images and heirloom-quality products. We strive to get to know your family before we put you in front of the lens. Schedule a consultation today.