My name is Vanessa Trettel and I am a wedding and family photographer in Connecticut and one of my specialties is newborn photography in CT, and one of the most common questions I have is when to take newborn pictures?

Getting ready to take the photos of Newborn is one of the main reasons for the good result of the photos. “The age depends a lot on each baby. There is no rule ”. Learning newborn photos is much more than learning about pose, light or composition, we learn about the baby in detail the aspects of a newborn's anatomy and physiology, and understands the differences from baby to baby. Each newborn is a unique being, with its own characteristics, and that is why it is difficult to generalize. "There are babies who are more sleepy and malleable even 'older', and some difficult even 'younger'. And that, from my experience: “I try to hold the session between 5 and 15 days, most around 10 days. But I have already photographed for more than 20 days, and even for 40 days ”.

It is important to analyze each case separately, in order to avoid generalizations that put the safety of the newborn at risk. For that, common sense is essential. But obviously, the anatomy and physiology of the baby counts a lot, and although the speed and time varies from baby to baby, it is true to say that over time their bodies change. “The more the days go by, the less flexible they will be, making positioning more difficult. In this case, we should not force the poses that we no longer accept to do. What is the ideal age for a newborn photoshoot on sensitive babies, who do not accept many things. There are babies who don't open their hands. There are babies with exacerbated reflexes. The bad thing about photographing the new ones, is that they are usually still not breastfeeding enough to remain satisfied for more than two hours, to sleep soundly during the session ”.

WHAT IS THE BABY'S AGE • So young? Why?

Until the 15th day of life, the baby still has enough stretching and is comfortable in the poses that refer to the way he was when he was in mommy's belly… it is beautiful to take pictures like that!

As the baby grows - and in that first month they grow very fast! - he develops strength in his arms and legs and loses the stretch he had; it may be that you have a little colic because your digestive system is adapting to the milk and the air that it sometimes swallows when suckling and that causes gases; the skin may start to peel a little or have red spots. Don't worry: all of this is normal and fleeting.In fact there is no problem photographing them like this, but for all these reasons the younger the baby, the better.

Mainly to avoid the days of colic that cause a natural discomfort in the baby and have nothing to do with the photo shoot.

There is no contraindication to taking newborn photos after 15 days, however remember: after the third week of life, 21 days or so, the baby will lose the characteristics of being newborn and becomes drink. That's right, moms: babies grow very fast!Try to leave the pre-scheduled session before it is even born. Or, if that is not possible, don't forget to do it as soon as you arrive from the maternity hospital! The days go by very fast and when you go to see, your baby is already a month old! Then ... he is no longer "newborn" Babies over one month old are welcome, but they will be photographers in another style!

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW A NEWBORN SESSION IS STEP BY STEP? Click here to learn more