When soon-to-be parents contact me about baby photography, they often ask about the ideal time to book. Should their baby be newborn (under two weeks) or slightly older (two to six weeks)?

There are advantages and disadvantages to each. A newborn photo session has a sleepy baby as its subject. That means lots of adorable snoozing shots with eyes closed. This is a classic look and lots of parents find this style to be their choice.

However, many first-time parents are afraid to bring their new little ones out of the comforts of home in this time. This is why having an experienced photographer is an advantage. I have been working with newborns as young as six days old for close to 15 years. In addition to having raised two children of my own. I did not just learn by trial and error; I also volunteered at Children’s Medical Center of Dallas as a “baby handler.” In order to learn more about caring for and protecting fragile newborn bodies. My experience may not ease every new parent’s mind completely, but it goes a long way. Many parents call me “the baby whisperer.” They have even told me they learned soothing techniques that they later used themselves.

Some parents worry that newborn babies will be too thin to look right in the images. Since some have not put back on much of that initial birth weight. Often just waiting an extra five days will do the trick if your baby was born a little early. I still try to aim for seven to ten days after the original due date, even if the baby was born a week or two early.

Slightly older babies, two-to-six-weeks old, are a little chubbier (who doesn’t love the baby rolls?), and a lot more alert. This can sometimes lead to some open-eye shots, but most of those shots will be cross-eyed. So the alert baby images below were difficult to capture and rare! Also, older babies often will not sleep as deeply and are easily startled awake, which makes getting the sleeping shots more difficult.

It can be a difficult choice to decide between coming in that first two-week period or waiting a few weeks more. I encourage all of my clients to contact me before their due date so that I can alleviate some fears!

I hope you enjoy the baby photography this week — please leave a comment with any questions.