I recently asked a few of my Fresh 48 newborn photoshoot clients what they thought of having photos in the first hours or days after having a baby. (Not sure what Fresh 48 sessions are? Have a read here)
I thought what Katherine said summed it up perfectly: “we were not feeling our most beautiful in our sleep deprived states so weren’t sure how we would feel about the photos. However, it has been so precious to have these images to look back on such a brief but important part of our journey to becoming a family (that all seemed to happen in a bit of a blur!). Thank you for capturing all our perfect imperfections and these earliest of memories.”
Especially if it’s your first child and you’re stepping into the unknown I know you don’t know how you’re going to feel physically, let alone mentally and the thought of inviting a photographer in can feel overwhelming to say the least.
But having been through having a baby I can tell you from personal experience, having no photos may well become your biggest regret.
It is mine.
I’m going to leave Hannah to tell you about her experience of having photos after the birth of Fraser (who was a few hours old when I first met him)
Fresh 48 sessions don’t require perfection
“I felt so lucky to have just had my second home birth with my third child. The house was chaotic when Tori arrived – birth pool semi-deflated in the kitchen and the sofa-bed out in the lounge so we didn’t wake the older two in the night. I was still in my nightie and hadn’t yet had the opportunity to shower, the children were in their pyjamas with bed-hair and we definitely didn’t think to offer a cup of tea! But she was totally relaxed about it all, didn’t stay too long, didn’t ask anything of us – just snapped a few pictures as the five of us lounged around in our newborn bubble.
I was amazed by what she was able to capture with such ease and little equipment, without any of us posing or even getting out of bed.
A baby is such a little gift, and the moments fly by too quickly, I don’t think you could ever regret having them beautifully documented, exactly as they were, and Tori did that to perfection.”
Newborn photoshoots aren’t just for the early days
And Hannah followed that up now that Fraser is 8 months old (I don’t know how that has happened!)
“Fraser is eight months old and, as it always does with small children, the time has absolutely flown. With two other little people to look after as well, I barely remember Fraser when he was tiny, and I definitely took fewer pictures of him than I did with my first two. Having the beautiful photos Tori took to look back on is such a lovely capture of a moment in time, a moment which is totally life-changing, but also brief and fleeting. Seeing the expressions on my older children’s faces as they met their baby brother, and the affection and love from my husband as he took in his newly expanded family, is priceless.”
So while the newborn photoshoot is for the early days (of course!) the memories that you have captured in those early, foggy moments are there to look back on for the long haul.
I can’t recommend starting your child’s photo journey for them at the earliest moment highly enough. I can definitely help you with that so please get in touch if you are considering a newborn photoshoot or want to learn more about Fresh 48 sessions. Similarly, if you’re torn between having a maternity shoot or newborn photos then check out the photography gallery page to see a bit of both – it might help you decide (personally I’d always recommend both!)
