Book in the second trimester. That sounds absurdly early for a photograph you will not take for another five months, and it is still the right advice.
Why the window is so short
In the first two or three weeks a newborn still curls the way they did in the womb, and sleeps deeply enough to be moved between setups without waking. Both of those fade quickly. By about three weeks most babies are more alert and noticeably less flexible — wonderful for you, and much harder for anyone trying to pose them.
That is the whole reason studios talk about a window at all. It is not a sales tactic. It is a physical fact about very small humans that stops being true faster than most parents expect.
Book the window, not the date
Babies are indifferent to calendars, so booking a fixed date before the birth makes no sense. We hold a slot around your due date and fix the exact day once you are home and settled. There is no rebooking fee for that — it is simply how this has to work. If a studio insists on a firm date months ahead, ask them what happens when your baby arrives ten days late.
What actually happens in the session
Two to four hours, and most of it is not photography. It is feeding, settling, warming and waiting. Our studio sits at 26–28°C with white noise running, which is uncomfortably warm for adults and correct for a newborn. Dress in layers you can take off, and expect to feed at least once partway through.
A photographer and a dedicated handler are both present for the whole session. Nobody is holding a camera and a baby at the same time.
If you have already missed it
You have not missed anything that matters. A four-week-old photographs beautifully — differently, with more open eyes and fewer curled poses, but beautifully. Past about six weeks we would usually suggest waiting for the three-month session instead, when babies start holding their head up and the photographs change character again.
One thing to be sceptical about
If a newborn portfolio is full of babies balanced in improbable positions — chin on hands, suspended in a hammock — a good number of those are two photographs composited together. The ones that are not were made by taking a genuine risk with somebody's child. Ask any studio you are considering which it is. We do neither, and use settled, supported posing only.
If you are reading this at 34 weeks and feeling behind: you are not. Send us your due date and we will hold something.