Unique Challenges When Photographing Older Newborn Babies

Newborn Photography  •  Photography Tips

An ideal time frame for newborn photography is often considered between the second and third postpartum week. By this time, the baby will have adapted to their environment somewhat and gained a little weight, but they’ll still be sleepy enough to keep still and stay adorable. But you cannot expect every shoot to be so easy. If you want to take photos of an older newborn baby, what’s the plan? In today’s video, Dutch newborn photographer Fenna Holwerda shares what you can expect when photographing an older newborn baby.

“There are no guarantees with photographing children because they decide what they want to do.”

A challenge you can face when working with older newborn babies is that they may not decide to sleep during the session. But instead of forcing them to go to sleep, Fenna rightly suggests that you take “awake shots” of the babies. They will look curiously at you and your camera, which can make for very cute results. Make the most of any situation.

And as you can see in the video, posing them is not too difficult, either. However, you may need to be quick with your shots, since babies who are awake may not stay in the same pose for very long. You could use wraps to make your work easier. And, no, you don’t need to be scared to turn them on their belly for a few seconds. You could also use a posing pillow under their chest to make it easier.

Remember, they may be older, but they’re still newborns. So don’t be afraid to ask the parents for help to make sure the baby is well fed, not fussy and wearing a clean diaper.

Be sure to watch the complete video for practical demonstrations. You’ll definitely find it useful for your next newborn photography session with an older newborn.