Is my baby too old for newborn photos?

Plans change. Babies arrive earlier or later than planned. Newborns or parents have medical complications. The entire world shuts down because of a highly contagious virus. And now you're wondering if you'll still be able to get newborn portraits of your amazing new little one - how old is too old?

I decided to do monthly portraits for both of my sons (well, one of them is only four months, but so far so good.) It's a little excessive for most parents, but it does make for a handy way to show you how babies change over their first few months of life, and how those changes affect the kind of photos we can create. As your baby gets older, you'll be able to get different kinds of poses, so your baby is never too old for beautiful portraits.

1 week old baby

For the most part, those sleepy swaddled poses do work best with newborns who are between about 5 and 14 days old. They're very flexible at this point, and they sleep a lot of their day. Johnny was still in the hospital at a week old, so he got a Fresh 48 (he's on the left in all of these photos, Henry is on the right.)

4 week old baby

After that, it depends a lot on your particular baby. Johnny, on the left, slept through all of his one month session. Henry was ready to party. If your baby is feeling sleepy, we can often still get those more typical newborn poses (also with preemies, you want to go by their adjusted age). If they aren't, we can get some awesome lifestyle photos. Personally, I like photos with baby's eyes open just as much as cuddly sleepy ones.

8 week old baby

Still looking pretty tiny, and still pretty sleepy. Babies at this age can be a little more resistant to curling up, but Henry here is pretty into it.

12 week old baby

This is about where I feel like they look less like newborns, and more like babies. It's a fun time to get portraits, though, because they're often pushing up onto their elbows, and showing more personality.

16 week old baby

Baby's starting to get a little sturdier, his neck a little stronger. They can sometimes sit if propped (like in our living room recliner here) and might be smiling more often.

So there you have it! I think any time is great to document the newest member of your family, but I hope this helps to give you a better idea of what you can expect at different ages.

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