Many new parents may wonder if they’ve missed the ideal window for capturing those precious newborn moments. Is six or seven weeks too late for professional newborn photos? The truth is, and I genuinely believe this, it is never too late to have beautiful photos of your little one!

If it is important to you to have photographs of your little one all curled up into a perfect squish, and while they are the smallest they ever will be, than I do recommend that you schedule in within the first month. Traditional newborn photography poses are typically done within the first two weeks after birth, because during this time babies are still very sleepy, making it easier for them to pose in those adorable positions. Their flexibility and ability to curl up into womb-like poses are at their peak, resulting in those iconic “sleepy baby” shots. As the days fly by, they become less flexible, but, this does not mean that photoshoots cannot be done after the first month!

- older Newborn Sessions -

Understanding the photography timeline is crucial because the age of your baby can impact the styling, posing, and overall outcome of the photo session. An experienced photographer can still create magic with newborns who are older than a month. Parents just need to understand that as the baby grows, they become more alert and may no longer easily fall into a deep sleep during the session. This means that capturing those “sleepy baby” poses might require a bit more patience and creativity; or you may need to adjust your expectations on the style of portraits that can be captured. Your photographer will adapt their techniques to suit the age and development of older newborns, so they can still capture beautiful moments for you. At six weeks and beyond, it is important to keep in mind the above feedback to ensure that everyone's expectations are aligned, based on your baby's age and development.

What type of portraits are important for you to capture? For example, if you do wish to try for some sleepy baby posed portraits, I strongly recommend keeping your baby awake for as long as you can before the session. If the baby has slept all morning, they are most likely going to be in for a long awake period, which makes the job of getting them sleepy all that much more challenging. If your baby is more alert already, however, and you are happy with a range of lifestyle portraits that capture your love and connection, then we can still tailor the sessions to lean more towards family portraits and make sure to photograph their features and little unique details too.

Sessions are always smoother when we start with a milk-drunk full belly. If you have been able to keep your baby awake for a while before the shoot, then I recommend you do a good feed at the start of the photo shoot. This sets us up for a greater chance of your older newborn falling asleep at some point within the session and will give you the most variety of portraits. As my photo shoots are always baby-led and never rushed, we may also need to do a top-up feed. So if you are bottle-feeding, make sure you bring the necessary milk to do a good full top-up feed (not a small snack feed), as well as maybe another feed before your drive home. Also, don't forget your usual out-and-about baby bag items for nappy changes, pacifiers, etc.)!

╸ Glamour Ready ╸

It's best we optimize your time with me. So if possible, please be your version of 'glamour ready' and wearing your outfit for the start of the photo shoot. That means hair and make-up done, so all we need to do is a quick refresh (if needed) when you arrive. For kids with long hair, I recommend having it either fully or partially up. This means that even the most wild dynamic captures will still work well, because they won't have hair all over their face. Also, you won't spend a lot of energy in the session smoothing it out and trying to fix it, which can annoy them and squash all the good mood vibes!

╸ Wardrobe Guide ╸

I highly recommend a 'less is more' approach. This works best with my minimalist natural style. The most important thing though, is that you are comfortable. So please do wear an outfit that will help you all relax and ensure that you have a range of movement to play and connect with your little ones. For newborn and up to 100 day photo shoots, I usually prefer to use neutral onesies, diaper covers and my 4 way stretch photography wraps, so I can capture ALL those little details. If you prefer to use one of your own outfits, please make sure that it is very easy to take off. Neutral or pale colours are timeless, and generally I would avoid words splashed across the fabric. Here are a few quick tips to follow -

╸ Little oneS ╸

I recommend making sure that any siblings at the photo shoot also have something in their belly. If possible, I like to try to schedule the photo shoot when they are not due a nap if they still enjoy a siesta, so please do connect with me on this ahead of time. Where possible we can plan the best time to schedule the photo shoot around their daily routine. If there are any motivators that may help them to enjoy the session i.e. snacks that don't leave orange food dust and stains everywhere, toys or songs, do bring them along. Please however kindly keep them hidden, until I signal that we might need them.

╸Session Flow ╸

I usually plan to start with a whole family portraits. Then move on to a range of all the family portrait combinations. I do some close ups of the baby within the family portrait flow, and then after, depending on how the baby is doing, move onto solo baby captures. I will always keep the session fluid and will change things up depending on the baby.

I love making all my photo shoots bespoke. So please do let me know ahead of the shoot if you have any concepts, preferences and ideas in mind e.g. Do you have a portrait concept, or wall in your home that you would like to plan a portrait for in a frame? It's always a pleasure to try to tailor the session to your family where possible, though kindly note, this is not always possible for mini sessions.

╸STUDIO Directions ╸

The Lullaby Images Studio is in a wonderful pocket of Hong Kong, and a little hidden. If your shoot is scheduled for there, please let me know your ETA when you set off, and also whether you will be arriving by taxi, or driving and require parking. There is village street parking available near by (note there is a small risk of a parking ticket, however so far there has only been two tickets issued within 24 months).

For full directions, with photographs, please click here!

*Kindly note that the studio is open by appointment only.