What is newborn photography? It’s a question people often ask right after a baby is born—how to preserve those precious memories of baby’s first days. As early as pregnancy, baby’s world opens up to parents and makes them want to explore ways to build a legacy for the coming child. Newborn photography is a full part of that priceless heritage.
Newborn photography: all the info
Who am I?
I’m Cathy, a newborn photographer in French-speaking Switzerland, specifically Lausanne, for more than 10 years. I create newborn photos after baby’s birth, but also everything around the family: couple photography, family photography, baby photography as they grow. In short, I love working with families and children to capture kids’ natural beauty and the priceless relationships with their family (parents, siblings, cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles…), keepsakes they will cherish for a long time.
My photographic style focuses on highlighting baby’s natural beauty, with simple, clean images, in soft light and a natural style that reveals the family’s intimate, warm connection. I do newborn photography exclusively at the parents’ home, and I talk more about that in this article.
You can find newborn photos on my website LunaCat Studio Photography and the photo products (photo album, image box) I offer in video on my YouTube channel.
Newborn photography: what is it?
In the big world of photography, here we focus on portrait photography—meaning photos of living beings (portraits aren’t limited to humans; pets are common subjects in animal portraiture). In our case, we focus even more on family and baby’s arrival in their family cocoon. That’s the structure newborn photography deals with: the newborn and their family.
There are two main ways to approach newborn photography through two different styles, which we’ll explore below.
Posed photography
In this newborn style, baby is positioned in physiological poses (very important for baby’s comfort) and photographed that way. Most often baby is asleep so they can stay relaxed in those positions.
The aim here is to highlight baby’s beauty, tiny size, delicate features, the tenderness of this unique moment, in a simple, effective photograph that can easily be used for birth announcements, photo books, décor with art prints, etc.
Lifestyle and documentary photography
Newborn lifestyle photography looks more broadly at baby’s relationship with their new environment. So we’ll see baby in their room, in their parents’ arms… It takes a more documentary view of baby’s arrival. The connection with parents—breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, bath, moments of closeness—are emphasized to later become part of the child’s birth story.
Newborn photography: when ?
Newborn photography generally focuses on the first days of life, between 4 and 15 days. Why? During that period baby is naturally calm and still spends a lot of time sleeping, which makes timing much easier for photos of baby asleep.
If you miss that first 15-day window, it’s not a disaster. An experienced newborn photographer can still work up to about a month after birth, adapting the session to baby’s wakefulness and cues.
Newborn photography: where?
Newborn photography requires a controlled environment for baby’s well-being. Depending on the style (posed or lifestyle), different options are available. Below are the two offers you’ll often find with newborn photographers.
Newborn photography at home
Let’s start with what I do at LunaCat Studio Photographie: newborn photography at home. With a brand-new baby, exhausted parents after the birth, a very recent return home, and a routine just getting established (breastfeeding or bottle, diaper changes, naps, sleep (!!!), baths, outings…) plus mom’s postpartum recovery, I’ve chosen to offer families the newborn session in the cocoon of their own home.
This lets parents fully enjoy the unique moment. No need to leave the house, they can rest a bit while the session happens, and they avoid the logistics of an outside appointment (diapers, supplies for baby and mom…). An at-home newborn session greatly simplifies family logistics and becomes a privileged family time, because baby will be more relaxed thanks to relaxed parents.
Newborn photo in studio
For studio photography, the family goes to the photographer’s studio for the newborn session. This option requires more logistics from parents (diapers, supplies for baby and mom) and timing to arrive on schedule, which can add extra stress that baby will definitely sense (emotional sponge).
What to expect?
The newborn photography you can expect will obviously depend on the professional photographer you choose. I am talking here about professional photographers whose job is to photograph newborns.
Newborn photography requires specific, essential technical knowledge and skills for the session to go best. In addition, the newborn photographer must be patient, gentle and attentive to baby and parents. Experience is therefore an important factor in respecting baby’s well-being.
To fully understand what to expect from your newborn photo session, take a look at the photographer’s work — the portfolio reflects their style and way of working. It’s also helpful to see real newborn sessions, especially on their blog or social media. Personally, I publish complete photo sessions on my blog for transparency, so parents know what they can get from their newborn session.