Ultimate Guide – Fresh 48 Photography Tips

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When Should Newborn Photos be Taken?

1- Consider Your Time Frame:  Newborn photos in the hospital offer a smaller time frame to be completed since babies don’t typically stay very long. I advise you to stay relatively close to the hospital you’ll be shooting at when you have expecting Mamas coming up on your calendar.

2- Share Personal Contact Info:  When a fresh 48 photo session gets booked, I always share my personal contact info so its easier for the parents-to-be to get ahold of me.

3- Relax or Glam Up!  At the time the parents-to-be book their fresh 48 hospital session I also let them know they can be as relaxed or glammed up as they want to be when deciding on what to wear for a newborn session.  There is definitely no pressure to get ready for this type of session. It’s hard work. We get it.

4- Best Time for a Fresh 48 Photo Session:  I love coming to do these fresh 48 newborn pictures on day two or three depending on how labor was for Mama.

5- Make the Newborn Photo Session Easier:  Showered, relaxed, and visitor free makes everything just a little easier for everyone. There is a quiet but undeniable power those first days between the parents and tiny new person, and I always feel so honored to get to capture those very raw emotions. Because this time is so precious, I keep these sessions to a 60 minute maximum to allow the family to continue creating their intimate bond. During my time I am not focused on catching the posed shots. I put all my efforts in the emotion and teeny tiny details of this new little miracle.

Fresh 48 Camera Settings

6- Best Lighting for Newborn Hospital Photos:  Now lets talk about that hospital lighting- yuck! Pro tip: avoid it. I am a lover of using the natural light from the window in the room. With that being said, schedule the shoot for the morning or early afternoon to take full advantage of it.

7- What lens to use for a newborn photo session?  My prime lens for these little babes is my 50mm 1.8. It gets me just close enough to capture the fine details and solely focus on them while also being able to capture the whole room from just a few steps back.

8- No Posing!  Since there is no posing required during these shoots, I follow the natural movements this little wonder makes and go with the flow.

9- Wash Up and Ask first!  If you need the little to face the other direction, make sure you’ve washed your hands, ask if the parents would prefer to move them first, or switch positions of the moving bassinet to make your job a little easier.

10- Get rid of!  I do remove anything in the basinet that may cause a distraction beforehand so all the focus is on the newborn.

Fresh 48 Shot List

My favorite shots for a fresh 48 photo session include:

-outside of the hospital building

-room number

-siblings with their new friend (or enemy, you never know how they might react to this new life)

-all of their tiny features

• noses
• lips
• hands
• ears
• feet
• belly button
• hair (if they have any)

-a few pictures with the ones that brought them into this world

-incorporating a letter board with their name and birth information (is the only newborn prop I really use!)

What you capture in that hospital room with that brand new family is the first few lines of a book with many chapters still to be written together. Those newborn shots will be something they will have to cherish for the rest of their lives, always able to look back to the start. These fresh 48 sessions are the type that make me feel so truly fortunate to be doing what I do, bringing me into clients lives and immortalizing these huge milestones in the form of pictures.

But no pressure. Really. Just enjoy the experience.

GUEST BLOGGER:  Kristina Minion Photo