Newborn vs. Fresh 48 sessions
In the world of photography, the newborn portrait session is a well-established and common way for the "first photos” of your baby to be taken. We’ve all seen those photos of babies swaddled and posed in a softly lit studio, surrounded by cozy props and stuffed into adorable little outfits. There’s also the less staged variation of an in-home session, similarly laid out with sweet family poses.
Such sessions are a great option for capturing such a sweet, new little human and are fun to look back on. But have you heard of a Fresh 48 session?
Less common than its widely-booked cousin, the Fresh 48 is a more raw, intimate, emotional way to capture those first few photos of a brand new baby. The session is named for the first 48 hours of a baby’s life, and most often takes place in the hospital, birthing center, or home where your baby was born. I have to tell you, I absolutely adore a good Fresh 48 and the photos that come from them. Let me show you a few of mine. (One of the many perks of being married to my husband… he gets the best Fresh 48 pictures every time we welcome a new baby.)
I mean… good grief. Are these not just the most precious pictures you’ve ever seen?
I know I’m biased. But that’s kind of the point.
The first few days of a new babies life are such an incredible mix of so many things that don’t seem to go together but somehow just do: they’re hard but so beautiful, chaotic but somehow so serene, tender and yet so raw. There are so many emotional ups and downs as you just love on your new baby while trying to learn about this new person and figure out how to care for someone so small and vulnerable (who just doesn’t want to cooperate sometimes.) It’s stressful. It’s precious.
And photos taken in this time period just throw you right back to all of emotions of that moment, almost like you’re there again. And that’s why I love the Fresh 48 so much. I've taken plenty of newborn photos for each of our kiddos over the years, to make sure I have all those precious little newborn details documented, but none of those newborn photos make me feel as deeply as the gorgeous photos that Colin got of our babies in the hospital.
So while I prefer Fresh 48 sessions to newborn sessions and while I do highly recommend them, there are pros and cons to such a session.
Pro: You get the most precious, snuggly, emotional first days of baby’s life documented.
And seriously, these photos are like a time machine. They bring you right back.
Con: You’re exhausted after having a baby and may not feel up for a “photoshoot.”
Here’s my caviat though; you don’t have to get dolled up, you don’t have to go anywhere, and you mostly don’t even have to pose. Just stay where you are and do your thing with your sweet little family. The more real and candid, the better.
Pro: These photos make for great “birth announcements” for family and friends.
I loved sending these out to our babies’ great-grandparents and my friends after leaving the hospital; they really capture the beauty of it all, and I liked them better than our cell phone photos.
Con: These sessions can be a bit tricky to book.
Unless you’re being induced and don’t have a chance of going into labor before that time, it can be tough to coordinate with a photographer as far as when these portraits will take place, and you just have to keep your fingers crossed that your photog will be available.
All that aside, though, in my opinion, the pros outweigh the cons. You’ve read my case for the Fresh 48; I’ll let you be the judge.