For me, starting out with little ones (before I was bitten by the photo bug), I remember waiting until my babies were three months old before taking them in to be photographed. My reasoning was that by that time, they looked more like themselves. I guess I felt that newborns were still a bit ... well, new. Their skinny, wrinkly little bodies needed time to plump up before they looked more like their true selves. They changed so quickly. It's funny how that same argument is exactly why I now hold the opposite point of view.
I have four children. Once they were scrawny little monsters running around the house eating jam straight from jars and climbing to the top of the piano if not constantly watched. I had three boys first, and then a little girl. With my boys, I waited to have their pictures made until they were three months old. I thought that was just fine, but when I had my daughter, a dear friend in Huntsville, Alabama (http://agreenfieldphotography.com/blog/) offered to do a newborn shoot for me. I jumped at the chance and brought my daughter to her when she was only five days old. Her chord hadn't even come off yet. Before you cringe, I have to say that those pictures, my daughter's first days on this planet, are more special to me than any other pictures I had taken, or have taken myself. Ever. Because she changed so quickly, I look back at those beginnings with awe and love and humility at how far she has come. I really wish I had done the same with my boys.
Raising kids is about change. Constant, never ending, change. Because your little person is going to change so quickly, capturing those first moments, within the first week or two, is so important!
So, there you have it. To shoot or not to shoot? Shoot. Absolutely. Is it a waste of time and money? I can promise you, it definitely is not. Find a photographer who matches your style and don't hesitate. Life moves so quickly. You will always be happy you did.
Here are a few simple newborn shots I took recently of a five-day-old angel:
