After giving birth, the last thing you should be thinking about is how to document your newborn baby. Instead, you can plan for this ahead of time and I'm excited to share all the details of what some people call a "Fresh 48"!
Lots of Long Island hospitals now partner with newborn photographers like myself to offer in hospital photography sessions. Due to the fact that you're confined to the hospital and hello you just had major surgery or pushed a football out of your hoo-ha, then this is something best planned in advance!
Most Fresh 48 are done without props, backdrops and usually without professional lighting. It's the first 48 hours you have as a family and is meant to be more of a documentary, raw style. If your style is more posed portraits then I recommend a true newborn session that takes place 5-21 days after birth. Read more about my newborn sessions and why I travel to you or you can travel to my Manhasset studio here.
Knowing you've booked this ahead of time, you can plan for the session before your baby even arrives.
First, most photographers will tell you that mornings are the best so if you are like me and love to be in control, make sure the hospital knows they are coming and ensure the baby is with you during that time period. If this is booked through the hospital, most hospitals plan all of this for you! Next, babies love to feel warm and comforted. If you're wanting a lot of naked baby photos, then please turn up the heat in your room about 30-45 minutes prior to my arrival!
I love Fresh 48 images for their lifestyle feel. If you're comfortable with breastfeeding photos, I recommend that mom feed the baby when I first get there. This will lull your child into a really deep sleep (perfect for moving them around a lot!). Next, we'll take some images of the baby in their bassinet both wrapped in their hospital wrap as well as more naked baby shots. I use a macro lens to get all those precious little details that change so fast in just a few weeks!
Alongside the hospital outfit, I recommend having an outfit or two for the little one. Having a hat with the baby's name on it, a baby blanket, or any other special family heirlooms are really lovely and lend so much meaning to the session - it makes the session about you as a family and that baby as an individual!!
In regards to yourself, I always say to give yourself grace. Given that it's been an emotional and traumatic 48 hours, a simple slip on dress / nightgown is always classic. If you hate dresses then a black or white top and loose fitting pants work just as well!
Your partner who didn't give birth should be in something complimentary and matching to you. For all my clients, we work on a custom outfit guide to help you play with colors and ideas that work for you and your current closet!
I always take shots of the family and then baby alone with each parent. Baby only shots happen with full baby photos + all those little details I talked about earlier. All in all, expect to get 40-50 images to choose from in your gallery.
I know that so many new parents want images of their children RIGHT AWAY. I totally get that. All of my Fresh 48 sessions include at least one sneak peek photo texted the same day.
Once you choose the images you want to keep, I'll begin the editing process. I hand-edit each individual image all the way down to the tiny little hospital wristband. Then, you get your gallery!
I also have partnered with a nationally ranked photography lab to offer you lots of options when printing your images. To see why printing images scientifically makes children feel more connected to their family, see my blog post about that here!
I have options for albums, gallery walls, ornaments, keepsakes and so much more! One of my favorites are little accordion books. In packs of 3, they're perfect for grandparents and make an adorable keepsake for your home. My full-size albums are custom-made and you have the ability to choose everything from the colors to the print style to the cover material!
If a Fresh48 sounds right to you - reach out to me directly here and we can chat more about next steps.
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