I have a pet peeve: photographers who turn new moms away because their babies are out of the “newborn window.”  The so called perfect newborn window is 4-10 days old.  Newborn photographers are taught this “rule” by all the experts.  There are definitely benefits to photographing a baby during those first few days, they may sleep better and be more poseable.  But I’ve seen so many photographers turn new parents away because their babies were too old.  I may be a bit of a contrarian, but I’ve always believed that rules are made to be broken.

I can’t bare to tell a new mom, who is still recovering from child birth, adjusting to sustaining a new being, getting almost no sleep and hopped up on postpartum hormones that they are out of luck because they are out of that first two week window.

Every mom deserves beautiful pictures to document their baby’s first chapter.

I recently had the honor of photographing this little sweet pea.  Miss Lia was born at 25 weeks, a little fighter she is. It’s clear she got her strength from her mama and papa who spent too many of her first days in the NICU fighting for and loving on Lia while mourning the loss of Lia’s twin.

When Lia’s grandma called me and told me about Lia, then 3.5 months old and finally out of the NICU, I couldn’t even fathom telling this family that I wouldn’t photograph Lia because she was out of the newborn phase.  They wanted to celebrate how far they had come and how perfectly normal Lia was despite her extraordinary first months.  I could not deprive them of this celebration of this miraculous new life.

Every mom deserves beautiful pictures to document their baby’s first chapter.

So at four months old, sweet little Lia spent the morning with me.  And despite being out of the “newborn phase” – 3.5 months out of the newborn phase to be exact- sweet Lia slept better than even the sleepiest little newborns and I got to help a brand new mom and dad, who have already faced more in those first four months than many parents encounter in years, decades, and even lifetimes, beautifully document their little miracle’s first chapter.

Oh little Lia, you have a lifetime of love and adventure ahead of you.  I am so honored to have had the chance to document the beginning of your story.