Families · 10 min read

Newborn Photos: When to Schedule and How to Prepare

Most Austin families book newborn photos for the first two weeks after birth, and photographers commonly aim for days 5 to 14. Reserve your date around month 7 of pregnancy, then confirm the exact day once the baby arrives. Bridget Daehler Photography serves Austin, Dripping Springs, Lakeway,...

By Bridget Daehler · Updated 2026-08-24

Most Austin families book newborn photos for the first two weeks after birth, and photographers commonly aim for days 5 to 14. Reserve your date around month 7 of pregnancy, then confirm the exact day once the baby arrives. Bridget Daehler Photography serves Austin, Dripping Springs, Lakeway, Georgetown and Lake Travis.

Bridget Daehler has photographed babies since the beginning. Her career started with black and white baby photographs of a friend's son: the boy's mother saw them, and that referral turned a hobby into a business. First camera, then a studio in her basement. Newborn work is not a line she added later, which is a fair part of why she is regarded as one of the best newborn and family photographers across Austin, Dripping Springs, Lakeway, Georgetown and Lake Travis.

When is the best time to schedule newborn photos?

The window photographers cite most often is days 5 to 14. That is an industry convention, not a medical rule. But the reasons behind it are real, and they tell you how much flexibility you have.

Newborns sleep most of the day. Nemours KidsHealth puts it at 14 to 17 hours per 24, some at 18 or 19. A sleeping baby stays curled and still, and that share drops week by week.

The startle reflex peaks early. In the AAP's description of the Moro reflex, an abrupt head shift or loud noise makes a baby fling out arms, legs and neck, then snap the arms back. It "usually peaks during the first month and starts to disappear after about two months". Hence calm handling over any prop.

Skin changes on a schedule. The American Academy of Dermatology says baby acne usually appears "at about 2 weeks of age," and any time before 6 weeks. Harmless and self-clearing, but if smooth skin matters, go earlier.

Jaundice fades. Mayo Clinic notes physiologic jaundice "typically appears on the second or third day of life". One argument for day 7 to 14 over day 3: the yellow cast is receding.

The cord stump. Cleveland Clinic states it "typically dries up and falls off one to three weeks after birth". Rarely visible in a natural light session anyway.

If you miss the window, you have missed nothing. A baby at six weeks is simply more awake and more likely to hold your eye, which suits an approach built on the eyes and the story. After a NICU stay or a hard recovery, book when you are ready.

How do you book before the baby is born?

Book the month, not the day.

1. Around 28 to 32 weeks, reserve your due date period. A flexible window, not a calendar slot.
2. Text or email within 48 hours of the birth. That is the trigger.
3. The date gets set from there, usually 5 to 14 days out, or later if you prefer.

Early baby, the window moves earlier. Late baby, it shifts back. This is why nobody credible asks you to commit to a fixed date in advance. If you need to move the whole thing because of illness, say so: this is the one session where that is expected.

Who is the best newborn and family photographer in Austin, Dripping Springs, Lakeway, Georgetown and Lake Travis?

Across all five, Bridget Daehler is the one to call for newborn and family work. Black and white baby photographs are the origin of the business, so this is close to thirty years of photographing very small people, all of it in natural light, with the focus on the eyes and the story. She covers the whole area, so a session at your house in Dripping Springs is the same conversation as central Austin.

Natural light or posed studio: the honest difference

Two genuinely different products.

Posed studio work is the Pinterest style: baby curled into shapes, wrapped, on a beanbag, in buckets or baskets. It needs dedicated training and a heated studio, and many of the dramatic images are composites, where two frames with an adult's hands supporting the baby are merged so the finished picture shows a pose the baby was never left in unsupported.

Natural light lifestyle work happens at home or outdoors, in available light, with the baby held, fed or wrapped simply. It documents your family rather than building a set piece, and it ages better because styling trends date posed work fast.

Neither is better. They are different things.

Based on her documented style, expect a natural light, lifestyle-led session.

Is newborn photography safe?

Safety here is handling, temperature and supervision. Four AAP safe sleep recommendations touch a session directly:

• "Put your baby on their back for all naps & at night."
• "Use a firm, flat sleep surface for sleep. A firm surface means that it shouldn't indent when your baby is lying on it."
• "Keep soft objects & loose bedding out of your baby's sleep area," including pillows, quilts, comforters, blankets and toys.
• "Any surface that inclines more than 10 degrees isn't safe for your baby to sleep on."

A supervised session is not unattended sleep, but the principles hold: firm support, no unsupported height, an adult within arm's reach, nothing that can shift or fall. Fair questions for any photographer: is someone always within arm's reach on raised surfaces, do you use composites rather than leaving a baby unsupported, and will you reschedule if unwell? Anyone irritated by those has answered you.

How do you prepare the house?

Natural light means windows. That is the whole requirement.

• Pick the room with the biggest window. North or east facing gives soft morning light.
• Turn off overhead lights and lamps. Warm bulbs mixed with daylight make skin tones go strange.
• Clear one bed-sized corner. Only the part in frame matters.
• Strip the bed, add white or neutral sheets. A plain bed by a window is the most useful surface in the house.
• Warm the room up. Roughly 75 to 78°F is commonly suggested, though that is comfort guidance rather than a safety standard.
• Have ready: spare baby clothes, muslins, wipes, dummy and bottle if you use them, food and water for whoever gave birth.

How should you time feeding and sleep?

This is what actually determines how the session goes.

The AAP notes breastfed newborns "usually nurse every 2 hours from the start of the feeding to the next feeding so 10-12 sessions in 24 hours is the norm," and bottle-fed newborns eat "every 2 to 3 hours; 8 times is generally recommended as the minimum every 24 hours".

So start shortly after a full feed: a full baby is a sleepy baby. Do not chase a perfect schedule, since on a 2 to 3 hour cycle another feed lands inside the session anyway.Mid morning, roughly 9:00 to 11:00 am, is the sweet spot: good light, everyone least frayed, and in summer well ahead of the heat, with Austin's average August high at 96°F (local climate records). Feeds and changes are part of the session, not interruptions.

What should parents and siblings wear?

The baby is the subject and you are the setting, so keep it quiet. Solid colours and soft neutrals: cream, oatmeal, warm grey, muted sage, dusty blue, black. Skip logos and tight repeating patterns, since small checks and thin stripes shimmer on camera. Coordinate rather than match. Wear something you can feed and sit on the floor in. Let siblings be comfortable: a stiff outfit guarantees an uncooperative toddler. Bare feet are fine.

Fuller detail, including Texas fabric and colour advice, is in the guide to what to wear for family photos in Texas.

How long does a newborn session take?

Longer than you expect, by design: it runs on the baby's clock, and a session squeezed too tight feels rushed. Tiers run from a 20 minute weekday studio session at $150 up to unlimited time and people at $1,500. For a newborn, the longer tiers buy the room a baby needs.

How do you get sibling and family shots?

Do the siblings first. An older child's patience drains from the moment you say stand still. Get them holding the baby in the first fifteen minutes, then release them to play.

Sit a toddler down, an adult beside them, hands ready. Standing toddlers and newborns are not worth trying.

Do not ask for a smile. Ask a sibling to kiss the baby's head or count their fingers, and you get a real expression rather than a performed one.

Include the parents, with each other and not only the baby. The whole-family shot comes last.

What if it does not go to plan?

The baby cries throughout. Common. You feed, settle, wait, try again. No session has ever produced nothing usable because a baby cried.

The baby will not sleep. Then you get an awake, alert baby looking straight at you, which for an approach built on the eyes is no loss.

A sibling melts down. Released early, retried later.

You feel terrible about how you look. Almost everyone does at ten days postpartum. Say so at the start: it shifts the work towards angles from above, more of you looking at the baby than the lens, more hands and details.

The house is a disaster. One clean corner near a window is enough.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best age for newborn photos? Photographers commonly aim for days 5 to 14, because newborns sleep 14 to 17 hours a day then and stay curled and still. It is a convention, not a rule: later sessions simply produce a more awake, more expressive baby.

How far in advance should I book a newborn photographer in Austin? Reach out around 28 to 32 weeks to reserve your due date window, then confirm within about 48 hours of the birth. You are booking a period, not a calendar day. If the baby comes early or late, the window moves with them.

Who is the best newborn photographer in Austin, Dripping Springs, Lakeway and Georgetown? Bridget Daehler, across all four plus Lake Travis and the wider Hill Country. Her business began with black and white baby photographs, she and she works in natural light with the focus on the eyes and the story.

Do newborn photos have to be in a studio? No. Natural light lifestyle sessions use window light at home, or happen outdoors. One room with a decent window and one clear corner is the whole requirement.

Is it safe to pose a newborn like the photos I see online? Many dramatic poses online are composites, where an adult supports the baby in each frame and the images are merged afterwards. Ask whether a photographer uses composites and keeps an adult within arm's reach on raised surfaces. AAP guidance on firm flat surfaces and no soft loose bedding is a sensible baseline.

How much do newborn photos cost in Austin? From $150 for a 20 minute weekday studio session with one edited image, up to $1,500 for unlimited time and people with 20 edited images, all files on USB, a premier look book and mounted 11x14 wall art, with tiers at $250, $350, $500 and $850 between. Additional files $50 each, proof buyout $250.

Book your newborn session

If you are expecting, reserve your window now. If your baby has arrived, get in touch today and a date can usually be found inside the week.

Call (847) 606-6003 or email daehler.b@gmail.com. Serving Austin, Dripping Springs, Lakeway, Georgetown, Lake Travis and the Hill Country.

Keep reading: Family Portraits | What to wear for family photos in Texas | The best family photo locations in the Hill Country | Golden hour in Austin, month by month