Right, let’s talk about this because I know so many new parents worry they’ve left it too late.

You’ve had your baby, you’ve completely lost track of what day it is and suddenly someone asks whether you’ve booked newborn photos and your baby is already three weeks old.

Cue the frantic Google search: “Is three weeks too late for newborn photos?”

No. It isn’t.

You haven’t missed your chance and you certainly haven’t done anything wrong. You’ve just had a baby. Booking a photoshoot may not have been top of the list while you were recovering and working out how such a tiny person can create so much washing.

Why does everyone mention the first two weeks?

Photographers often recommend having newborn photos taken during the first couple of weeks because babies tend to sleep more deeply and naturally curl themselves up.

That can make some of those very sleepy photos easier to create.

It doesn’t mean your baby reaches day fifteen and is suddenly too old. There’s no newborn photography police waiting to turn you away at the studio door.

At three weeks, your baby is still very new. They might be a little more awake and they may take longer to settle, but that isn’t a bad thing.

Sometimes we get sleepy photographs. Sometimes we get gorgeous wide eyes staring straight back at us.. Both are lovely.

What if my baby stays awake?

Then they stay awake!

I never go into a newborn session with a strict list that your baby needs to complete. They haven’t read my plan and they’re not particularly interested in sticking to it.

If your baby wants to look around, we’ll photograph them awake. If they drift off after a feed, we’ll capture that too.

Your session doesn’t need to look exactly like anyone else’s because your baby isn’t anyone else’s.

I work with whatever they give me on the day, and that’s often where the most meaningful photographs come from.

What if they cry the whole time?

This is usually what parents are really worried about. I think everyone imagines arriving at the studio, their baby becoming unsettled and the whole session being a disaster but that isn’t how it works here.

If your baby needs feeding, we stop. If they need to be held, you hold them. Nobody is tapping their watch or waiting for you to hurry up.

I only book one family each day, so there’s plenty of time to let your baby lead the session.

Babies cry. It’s their only way of telling us something isn’t quite right, and we simply work out what they need.

You are never going to be judged because your three-week-old baby behaves like a three-week-old baby.

Will I still get those sleepy newborn photographs?

Quite possibly, yes.

I’ve photographed plenty of babies around three weeks old who have slept beautifully. Some need a little more time to settle and some would much rather keep an eye on everything I’m doing.

We might create a slightly different gallery from the one we would have made during their first week. That doesn’t make it any less special.

You’ll still have the way their little body fits against yours. You’ll still have the expressions you never want to forget.

Most importantly, you’ll be in the photographs with them.

What if my baby is even older?

Please message me anyway.

I photograph older babies all the time, and there is something lovely about every age. As they become more alert, you start seeing more of their personality in the photographs.

It may not be the traditional newborn session you originally imagined, but we can still create something beautiful and completely yours.

The worst thing you can do is keep putting it off because you already think you’re too late.

You’re not.

You don’t need to feel guilty

Those first few weeks can be a complete blur.

Maybe your recovery was harder than you expected. Maybe you simply weren’t ready to leave the house.

That’s okay.

You don’t need to explain why you didn’t book sooner. There is no perfect way to do the newborn stage and there is definitely no prize for having everything organised before your baby arrives.

We start from where you are now.

So, is three weeks too late for newborn photos?

Absolutely not.

Your baby may be more alert and the session might move at a slightly different pace. We’ll follow their lead and create photographs that show exactly who they are right now.

Lucy Rose Studios is based just outside York, and every newborn session is completely unhurried. You don’t need a baby who sleeps on command and you don’t need to know what to do in front of the camera.

Just bring yourselves.

If your baby is already three weeks old and you’re wondering whether to enquire, send me a message. I’ll talk you through what we can create and let you know what availability I have.

No judgement and no telling-off for not booking at your twenty-week scan.

I’d just love to hear about your baby.

→ Book your newborn session here — siblings always welcome 🤍