Some sessions have a backstory. Max's has a really good one.
Earlier this year I photographed a wedding at Husk Distillery in Tumbulgum - one of my favourite venues in the region, and one of those days where everything just comes together the way you hope it will. Mum was seven months pregnant at the wedding and the day was a gorgeous mix of wedding, baby shower and gender reveal. The photos were part bridal, part maternity and honestly, such a beautiful day!
Baby Max arrived early in June. And a few weeks later, this little family made the trip down from Brisbane to my Tweed Heads studio - and I got to meet him.
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Three Weeks Old and Very Much Awake
Here's what I want every parent of a newborn to hear before they book their session: babies do not read the schedule.
Max was three weeks old when he came in, which sits just outside that early newborn window of days 5 to 12 where babies are at their sleepiest and most flexible. At three weeks, babies are starting to wake up to the world - literally. They're more alert, more aware and significantly less interested in being curled up and posed than they were in those first couple of weeks.
Max had also had a long sleep in the car on the drive down from Brisbane. Which meant he arrived at the studio wide awake, having already done his sleeping for the morning and with absolutely no plans to do any more of it anytime soon.
This is the reality of newborn photography that nobody talks about enough.
Sometimes You Just Have to Wait It Out
We didn't force it. We didn't try to settle a baby who wasn't ready to settle, or rush through poses with a wide-eyed three week old who had other ideas. We waited.
Mum fed him. We chatted. We tried a few awake shots - and actually got some beautiful ones, because an alert newborn has this incredible wide-eyed curiosity that photographs in a completely different but equally lovely way. But the posed, sleepy newborn images we were also hoping for needed Max to be asleep. So we waited for that too.
About an hour and a half in, Max decided he was done being awake. And the moment he went out - properly, deeply out - we moved. Everything was already set up, the lighting was ready, and we worked through setups efficiently while he stayed settled.
The images we got once he was asleep were worth every minute of that wait.
What This Means for Your Newborn Session
If you're reading this with a newborn who never sleeps when you need them to, or you're pregnant and already anxious about whether your baby will cooperate - please take a breath.
I have been in rooms with enough newborns to know that this is completely normal and that patience is genuinely the most important tool in a newborn photographer's kit. I don't double-book sessions back to back. I allow time. If your baby needs a feed, we feed them. If they need twenty minutes of mum cuddles before they'll settle, we do that. If we need to wait an hour and a half like we did with Max, we wait.
The session is done when we have the images - not when the clock says so.
A few things that genuinely help:
Book in that early window if you can. Days 5 to 12 are the sweet spot. Babies are sleepier, more flexible and easier to settle into poses. If you're pregnant and reading this, get your date in the diary before baby arrives.
Feed as close to arrival as possible. A full baby is a sleepy baby. Top them up in the car park if you need to...or come inside, I can make you a cup of tea and you can relax on the lounge for a while, while baby feeds.
Don't stress about the drive. Max came from Brisbane and we still got everything we needed. The drive might mean they arrive awake, but it also means they're due for a sleep sooner rather than later.
Trust the process. I've done this enough times to know that almost every session comes good. It might not look like it at the start, but it gets there.
The Families Who Let Me Be Part of Their Story
What I love most about Max's session isn't just the images - it's that I was already part of this family's story before he was born. I was there at the wedding. I took those maternity photos in the dress. And now I have newborn images of their son to add to that collection. I was fully invested in Max before he was born!
That's the kind of relationship I'm building with the families I work with. Not a one-off transaction. A photographer they call when the next chapter happens - the newborn, the first birthday, the family session when the grandparents visit.
If you're planning a wedding, expecting a baby, or both - I'd love to be your photographer for all of it.
Book Your Tweed Heads Studio Newborn Session
Wonderland Photography's studio is based in Tweed Heads and photographs newborns from across the Tweed Coast, Gold Coast, Byron Bay and Brisbane.
Session fee is $150, with digital collections from $350. No packages to choose before you've seen your images, no pressure, ever.
And if your baby is already three weeks old and you're worried you've left it too late - send me a message. We'll make it work.
