How to Photograph a 4 Day Old Baby — Lifestyle Newborn Photography
A 4 day old baby is one of the most rewarding subjects you will ever photograph. They are brand new. The features are still exactly as they were in the womb and that newness, that absolute brand newness, is what parents will want to remember forever.
This post is about photographing a very young newborn in a lifestyle style. No posing, no wrapping into a shape they wouldn't naturally be in. Just a baby, their parents and you working quietly around all three of them.
What to Expect From a 4 Day Old
Here is something that newborn photographers are often taught but that experience will quickly correct. Not every newborn is curled. We are told that young babies arrive still folded into their womb position, soft and malleable. Sometimes that is true. I have photographed 16 week old babies who are still beautifully curled and bendy. I have also photographed 4 day old babies who arrived with their arms and legs stretched out as if to say that 9 months was enough and they were done with being squished.
You cannot predict which baby you are going to meet. What you can do is work with the baby in front of you rather than against them. That is the whole point of lifestyle photography. There is no position you are trying to achieve, no shape you are trying to create. You are simply watching, waiting and responding to what the baby is actually doing.
A deeply sleeping newborn will often tolerate gentle movement. But if a baby wants to stretch, let them stretch. Some of the most beautiful newborn images I have ever taken were of a baby doing exactly what they wanted to do.
Parents will love you for this. For not trying to mould their baby into something they are not. And the gallery will reflect exactly what their little one was like at 4 days old, they will remember how that little arm kept popping out of a shawl, blanket or growbag. That is the image they will want on their wall. Not a baby arranged into a position. Their baby, exactly as they were.
Setting the Scene
Keep everything simple. A clean neutral backdrop, soft diffused light, nothing busy or distracting in the background. At 4 days old the baby is the story. Everything else should disappear.
I work with a white backdrop and a single flash unit set very low. You could just as easily create the same results with good diffused window light, the key is that the light is soft, consistent and flattering. The same setup every time. Consistency is what gives your work a recognisable style and it removes any decision-making on the day so you can focus entirely on the family in front of you.
Where to Start
Start with the baby alone on the beanbag and create a few different images before you bring parents in. If you are stuck for ideas or find yourself wondering what to do next, my Flow Posing Guide is your saviour. I use it at every single session, it means I never miss a shot and I never have to stand there trying to dream up what comes next. At a session with a very young baby that headspace is better spent watching and responding to the baby in front of you.
From there move to detail shots. Toes, fingers, the curve of an ear, the line of a nose. At 4 days these details are extraordinary and they will not look like this for long. Parents know that. These are the images that make them cry at the Reveal Session.
Bringing Parents In
Bring dad in first. Always.
Mum means milk. Whether baby is breast or bottle fed, and however hands-on dad is with feeding, a very young baby can smell their mother and the moment mum is close the baby's instinct is to feed. If you bring mum in too early you risk unsettling a baby who was perfectly content a moment ago and losing shots you hadn't got yet.
Dad is your friend at this stage. Bringing him in first also gives him a chance to settle into the session at his own pace. Ask dad to place his hands gently under his baby's head. This will give you the chance to take at least 3 different shots of dad and baby and will make dad feel completely comfortable, he is not really being asked to do very much at all. It also puts dad at ease. Dads often shy away from being in photos and this simple, gentle interaction gives him something to focus on that feels natural rather than posed. By the time you are ready for the full family shots he is relaxed and present and it shows in the images.
Once you have your baby alone shots and your baby with dad shots, bring mum in. Keep it simple, baby on chest, skin to skin if she is comfortable with that, or cradled in her arms. You are not directing a pose. You are creating the conditions for a natural moment and then getting out of the way.
The Eyes Open Moment
In the case of this particular baby he arrived starving and wide awake. Luckily mum and dad had followed my pre-session advice and he was dressed in a white sleepsuit, so while mum was getting herself settled and ready to feed I was able to capture a few gorgeous images of this little bubs with his eyes wide open.
That is the thing about very young newborns. You cannot plan for it but you can be ready for it. At 4 days a baby may open their eyes briefly between feeds or during a light sleep cycle, or they may arrive already wide awake and looking at everything. Watch for it. When it happens, be ready. You will not always get long but the image of a brand new baby looking at the world for the first time is worth every minute of waiting.
I do not try to engineer this moment. I stay alert, I keep shooting quietly, and when it happens I get the shot before they drift back off, or in this case, before mum was ready and the feed began.
Feeding During the Session
At 4 days mum is likely still establishing her milk supply and feeds can be frequent and unpredictable. Build this into your session from the start. When baby needs a feed, stop. Hand baby back, step back, and let it happen.
Some of my most beautiful parent images have come from a quiet moment when mum was feeding and had forgotten I was in the room. Stay present, stay quiet, and keep shooting if the light and the moment are right. Always ask first.
A Note on Mum
At 4 days postpartum mum may feel exhausted, emotional, or both. She may also feel completely fine and full of adrenaline. You will not know until she arrives.
Your job is to make her feel comfortable and relaxed from the moment she arrives. Have everything ready before they get there. Have a soft dress or neutral top available for her to wear. Keep the temperature warm. Offer water. Move slowly and speak quietly. The calmer you are the calmer everyone else will be.
If she needs to feed, rest, or simply sit quietly for a moment — let her. There is no rush. A 4 day old session should feel like the most unhurried morning imaginable.
If you found this post useful, the Flow Posing Guides are designed to take the guesswork out of exactly these moments. I use them at every session and they are the reason I never stand in a studio wondering what to do next. There is a guide for sleeping newborns and one for awake babies and between them they cover everything.