My little one is six weeks of age which is often seen as a milestone by many parents. The initial newborn period for their baby is over and family life tends to have settled down a little. This is why I often get a call around this time from new parents wanting to book in a newborn shoot.

Although often newborn sleepy poses are no longer possible as the baby tends to wake more quickly when touched and won't allow to be "put into a position" you can still get some beautiful photos at this stage.

By 6 weeks of age, most babies are growing out of their drowsy newborn state, and are starting to perk up and notice the world. And that world is quite overwhelming for them – so many sights and sounds and smells! What’s more, all that observing can really wear a baby out, causing overtiredness and increased fussiness.

However whether breastfed or formula fed, during their first few months, many babies have a regular fussy period, which usually occurs in the late afternoon or evening but can be all day as well. The standard infant fussiness usually starts at about 2 to 3 weeks, peaks at 6 weeks and is gone by 3 to 4 months.

This is why photographers often steer away from photographing this age group and look to book you in for when your baby is 3-4 months old. By then, they can hold their head up and are sure to smile for you, so it's definitely worth paying a visit to a professional photographer around that time.

But having seen how cute my little one is at 7 weeks old and having photographed many other babies around this time, I do think it's worth photographing this "forgotten" age group. No, they are no longer a newborn and yes they are more aware and have no control over their arms or legs yet but you can also start having your first smiles and small flicker of recognition in your baby's eye when they see you or hear your voice.

Why not have a look at my gallery which I have put together especially for this 6-8 week old age group so you know what you can expect...lots of big eyes, occasional yawn and smile but certainly lots and lots of cuteness!

However some perfectly well-adjusted and happy babies don't smile until seven or eight weeks. Anything up to 12 weeks is within the normal range. But by week 6 it's likely they will be able to distinguish you from strangers and you can expect a lot of gurgling and grunty noises when they see your face up close with all the facial expressions that go with it.

I have found the wonder weeks quite useful. It is claimed that many babies follow a similar pattern, and so it may be possible to predict approximately when a child may have a fussy ('stormy') time and when your baby is likely to be more happy.

The 'sunniest' weeks may happen around (calculated from due date):

• 6 weeks
• 10 weeks
• 13 weeks (around 3 months)
• 21 weeks
• 31 weeks
• 39 weeks
• 49 weeks
• 58 weeks

Therefore I would say, DO come and see me in the studio with your 6 or 7 week old baby, especially if you haven't done any professional newborn photos yet and capture these sunny weeks!

I would suggest an hour shoot if you only want images of your baby and a two hour shoot if you want some images with mum and dad as well. That should leave you with enough time to feed and settle your baby too. Why not have a look at my pricing page and contact me to book in your session today.