What is a “fresh 48” and why you should consider booking one if you are expecting.
All birth stories are different and as a woman who has given birth to three babies of my own, I can tell you that those experiences are life changing. Your birth place is one that you will never forget. I believe these details are important and documenting them is something you will treasure. “Fresh 48” sessions are not a completely new concept. When I was a sophomore in college, I lived within walking distance to a large hospital and they were hiring for a part time newborn photographer job. I jumped at the chance and was hired for the summer. Back then, we rolled a large bassinet cart into each recovery room. The camera and a light was attached to the top of the cart and photographing the baby was as simple and boring as placing the baby in the bassinet and pushing the wired “take photo” button on the cart. There were no actual photography skills required and the images as you can imagine were, well, terrible. Think about how nice of an image you would get with a bright startling flash in your newborn’s face. Fast forward 7 years later, and I was giving birth to my own son in that same hospital. The photography packages offered by the hospital then, were a little better. It was a real photographer with a camera, but think baby in a basket :)
Today, birth place photography looks quite a bit different. The term you will hear most often these days is “fresh 48” for birthplace sessions. That is because the goal is to get the photos taken within the first 48 hours after birth. If you have had a new baby, you know that there are many fresh baby details that change very quickly. When I am photographing a newborn within two days of birth, I am looking to capture the still wrinkly peeling skin, the fine baby hair, the umbilical stump, and moments of connection with the tiny human that you have waited months to hold in your arms. There are lots of storytelling details in this environment and I love to capture them for my clients. This is the very beginning of this new chapter in your family’s life and these details are worth keeping.
A fresh 48 session is different than a newborn session. They are very short, keeping in mind the needs of the baby and new parents. I am there just to capture the fleeting details in the environment you welcomed your baby in. A newborn session will be scheduled at your home and will be for sometime in the next few weeks after you have gotten home and settled. I love to capture the earliest sibling bonds and the excitement that comes along with a new baby. Your little one will have undoubtedly changed a bit in the first couple weeks of life and I will make sure to document those changes as well. You can see more examples of what a newborn session with me looks like here.
These sessions are intentionally short. These are about 30 minutes at the most. I was a mom to a brand new baby three times myself and I am sensitive to what those first few days as a new parent are like. Images will mostly be of your newborn’s details. Often in you or your partner’s arms or with your new baby lying on the bed or bassinet. The goal is to keep things simple. This is storytelling and I am just there to give you beautiful images that reflect the beginning of this new little person’s story.
