What Does a Fresh 48 Session Look Like? | Pittsburgh Newborn Hospital Photos

Are you curious about Fresh 48 Photo Sessions? These special sessions capture the precious first moments of your newborn’s life right at the hospital within the first 24-48 hours. In this post, I’ll guide you through what to expect during a Fresh 48 session and provide a glimpse into the experience of documenting those early memories.

I’m also sharing photos of a sweet baby who was expected to be born in January of 2025 but decided he wanted to be born in 2024! He arrived on Christmas Eve-Eve!

Booking your Fresh 48 Session before your baby arrives is essential! While Pittsburgh area hospitals once had in-house photographers to capture these early moments, they have discontinued this service following the COVID-19 pandemic.

To ensure you don’t miss out on these in-hospital photos, it’s best to contact and secure your photographer several months or weeks before your due date. Although I may be able to accommodate last-minute requests, scheduling ahead is always the best option!

Clear communication with your Fresh 48 photographer is crucial, as these sessions happen within a limited time frame. Since most moms and babies are discharged from the hospital within 48 hours, your photographer is essentially on call.

I ask my clients to notify me when they go into labor and head to the hospital, so I can adjust my schedule accordingly. Additionally, a quick text within a couple of hours after your baby’s birth helps ensure I can be there to capture those precious first moments before you’re discharged.

I typically schedule Fresh 48 sessions 18-24 hours after a baby’s birth to give moms time to rest after labor and delivery. This timing also helps minimize interruptions from doctors, nurses, and hospital staff. However, I remain flexible during these sessions, understanding that hospital routines—such as mom and baby checks, hearing tests, and lactation support—are part of the experience. I pause as needed to allow staff to perform their duties, recognizing that they have their own schedules to keep. While some may offer to return after our session, I do not want to interfere with their jobs.

And like my in-home newborn sessions, I allow the baby to lead the session. If the baby is fussy and needs to be changed, fed, or just cuddled by a parent, I’m very flexible and will pivot and pause as needed.

Although a Fresh 48 Session typically lasts around an hour long, the length of your session may vary depending on hospital staff interruptions, the length of baby’s feeding time, or if there are family members present during our session.

When I arrive, I begin by photographing your baby in the gown and blanket provided by the hospital, capturing those first moments in the hospital setting. These images help preserve the memory of your baby’s first days in the hospital. I also take photos of your baby in the hospital bassinet, making sure to include the signs displaying their name and details. (For privacy and respect, I edited out the baby’s name and personal information in these images.)

While your baby is in the bassinet, I may gently reposition them and the rolling bassinet to capture different angles and lighting. I’ll also take close-up shots of their tiny hands and feet before we dress them in a new outfit or swaddle them in a special blanket. I also love capturing authentic moments, such as your partner doing a diaper change—often some of the very first of the thousands to come!

“According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, in the first year alone, you’ll change an average of 3,000 diapers. On average, babies will go through a total of 8,000 diaper changes before potty training…”

When you book your session, I’ll provide guidance on what to pack in your hospital bag. You’ll want to include a couple of sleepers and a blanket for your baby as alternatives to hospital-provided clothing. You might also want to bring a hat or headband for your little one.

For yourself, consider packing a nightgown or robe as a more personal alternative to the hospital gown. I also suggest packing a shirt for your partner in case you do not love the one they had on when you went into labor and headed to the hospital.

Mama chose this precious outfit with a woolen hat and booties as his “going-home” outfit and it made for the perfect alternative outfit for the photos. It made me fondly remember the items I chose to take to the hospital for my first baby. You may want to consider bringing a few different outfits in different sizes as some things may be too big or too small for the baby to fit in. My son was swimming in his going-home outfit because he was tinier than expected!

After taking the baby’s photo in the bassinet, if Mom feels up to it, I may ask her to relax on the couch while I take photos of the baby on the hospital bed. This offers a different backdrop than the hospital bassinet.

However, my favorite way to capture your brand-new baby is nestled in the arms of their parents! I’ll capture photos of your baby with each parent, and I’m happy to include siblings, grandparents, or other family members if they’re present during the session. If schedules align, I can also be there to document the special moment when siblings meet their new brother or sister for the very first time!

This sweet baby is their first child and his only sibling was this couple’s “fur-baby” that they were anxious to get home to!

I like to get photos of everyone on the hospital couch, but I also love to have the parents sit on the bed and face the window for different lighting and angles.

Although I may move some of your things around the room, I also like to leave it close to as-is when I arrive. The snacks on mom’s tray, the bags you brought, the items the hospital provides -these are all very much part of your baby’s birth story so I do not like to manipulate the scene too much. Remember this is not a Pinterest-perfect studio photo session but rather a documentation of real life.

However, if you prefer to clean things up a bit, that is entirely up to you! But Mom, please have your partner or another person do this for you or I can move more things when I get there.

Also, some moms ask about having their hair and makeup done for the session and this is also entirely up to you. If you are the type that rarely leaves the house without your hair and makeup done, and you want to do this for our session, please try to do it before I arrive. If you want to keep things more natural, that is more than ok!

The most important aspect of a Fresh 48 Session is that I do my very best to keep these sessions as relaxed, calm, and stress-free as possible! As a mom to three, I understand how tired a new Mom can be the day after delivering a baby so I want to keep your session as easy as possible.

However, in hindsight, I also know very well how those few days (and weeks) after your baby is born become a blur of a memory. That is also why I believe booking a Fresh 48 Hospital Newborn Session is essential to help you remember some of the details of those first hours and days after your baby is born.

“But…what if…”

Listen, I know things do not always go as planned. If for any reason I’m unable to photograph your new baby before you are discharged from the hospital, I offer a few alternatives. I’m willing to refund your deposit or we can pivot and turn it into a newborn or family session at a later date.

“Does the hospital allow these photo sessions?”

Yes! Unless there are visiting restrictions due to something like a pandemic (let’s hope that never happens again!) all of the local birthing hospitals in Pittsburgh are very open to having a photographer there to photograph you and your baby.

However, if you do not live in the Pittsburgh area, you may want to check with your hospital or ask your photographer.

If you’re considering a Fresh 48 newborn baby session at a Pittsburgh area hospital,  please get in touch to inquire about a session! I’d love to plan a photo session for your new baby!

Here are some other blog posts that you might want to check out! 

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All images by Mary Beth Miller Photography 

Mary Beth Miller Photography specializes in family and newborn photography in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and many of the surrounding areas. Mary Beth has over fourteen years of experience photographing families, newborns and babies in Pittsburgh including the South Side, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill, Oakland, the North Shore and Northside.   Her style is very relaxed and natural and your family session will feel like a stress-free Sunday afternoon with your family!