Birth Photography vs. Fresh 48: Which Is Right for You?

Birth Photography

Birth photography documents your baby's arrival story as it naturally unfolds. Coverage begins during active labour and continues through the first moments after birth, preserving the anticipation, strength, emotion and connection that make this day so unforgettable.

Unlike traditional newborn photography, birth photography focuses on the journey itself. It captures the emotions, support, determination, and once-in-a-lifetime moments that often become a blur in the hours and days that follow. Whether your baby is born at home, at Chilliwack General Hospital, or at Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre, every birth story is unique and deserves to be remembered.

Birth photography often includes:

• Labour and support from your partner or birth team

• The atmosphere and emotions throughout labour

• The moment your baby is born

• First cries and first cuddles

• Skin-to-skin contact

• Siblings or family meeting baby (when applicable)

• The first hours together

Fresh - 48

A Fresh 48 session takes place within the first 48 hours after your baby's birth, either in the hospital or at home. These sessions focus on preserving those precious first days as you begin getting to know your newest family member.

Unlike birth photography, Fresh 48 sessions begin after your baby has arrived.  They capture the quiet moments that follow—the tiny details, the first cuddles and the overwhelming love that fills the room as your family grows.

Fresh 48 sessions often include:

• Newborn details, 

• Hospital bracelets and newborn details

• Feeding and cuddling

• Parents bonding with baby

• Siblings with the new baby

• First family photographs

These sessions are relaxed, natural and completely baby-led. There is no pressure for perfect poses or a perfectly tidy room. Instead, the focus is on preserving your baby's earliest days exactly as they are—the wrinkly skin, sleepy stretches, tiny yawns, and the connection shared between the people who love them most. Within days, your baby will begin to change and grow, making these first hours together some of the most fleeting and meaningful memories you'll ever have.

The first hours of your baby's life are filled with moments that feel both fleeting and unforgettable. Whether you choose birth photography, a Fresh 48 session or both, these images become a way to hold onto the memories that pass by far too quickly.

One day, the tiny fingers, sleepy stretches, first cuddles and overwhelming emotions of those early hours will feel like a distant memory. Photographs allow you to return to those moments, preserving not only how they looked, but how they felt.

Because while babies don't stay little forever, the memories of meeting them for the very first time deserve to be remembered.