How to Plan a Combined Maternity & Newborn Photo Experience in Metro Detroit

How to Plan a Combined Maternity & Newborn Photo Experience in Metro Detroit often begins with this realization. Somewhere between the first appointment and the nursery paint swatches, most moms I meet decide they want photographs of both seasons: the bump, and the tiny person it becomes.

Moreover, the next thought arrives. When am I supposed to plan all of that?

Additionally, you have more time than you expect for maternity portraits. Moreover, pregnancy gives you a handful of comfortable weeks for maternity portraits. As a result, newborns give you about two weeks before they stretch out of that sleepy, curled-up stage. For context, How to Plan a Combined Maternity & Newborn Photo Experience in Metro Detroit guides your timing.

When you plan both as one experience, you make every decision once.

Additionally, with one team, before baby arrives, you coordinate all details.

This guide shows the schedule by due month.

You can see when to reach out, when sessions happen, and what we plan together.

Why plan your maternity and newborn sessions together

The newborn window is the one date you can’t move.

Babies are sleepiest and most curled up in their first 5 to 14 days.

Additionally, that stretch lands when you’re home from the hospital, learning to feed, and running on little sleep.

This timing is key in How to Plan a Combined Maternity & Newborn Photo Experience in Metro Detroit.

When both sessions are planned during your pregnancy, your newborn session is already on the calendar around your due date. Once baby arrives, you let us know and we schedule around the day they actually came.

Planning together also means the two sessions look like they belong to each other. The same colors, the same soft light, sometimes the same wrap carried from your bump to your baby. Your maternity portraits become the first chapter, and the newborn portraits finish the story.

“We had an absolute blast at our maternity shoot and our photos came out stunning, as did the following newborn photos for our twins. Jasmine came to our home and made every step easy.”

Megan L.

Your maternity and newborn timeline, by due month

Reach out around 20 weeks, photograph your bump between about 24 and 34 weeks, and plan your newborn session for baby’s first 4 weeks. The dates below assume a due date in the middle of the month, so shift them a week or two if yours falls early or late.

Due month	Reach out	Maternity session	Newborn session
January	Late August	Late October to mid-November	Late January
February	Late September	Late November to late December	Late February
March	Late October	Late December to mid-January	Late March
April	Thanksgiving week	Late January to mid-February	Late April
May	Around the holidays	Late February to mid-March	Late May
June	Late January	Late March to mid-April	Late June
July	Late February	Late April to mid-May	Late July
August	Late March	Late May to mid-June	Late August
September	Late April	Late June to mid-July	Late September
October	Late May	Late July to mid-August	Late October
November	Late June	Late August to mid-September	Late November
December	Late July	Late September to mid-October	Late December

Twenty weeks usually falls right after your anatomy scan, which is when most moms feel ready to plan. We typically book 4 to 8 weeks out, so the dates that match your most comfortable weeks fill first. Want your exact dates? The maternity timing calculator works them out from your due date.

Already past 20 weeks? Reach out anyway and we’ll see what’s still open for your due month. Still choosing your OB, midwife or hospital? Our Metro Detroit Birth Guide can help with that part too.

One in-home consultation plans both sessions

After you book, I come to your home for a planning consultation. When you’re booking maternity and newborn together, that one visit covers both, so you only plan once.

We’ll try on gowns. Our wardrobe holds 40+ custom designer maternity gowns in sizes XS to 4X, and trying them in your own living room tells you more than any photo can. While they’re out, we’ll look at newborn wraps, bonnets and outfits and choose colors that will sit well beside your gown on a wall.

We’ll decide where each session happens. Maternity can be in our Rochester studio, outdoors somewhere that means something to you, or both. Newborn can be in our studio’s newborn suite or right in your home.

And we’ll talk about who belongs in the photos. Your partner, older siblings, even the dog. If a toddler is joining the newborn session, we’ll plan their part around naps and patience, so it stays fun for everyone.

Your maternity session

Your session starts in the chair. Courtney, our hair and makeup artist, gets you ready while we talk through the looks you chose at your consultation. There’s no clock running and no limit on outfits, so if a gown you didn’t plan on catches your eye that day, we photograph that one too.

Most moms are between about 28 and 32 weeks here, when the bump is full and round and moving still feels easy. For outdoor portraits we bring a lighting assistant, so even a gray Michigan afternoon comes out bright and natural.

Bring anything that tells your story: the first ultrasound print, your partner’s button-down, the tiny shoes you bought before you told anyone. We’ll find a place for them, and a few of those details often come back for the newborn session.

Planning your newborn session before baby arrives

Your newborn session is held around your due date, then moved to fit the day baby actually arrives. Early, late or right on time, we adjust. The goal is to photograph baby in the first 5 to 14 days, while they’re sleepy and still curl up the way they did before birth.

You choose the setting at your consultation. Additionally, our newborn suite in the studio is warm, quiet, and set up for tiny babies.

Additionally, an in-home session brings that same setup to you. You never have to pack up a days-old baby and everything they might need. We can create studio-style portraits or relaxed lifestyle images in either place. If you’re weighing the two, studio vs. in-home photography explains how each feels.

There’s no time limit here either. Babies eat, need changing and wake on their own schedule, and we simply work around it. We are Baby Safe Certified and insured, and every pose is built around baby’s safety first, twins included.

The only thing left for you to do once baby comes is let us know. We’ll handle the rest.

Design one story across both sessions

The real payoff of planning both sessions together shows up on your walls. When we know from the start that your maternity and newborn portraits will hang side by side, we choose colors, gowns and settings that work as a pair.

Some moms choose a matching set: a maternity portrait and a newborn portrait in the same size and finish, framed for the nursery or the living room. Others choose an heirloom album that opens on the bump and closes on baby’s first days. We’ll talk about where your pieces will live during your consultation, so the portraits we create fit the space you have in mind.

After each session you’ll come back to the studio for a private reveal, where you see your images and choose your prints, albums and wall art. Your finished artwork is delivered to your home, and every piece of wall art comes with a lifetime warranty and complimentary installation.

What’s included in every session

Hair, makeup and wardrobe are handled at both sessions, so your only job is to show up and enjoy it. Every maternity and newborn session includes:

• Professional hair and makeup with Courtney
• 40+ designer maternity gowns in XS to 4X, plus newborn wraps, outfits, props and flower halos
• An in-home planning consultation with gown try-on
• No time limits and no outfit limits
• Studio or in-home newborn sessions, with studio-style or lifestyle portraits in either
• A lighting assistant for outdoor maternity sessions
• A private reveal and ordering appointment
• A lifetime warranty and complimentary installation on wall art
• Our Love-It Guarantee

Frequently asked questions

When should I book maternity and newborn photos?

Reach out around 20 weeks, right after your anatomy scan. That leaves time to plan both sessions together and choose a maternity date in your most comfortable weeks, usually between 24 and 34 weeks.

Can I book my maternity and newborn sessions at the same time?

Yes, and it’s the easiest way to do it. One consultation plans both, and your newborn session is already on the calendar around your due date before baby arrives.

Do you offer a maternity and newborn package?

Many of our moms book both sessions together. On your discovery call we’ll walk through the options for your due month and what fits the way you’d like to display your portraits.

What if my baby comes early or late?

We move your newborn session to fit the day baby arrives, aiming for the first 7 to 21 days. If you or baby need a little more time, just tell us and we’ll find the right moment together. We can accommodate up to 28+ days, but the reality is that your newborn is going to be too large for most outfits, so it might be more realistic to have un-posed, lifestyle type portraits in place if you are unable to get to us in time.

Is a studio or in-home newborn session better?

Both create beautiful portraits. The studio’s newborn suite is warm and fully set up, while an in-home session saves you from packing up a brand-new baby. We can create studio-style or lifestyle portraits in either place.

Can my partner and older children be in the photos?

Absolutely. Partners and siblings are welcome at both sessions, and we plan their part at your consultation so it works for little ones’ naps and patience.

What should I wear for my maternity session?

You don’t need to buy anything. Our wardrobe holds 40+ designer gowns in sizes XS to 4X, and you’ll try them on at your in-home consultation. Bring anything personal you’d like included.

How late in pregnancy can I have maternity photos?

We photograph maternity sessions up to about 34 weeks. If you’re past that point, we’ll plan your newborn session and talk through what still fits.

Start planning both sessions

Tell me your due month and I’ll map out your dates for both sessions, from our first conversation to baby’s first portraits. Your discovery call is relaxed and pressure-free, simply a chance to talk about what you’d love to remember from this season.

Two Wild Souls Photography was voted Best of Michigan 2026 for Maternity & Newborn Photographers by Guide to Michigan, with 75 five-star Google reviews from families in Rochester, Rochester Hills, Troy, Birmingham and across Metro Detroit. You can see more of our work on the maternity and newborn pages.