This is an article I wrote recently on baby photography and the best ages in the first year...
Photography is an important tool for documenting the milestones in a baby's development. Many families choose professional photography for these times to create artistic images as professional archival prints that will last for generations. Knowing the importance of this task, many parents wonder, what is the best time for baby photography? Here is a guide for what you can expect at the different stages of the first year or so related to professional infant and baby photography.
Newborn - Newborn photography session should ideally be done in the first three weeks - particularly the first 10 days. In the first 10 days, the babies are easier to work with as they are less fussy and they will not have their baby acne yet which usually sets in around day 16. Beautiful images of naked newborns laying down or in their families arms are an incredible beginning to documenting a person's life, and should not be missed.
2 to 3 months - This time is still considered newborn, but the babies can be harder to work with at this
age as they tend to be very fussy at this age. They will have better head control than in the first month, and they usually can smile at this point, but do not count on getting a smiling portrait at this age. Most posing will involve the baby laying down on back or stomach, being propped up, and being held in arms. If you missed the newborn window of 5 to 10 days, you can still get great newborn photos at this age, it just take patience. Oh! they also tend to be much plumper by this age than 5 to 10 days.
4 to 5 months - Most infants are quite chubby by this time, and are much better at smiling and making faces. These babies are still not able to sit up, but they are more able to interact with people and toys. This is a perfect time for infant portraits of capture chubby arms and legs, and bare bottoms - and you may even be able to get them to smile on camera.
6 to 7 months - Around this age the infant is able to sit up, and there are many more options for photography posing. Outdoor sessions are now possible for six month old portraits, but remember that babies at this age love to put everything in their mouth, so choose the outdoor location carefully. This is a great age for portraits with pets, and siblings as the infant is usually not mobile yet - just able to sit up, laugh and smile!
8 to 10 months - Often by this age, the baby is crawling and the sessions get very active! Consider a white background session in studio for a clean, classic look - but be ready to bring toys to distract the baby to stay in the area of light and continually reset the baby to the right spot. For very active babies a better choice for professional baby photography may be at the home if these is plenty of natural light so that the baby can roam and the photographer can follow.
11 to 14 months - Pulling up, standing and then walking - these all are typical of these ages and should be documented as a major milestone in the infants development. Now the baby is really able to move in their environment which would make it a great time for a location session, including other family members as well.
So given these ages for professional baby photography, which ones are the best? As a photographer and a parent, I would recommend having the baby professionally photographed as a newborn (around 5 to 10 days old), then at 4 months (chubby baby bottoms), followed by 6 or 7 months (sitting), 9 months (crawling), then 12 to 13 months (standing). If you can only do three - make sure to get newborn, 6 to 7 month portraits, and the One Year milestone. When purchasing prints, order professional archival prints that will last for generations, as these photos should be around for this babies great grand-babies.
This is the gift of professional photography.
About the Author
Anna Myers is a modern lifestyle Portrait Photographer in San Francisco who specializes in artistic baby photography.
