A question I’m often asked by first-time parents is when to professionally document their baby’s first year.
“Should I see you every three months? Once a year? Everyday?”
Although there is no right answer to these questions, and I believe you can never choose to photograph too many stages during your baby’s first year, my absolute *favorite* stages to document are the maternity, newborn, 7 month and 1 year milestones. Over the years, we’ve fine tuned our One Year Plan to what we feel best illustrates the biggest milestones of your baby’s first year of life. Watching your child grow through their first year is one of the highlights of my job.
Here are my recommended ages to photograph & why:
1) Maternity: I love focusing on the belly at this stage. We typically like to schedule around the 30-36 week period when mom is still comfortable, but she’s showing quite a bump. I love documenting the love & anticipation of mom and dad while they’re expecting. It’s such a magical stage….
2) Newborn: Scheduled within the first 14 days of life (ideally around 5-10 days old). Never again will your baby be able to curl up in mom and dad’s hands, look blissfully at peace asleep, or be so content posing in a tiny basket or swaddled up…
3) 6/7 Months Old: Or when they are starting to sit up comfortably on their own…and not quite mobile. The timing of this phase is critical. This my absolute favorite age (ever) to photograph because it is, I believe, the quintessential baby age. I love the chubby legs, the rolls on his arms, his big buddha belly… And I love being able to document this without the the fear of them running away from me!
4) 1 Year Old: Finally, they’re a year old. And what a reason to celebrate! I love finishing with this milestone, as it’s quite incredible to watch this little peanut grow into a little person.
