Parents often ask, “What is the best age to photograph my baby?”. Children are magic at any age, but no year goes by more quickly than their first one. They are constantly growing and developing new skills and ways of interacting with the world.

While you can (and should!) want to capture every little detail (thank God for smartphones!), there are a few important milestones we like to focus on when having your baby professionally photographed.

What is the Best Age to Photograph My Baby?

During Your Pregnancy

Yes! This counts! It’s an incredible season for so many reasons. Not the least of which is to capture the incredible beauty of new motherhood and celebrate the sweet Babymoon season before baby arrives earth-side; but also to preserve that love and excitement in anticipation of your new baby’s arrival for them to see when they’re older.

We recommend scheduling this between 26-34 weeks so that we can really capture that beautiful baby bump, mom is comfortable enough to walk around and enjoy the session without becoming too tired, and we don’t risk missing your session due to an early delivery (babies are on their own schedule!!)

The Newborn Session

We recommend reserving this session during your second trimester, and actually scheduling it between 5 and 14 days. This is when they are sleepy, and curly, and oh so tiny! Since we will not know the actual day baby will arrive, I only accept a few newborn clients each month to ensure there is plenty of flexibility in my schedule for these sessions.

How quickly these sweet little babes become alert, aware and oh so curious of the world around them will amaze you! At this age, we can swaddle, pose, and capture all the teeny tiny details of itty bitty fingers and toes, how well they fit into mom and dad’s hands, and sweet first family photos.

What if my Baby is More than 14 Days Old?

Especially with the emergence of COVID, a common question clients ask is, What if my baby is more than two weeks old? What is the best age to photograph my baby? We can still capture some traditional “newborn” poses with older newborns; but ultimately it will be up to each baby (they really do run the show!). While we can’t guarantee every pose, we can still be sure that you’ll still have a full, beautiful gallery to choose from.

You might also find this helpful: My Newborn is More Than Two Weeks Old, is it too Late?

3/4 Month Session

This is such a fun milestone. We usually schedule these milestone sessions once your baby is content with a little tummy time, and can lift up their head. Babies will usually be wide awake for this session and will interact with their environment around them. From mommy tickling their toes, to looking for daddy’s voice, wide eyed curiosity, and a host of new expressions. There is so much fun to enjoy with this session!

You may also find helpful: Older Newborn or Milestone Session, Which is Right for Me?

6/9 Month Session

Between 6 and 9 months, your baby will likely be sitting independently. We will design cute sets for your little to explore before they truly become mobile! We have fun with different backdrops and props like baskets and fabrics, short bowls and even outfits. You will be amazed by how quickly time went by!

1 Year: The Cake Smash and Splash Session

This is truly a fun milestone to celebrate! We’ll start of with a cute set and a couple of sweet outfits to capture your baby just as they are. Can you believe they are already beginning to lose some of that baby-faced chubbiness?!?

Then we’ll move on the the Cake Smash portion. We’ll capture the whole sweet set and let baby have fun! It’s always so cute to watch the careful exploration and tentative taste or their enthusiastic plunge into the cake. Every baby is so different!

Next we’ll bring in a fun little tub for the “Splash” so baby can “clean up”. Ironically, most babies enjoy this part even more than the cake and it’s so much fun for the whole family to enjoy!

I hope you found this to be helpful! If you have any other questions about what is the best age is to photograph your baby, please don’t hesitate to call or contact me. I’d love to help!