New parents ask me all the time - when is the best time for baby photos? Short answer: whenever you decide to take them. Baby’s first year is all around incredible and ever-changing, so don’t stress over photographing them at the “perfect” stage. As a guideline, here are my milestone recommendations within baby’s first year:
Newborn: 5-14 days old. This is the best for those sleepy, curled up, fresh brand-new-baby photos. These are most often done in your home.
3 months: When they start to smile and respond to us is a great next milestone to capture. They may be propping themselves up in tummy time, giggling at us, making eye contact, all those fun, responsive things they couldn’t do as a newborn. I absolutely adore those little toothless gummy grins.
7-9 months: If you’ve followed me for a while you may know that this is my absolute favorite age to photograph. When babies are sitting up on their own, but not quite crawling away yet, and entertained by absolutely everything. I love it. (I also considered this one of the most fun ages with both of my kids). It’s fleeting - they’re going to be on the move in a blink - and it’s really fun to photograph.
One year: The one year milestone is an obvious one. I don’t love it because we get the cutest, most smiley expressions from them, I love it because there’s so much going on with them physically and developmentally, I think it’s essential to freeze time at this age. Whether your baby is taking their first steps or not, they are exploring how to walk and all the possibilities that come with it. They are usually very into mom and/or dad, but also starting to gain their first taste of independence.