I was talking to my daughter earlier today and she said she was really surprised that the best age for newborn photos is 5-10 days old. She figured that “newborn” meant a month or two old. As an AZ newborn baby photographer, I think I take for granted that everyone knows when I say “newborn” photos, I really mean NEWborn.
The reason for this is because babies change SO quickly! During that first week or two they are still kind of curled up from being in the womb. They are sleepy, which is GREAT for a newborn photo session! Brand new babies are still easy to move and position, so we can get those sweet posed shots.
After you get those newborn portraits taken during baby’s first 10 days of life, you will want to consider monthly milestone shots. You can do these yourself if you like, and there are some cute apps that have “stickers” for each month. This blog post has some great app ideas, or check out the Baby Story app. There are so many options! You can get onesies that are labeled for each month, or there are wooden and paper signs you can buy or print out. You can even buy or make a milestone blanket. Those are fun!
My suggestions for professional milestone portraits would be the following:
- Newborn
- Sitting
- Crawling
- One Year
You may be surprised that I didn’t list specific ages. That’s because babies reach some of these milestones at different ages. In my opinion these are the ages that you want to really document with great pictures, and my best tip is to have an album made when baby turns one with photos from each of these sessions in it! Talk about a treasure!
Sally is a Mesa newborn photographer and motherhood portrait artist serving Phoenix, Chandler, Scottsdale, Gilbert, and Tempe. With over a decade of experience photographing maternity, newborns, babies, and families, she specializes in making tired, busy moms feel completely taken care of — from outfit planning all the way to choosing the perfect artwork for your walls. A mom of six herself, she knows how fast these little seasons go, and she’s on a mission to make sure your family’s story gets preserved in a way you’ll actually hold onto. When she’s not behind the camera, she’s probably wrangling her own crew and wishing someone would bring her a Diet Coke.
Explore her work and book a session at www.sallywhettenphotography.com.
