This is a question I get asked a lot! Obviously you can have them photographed at any age but there are some ages which create some really great shots of them growing up. In the studio we photograph a lot of beautiful babies (up to a year old in the studio) then head outside to the sunshine so older ones can climb about (as they don’t tend to want to sit still!). But one of the first question I get asked is what age is best, so this post is all set to help you out! After each age there are some beautiful examples of the looks I like to achieve at that age…
Bumps
Before baby arrives you could book a beautiful bump shoot which really can be done at any stage you like but most mums wait till they are 30 weeks plus to make sure they have a big enough bump
Newborns
I photograph a lot of newborn babies and we take their photograph between 5 and 10 days old (most tend to be about 7/8days old). Their mums book the shoot whilst they are pregnant at around 20 weeks, as I rarely have slots within a couple of days (but you never know so always worth asking). I only book two per due week, this means if babies arrive early or late I will always be able to fit them into my diary. My slots do go fast, so if you would love a newborn shoot.
Why that age?
After 10 days babies don’t sleep as soundly, and they tend to be less curled up. If they aren’t sleepy and curly they tend to have a reflex that means they kick their legs out and it just doesn’t look the same. Some babies are fine up until 14 days if they arrive slightly early. If your baby makes a very early arrival, we have until their due date but of course its great to capture them as soon as you are ready. We can of course do beautiful shots with babies after 10-14 days but they might not be as styled and they might not fancy curling up in a basket!
Aged 10 days
Aged 10 days and 7 days
Aged 8 days
Aged 10 days
4-5 months
Once baby is able to hold their head up and loves tummy time and is giving you lots of smiles we can create some fun shots. I tend to use shots of them on their tummy (which makes a great triptych) and some lying down in the basket, but its best to capture this before they start rolling away!
Why that age?
Before they can hold their heads up, they wont hold the sleepy poses of newborns but they tend to be too little for unsupported props or lying on their front. We can do a family shoot with you holding baby in all the photographs, the focus being on the family. We can also do lying down shots every baby is different…
Aged 4 months
Aged 4 months
Aged 4 months
7-9 months
When your baby is able to sit up on their own (but hopefully not crawl away) we can get shots of them sat in beautiful props, holding letters of their name and just being themselves as their little personality really starts to shine through
Why that age?
Once they can sit up there are so many possibilities, but just before that age they tend to roll or be a bit too large for the smaller baby ideas, parents sometimes prop baby up but they tend to slouch and look a bit uncomfy
Aged 7 months
Aged 8 and 9 months
Aged 9 months
Birthday shoot
Birthday shoots with a cake (coming to this blog very soon) are so much fun, the cake tends to keep baby’s attention long enough to keep them in one place!
Why that age?
They are nearly one what other excuse is there for cake??
Aged 12 months (minus one day)
Aged 12 months (minus one week)
Aged 12 months (plus one week)
Over a year
Once baby is walking and very active they don’t tend to sit for longer than 5 minutes so the best results are out and about somewhere they can have fun, and explore and I capture the action.
Why that age?
Once they are walking they tend to just walk out of frame and in the studio the space is so small with lots of props for little ones that if they move from the shoot area it doesn’t make a great photo. Sadly my home studio is built for very littles one. However if you have a toddler (3 or above so they understand) they will sometimes sit for siblings photos as an addition to baby’s shoot – but the focus of all of my shoots is baby.
I hope that helps you decide what type of shoot is right for you, or if your expecting you could even book them all and a bump shoot too!
