Documenting Baby’s First Year

You know that old saying, “You blink and they’re all grown up.”? 

It feels especially true that first year of your baby’s life.  You are fully wrapped up in just keeping them alive and happy. It all just flies by too fast. Before you know it they are rolling over, crawling, and then walking, now running! 

Which is why many of my clients like to invest in my Baby Plan Membership. You’ll have gorgeous photos documenting all those precious stages in your baby’s first year. 

With your Baby Plan Membership you’ll get four photo sessions over the course of 15 months. 

Most people use these four sessions for Maternity, Newborn, Sitter (about 6 months), and 1st Birthday. You can use the four sessions however you would like!

Maternity

Maternity sessions are a great way to start off your Baby Plan membership. Having gorgeous photos of you and your bump will be something you will cherish forever. 

I’ve had lots of Mama’s tell me that getting maternity portraits didn’t seem important at the time. And now they regret not investing  in the experience. You don’t get this time back. Document it!

It’s also a wonderful excuse to pamper yourself a bit before the baby arrives. You’ll end up with some beautiful images of you and your baby bump. Your body is going through an incredible metamorphosis and you deserve beautiful imagery documenting this time in your family’s story. 

These sessions can be of just you and your bump or could include the whole family – it’s entirely up to you. Many people like to include the whole family in order  to document your family’s growth. 

Need more convincing? Check out this post about 5 reasons why you should get maternity photos taken Need more? Here’s 5 more reasons!

Newborn

Newborn photos are typically the second photo session in the Baby Plan Membership – documenting baby’s first year. Most people want gorgeous imagery of their newborn baby at their tiniest. You will want these too, trust me. 

Photographing newborns within the first 5-14 days of their life is the most ideal timing for newborn portraits. They are still very sleepy at this point and can be moved around easily. I’ll work with you to position them in sweet sleepy newborn poses that are oh so swoon-worthy. 

You won’t find any babies in buckets or big elaborate setups over here. Instead you’ll find images focused on baby without any big, loud, distracting objects in the background. Your baby is the most important part of the image anyway, right?! Your baby will be placed on lots of soft, comfy blankets in neutral colors to keep them super comfy throughout their first photo session.

I typically start with baby’s portraits first and then move into portraits of each family member with your newest addition. And of course, I’m always sure to get a few of both parents with their newest love as well as images of the entire family together. 

You can learn more about how to prep your baby for their newborn session here. 

Milestone Sessions

You’re probably wondering how to use those two remaining sessions, right?

Most families like to use these last two sessions to document other special milestones in their baby’s first year. These most commonly fall around six months and one year. You could do them at any point you like during your 15 month time frame. 

Special milestones like rolling over, sitting up, crawling, pulling themselves up, or taking their first steps are all great moments to document in your remaining sessions. 

These remaining milestone sessions could be of just your baby or they could include the whole family. It’s really up to you. My home studio is open for these sessions, which can be especially nice in the colder months of the year. We can be sure to document those sweet baby rolls in all their glory, no matter the weather! The studio is all-white and minimalistic so that the focus of the image is on your baby. I even have a baby client wardrobe for you to select a few outfits for these special milestone sessions.

Click here to read more about milestone sessions!

Documenting Baby’s First Year – 1st Birthday

One of the most popular milestone sessions for documenting baby’s first year is celebrating their first birthday. Many people love to do this with a cake smash! 

This is always a lot of fun to document. Most often it is baby’s first time eating cake and sometimes they just dive in head first – which is the cutest! (See photos below.) This is a very special milestone to document. A beautiful moment for you to celebrate the tiny human who has completely changed your life!  You will love looking back on these photos years from now after they are all grown up. 

Cake smash sessions typically take place in my studio. The cake is included with your Baby Plan Membership. I choose naked cakes because they photograph beautifully in my studio. I work with  a local bakery that makes delicious,  minimalist cakes.  Don’t worry, your baby won’t eat the whole thing. But you do get to take home the leftovers! 😉

Timing & Booking

I recommend getting in touch during your second trimester so that we can be sure to get you on my calendar. The first step is to fill out my contact form, so we can set up a phone call and chat more about the baby plan membership and documenting your baby’s first year.

Your future self will thank you for investing in these memories. 

Check out these photos from a recent Baby Plan Membership client!