Professional Baby Photography - Best Ages for Infant Portraits
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by: AnnaMyers
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Babies grow and changes so fast in the first year that you can never seem to take enough pictures. Most parents also recognize that even though they are snapping away everyday, the baby's first year is an important time for professional baby photography that will produce beautiful artistic and archival prints to last a lifetime and more. But when are the best months to capture the baby, and how often should it be done in the first year? Here are some guidelines for what can be expected at the different stages related to professional baby and infant photography.
Newborn - Newborn photography session should ideally be done in the first three weeks - particularly the first 10 days. In the first 10 days, the babies are easier to work with as they are less fussy and they will not have their baby acne yet which usually sets in around day 16. Beautiful images of naked newborns laying down or in their families arms are an incredible beginning to documenting a person's life, and should not be missed.
2 to 3 months - Still a newborn at this point, most babies are quite fussy at this age. They will have better head control than in the first month, and they also can smile a little by this age. But do not count on being able to capture that smile on demand until they are older. Posing for infants at this age will be similar to the newborn except that they will be able to hold their heads up a bit more when they are on their stomachs. Laying down shots, propped up shots, and being held in the family arms will be the majority of posing for this age group.
4 to 5 months - By this time most infants have really filled out and they look very different compared to their newborn images. This age is much better at smiling, but still not totally reliable. Still not able to sit up on their own, these baby's are much better at interacting with people and toys. This is a good time to capture close up's of facial expressions, hands and feet in mouth, and bare bottoms.
6 to 7 months - Now the baby is able to sit up, and the options for posing are more numerous. Also, the baby is able to smile and laugh at this point and usually does not fear strangers. This is a wonderful age to start going outdoors for natural light baby photography. It is also a great time to include family pets and siblings in the session as the baby is able to sit but usually is not able to move around much - yet!
8 to 10 months - Babies often start crawling at this age, and sessions become very active! Studio sessions with white backgrounds can be a great choice for this age. Bring some toys to interact with the baby and get ready to keep resetting the baby. Home sessions are another great choice so the baby can really roam and the photographer can chase.
11 to 14 months - Within this age range, most babies are pulling up, standing, "cruising" along furniture and then walking. This is a great age for location sessions to give the baby more room to move around than in the studio. A One Year portrait session should be done sometime in this age range to document the milestone of turning one and starting to walk. This is another key session to document a baby's development.
So given these ages for professional baby photography, which ones are the best? As a photographer and a parent, I would recommend having the baby professionally photographed as a newborn (around 7 to 10 days old), then at 4 months (chubby baby bottoms), followed by 6 or 7 months (sitting), 9 months (crawling), then 12 to 13 months (standing). If you can only do three - make sure to get newborn, 6 to 7 month portraits, and the One Year milestone. When purchasing prints, order professional archival prints that will last for generations, as these photos should be around for this babies great grand-babies. This is the gift of professional photography.
About the Author
Anna Myers is a modern lifestyle San Francisco Bay Area Baby Photographer who specializes in baby portraits. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
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