5 Tips For Perfect Baby Milestone Pictures

Your sweet baby is here and is growing SO FAST! Taking a picture each month is a fun way to watch them develop over that first year. But how do you do it so that your images look great? We have five tips for making sweet, Instagram ready milestone pictures that you will love!

How and When?

Baby Milestone Calendar

Babies grow so fast in their first year. Taking a photo in the same spot every month can really help you see that progression.

It's fun to go back and see how much they change!

Try picking the same place on the same day of the month at the same time of day. Consistency will help your pictures blend together and will look great in a baby book. A favorite chair or blanket or baby's crib are all easy spots that will likely be available all year.

Clothes or No Clothes?

There are so many cute baby outfits out there! It's hard to pick a favorite, isn't it? For these pictures though, you want the focus to be on the baby, not what they are wearing.

For best results, choose clothes that are simple and similar. Many people like to use a basic white onesie. That provides continuity and you get to see little arms and legs as they grow. Who doesn't love chonky baby legs?

Signs, Stickers, and Blankets, Oh My!

There are all sorts of premade blankets, stickers, signs and medallions. Pick your favorite or print out the month on your home printer. Or get clever with your tablet or cell phone.

Place the sign or sticker in the same location each time. Remember that your quiet little newborn will turn into a grabby baby quickly and that paper or phone will look like something fun to play with or possibly eat. Nom nom nom...

Props and Accessories

You will have so many toys to choose from! Everybody loves baby toys!

You will be using props to show scale, so try to use the same toy in the same location each time. For extra special images, use one of your childhood toys. Remember that baby is the focus, so just one or two toys will do.

Safety First! Make sure that the toys you choose are age appropriate. A set of Lego people would be adorable, but your tiny newborn will figure out how to grab things really early in the game and this toy will end up in their mouth. You want to watch out for choking hazards.

Light them up!

Light is the most important part of any picture. You want your baby to look perfect every time! Try to make the light wash down their face instead of up their nose. If you are using a window for light, put the top of the baby's head toward the window. Once they can push up or sit up, have the window a little to the front and side. If you are using a lamp, try to have the light coming from above and to the side. You can practice with your phone's flashlight to see what angle looks best.

In the pictures above, notice the difference that the lighting angle makes. It is the same baby in the same box. The baby in the headband is lit from the head down so all of the shadows fall in a normal direction. The baby in the bonnet is lit from the bottom up. It looks like someone holding a flashlight under their chin to tell ghost stories. We don't want spooky babies!

Remember- you are trying to mimic how sunlight illuminates us as we walk around. Head to toes is how it goes!

Don't forget the professional pictures!

We love shooting Milestone Sessions with our sweet babies. It allows us to celebrate their growth with you and to help you preserve this important period with timeless images and products that will last for generations. Plus, we love getting to play with these cutie pies as they develop character and personality. It's so much fun!

We do Milestone Sessions based on babies reaching physical milestones instead of month marks. We love doing pushing up, sitting up, standing up, and First Birthday pictures as a way to chart that first year. That usually falls in line with 4 months, 6 months, 8 months, and 12 months, but each baby develops at their own pace, so we are happy to adjust the schedule. We have an entire collection of size-appropriate outfits for you to choose from. If you have done a newborn session with us, we can blend the Milestone Sessions with your favorite newborn image so that you have a cohesive set of images at the end of the first year to either frame in a multi-hole mat or to assemble in an album.

For more information, drop us an email at info@brownbunnyphoto.com.

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