How to Take the Perfect Milestone Pictures of Your Baby! 

In case you haven’t noticed, milestone pictures are totally on-trend right now. If you are between 25-40 years old, I can almost guarantee that if you were to hop on your Facebook page, a good number of posts from friends will be the monthly documentation of the growth of your friend’s babies.

Before having a kid I did not understand this fascination with documenting monthly growth of your baby (I mean, birthdays are annual, right?), but post-baby I absolutely grew to understand the ‘mom’ perspective on why you need EVERY picture of your baby. They are only this tiny for a blink of an eye and it will be over before you know it! All you have once they are grown (and much less willing to snuggle) are these pictures to look back on, which one day will be quite precious.

Though I wanted to participate, I didn’t think the ‘how’ part through very well, and looking back I wished I had planned a little better. I knew that I wasn’t going to be the person who stuck a paper number on my kid’s onesie with tape, but I didn’t go out any purchase any supplies on my own… of course now that my daughter is two-and-a-half I have had plenty of opportunity to think on how I would have ideally done these pictures on my own. So, here are the tips I have to offer you on setting up your own precious milestone pictures for your little one! 

 

SUPPLIES

1. First and most obviously, you need some kind of visual to denote your baby’s age or the milestone you are picturing. I used milestone cards but really like these milestone blocks!
   Milestone Age Blocks | Solid Wood | Choose From 3 Different Color Styles (Pink) | Baby Age Photo Blocks | Perfect Baby Shower Gift and Keepsake

My other favorite option are these chalk milestone boards:
MaeRae&Co Baby Milestone Chalkboard Wood Frame 17″ by 23″ – Blue

2. Next, you need a backdrop. A special quilt or blanket would be an easy choice. I decided to do a neutral look, and just did the pictures inside my daughter’s crib (she had an off white fleece crib sheet).

3. To ‘sweeten’ up the pictures, and also to have a visual to compare your baby’s growth to each month, I would include a special toy or stuffed animal. In my pictures I used this adorable plush bunny rabbit that I had bought as my daughter’s 1st stuffy. This one in particular has jingle bells in its tummy, which is perfect for grabbing a little newborn’s attention towards the camera just before you snap a picture. Gund Baby Thistle Bunny Plush, Cream, 13″

This was my stand-by shot I tried to roll with every time. Laying on her back with her stuffy in one hand, and the month placard near her head.

 

ADVICE

1. Have an idea of what you want to accomplish going into the pictures, but don’t get frustrated if you don’t pull it off perfectly. I would pull up milestone pictures on Pinterest to get some inspiration from other mom photographers.
2. Try and re-create the same picture every time. Have one shot that is your standby, so you have a fun comparison each month.
3. Don’t get frustrated when you can’t create that pose anymore. Around 6 months it became exponentially harder to get my little to sit still or lay down. That doesn’t mean it’s time to give up though! Even if you do not get the same re-created shot, you can still come up with something precious.
4. Take them in natural light without flash. With a February baby I struggled with this one, since days are so short that time of year! If you aren’t able to find time in natural light, you can always do simple editing to remove shadows and improve balance from your computer or phone.

My last and most important piece of advice is to use a good camera! You don’t want low resolution pictures on your iPhone to become the baby pictures you put in albums. Invest in a good DSRL camera that will take beautiful pictures for your kids entire childhood.

I purchased a Nikon D5300 a few months before my daughter was born, and have not regretted it for a second! I am always happy when we travel, have birthdays/family events and we have nice pictures from it.
Nikon D5300 24.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II Auto Focus-S DX NIKKOR Zoom Lens (Black)

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