Beyond the Newborn Session: Planning To Capture Your First Year of Milestones

You’re expecting! Congratulations! You’ve heard from all your friends and family how “it goes by so fast” and “they grow up too quickly” and you’re wondering when should I be having a professional portrait session done? Should we do one in the first year, or every few months, do we want newborn photos or wait until they are older? Of course, as a photographer I want to say “Do them all the time!!” but that’s obviously not realistic for a lot of families for many reasons. Therefore, I have paired it down to the most important milestones to have professionally captures for your child over the first 24 months. Your baby will grow and change SO much in the first two years, and when that time has passed, you can never get it back. Which is why having professional portraits that really capture your baby and your family’s journey is so important. My most popular session package is popular for a reason- it includes sessions at all the best times for photography so that you get the biggest value and the most important moments preserved for a lifetime. The Maternity, Newborn, and Sweet Peas package includes that beautiful baby bump, the newborn stage which is the shortest stage of life, a sitter session when your baby’s personality really starts to emerge, a first birthday session, and a family session some time in your baby’s second year. Over years, I’ve carefully curated this timeline of portraits to create the perfect package for capturing milestones. The maternity session is done when you are between 32-35 weeks pregnant so that you have a significant baby bump to show off but are not too close to your due date. The newborn session is done when your baby is between 7-14 days old as this is the prime age for the types of poses we do, before your baby becomes a lighter sleeper, baby acne flairs up, and they grow out of this newborn phase in just a couple of months. The sitter session is based on when your baby sits up because sitting is a big milestone and also opens up a world of play, interaction, and smiles for your baby. The first birthday session is obviously a big celebration! And the family session between 18-24 months, when they are very active and developing their sense of self and family. After 2 years old, I recommend having a family portrait done once every year.

If you are expecting a baby and are interested in having your most important milestones captured in beautiful art that your family will enjoy for a long time to come, call Kelly at (970) 946-7279 or click the “Book a Consultation” button at the top of this page to send me an email. Kelly is Durango, Colorado’s premier newborn and family photographer!