As a Raleigh baby photographer, I am often asked the difference between a baby shoot and a newborn shoot. Some people will call newborn babies and babies newborns. The difference in photography is usually regarding the baby’s age, by months.
When I talk about baby photography sessions, I refer to the sessions that come after the newborn shoot. These shoots can also be called milestone sessions, sitter sessions, one-year shoots,s or cake smash sessions.
Often, parents want to capture each “milestone” of the first year of their newborn’s life. This can even include the maternity shoot. I do have bundles available for these shoots where I can bundle a package together for a bigger discount on booking multiple shoots. Milestones are typically done at age 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and then one year shoot which is celebrated usually with a traditional cake smash session!
Some parents skip some of these milestone sessions and like to do a sitter session. This is done once your baby is sitting up unassisted. It can be for just 10 seconds even! I keep the parents very close and I capture the baby sitting up in what I call the tripod position. With their little arms holding them up in front of them. This is one of my favorite kind of photo shoots. I am usually able to get lots of smiles. The sitter session is normally around 6/7 months of age.
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What to expect?
During a 3-month session, I aim to get smiles! At this session, a baby has started to react to your smiling at them and they smile back (usually and hopefully). This can be a lot of fun and we are really aiming to get those expressions mostly. I try various poses and each baby has their own will of what they will and will not do! We have a lot of babies laying on their back on different textured backgrounds as this is when they are most comfortable. Laying on their back and kicking little legs while laughing and wondering who this strange person is taking their baby photos!
The 6-month session is typically like the sitter session mentioned above. Some parents prefer to wait till babies sit up for a sitter session. Other times they want their baby photographed at exactly 6 months and I work hard with baskets and buckets to help prop them up and make sure everything looks great for their photoshoot.
The 9-month session is very similar to the 6-month one! If we are lucky we can have baby now standing up holding onto something sturdy that is perfect for their size. This is also a super fun shoot and we are able to get a variety of poses!
The grand finale is the cake smash session. Some parents prefer to not include a cake, others love to have the cake included in a session. I will mix it up so we can get some great one-year photos with them dressed up nicely and then we make a big mess with the cake smash!! Do not be fooled by all these happy cake smash pictures you see. Often one-year-olds will look at the cake and look back at you like “what the heck is this” and then they burst into tears. I always suggest making sure your one-year-old knows what cake is, prior to the session. Otherwise, it can be a little overwhelming. Regardless of which way it goes, I make sure you have a great photoshoot and that you get photos that you love, and will cherish forever.
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