Monthly milestone pictures: 4 helpful tips from a Philly baby photographer

Monthly milestone pictures are such a great way to informally photograph your baby as they grow throughout their first year. I love seeing the creative ideas from clients – everything from cookies to donuts to pizza marking months passing by! As a Philly baby photographer, I want to share my top 3 tips for photographing your baby’s monthly milestone pictures at home. Read on!

How to take the BEST monthly milestone pictures at home: 3 tips from a Philly baby photographer

Choose the right kind of light

I can’t say it enough: lighting is absolutely key to creating beautiful images. As you’re creating your monthly milestone portraits, you’ll want to keep things consistent; what this means for light is that you’ll want to choose a spot in your home that creates the same kind of light. Choose a room that has soft, indirect (or diffused) light; harsh light will create a strong contrast in your images, meaning that some parts of the image will be very dark and other parts will be very light. If you don’t have a space that fits the bill, use a white sheet taped to the window (or even a shower curtain) to help soften the light.

You’ll also want to make sure that the room is painted a neutral color. In photographer-world, we call this a “color cast” – basically meaning that whatever color the wall is (or even sometimes the floor!) will cast that color onto your subjects. For example, my first studio was on a ground floor with lots of bushes and grass surrounding the ground level windows. I frequently battled and needed to remove a green color cast from all of the greenery.

Be mindful about angles

Something that’s not cute, no matter what the age of the subject? Aside from lighting, this is probably the most important tip I can give as a Philly baby photographer. Shooting up their nose! As you’re photographing your baby, try to photograph them from directly above instead of at their feet up towards their face. This avoids harsh shadows on their face and the unsightly stray boogie that’s impossible to get of of their nose.

Use a neutral backdrop to put the focus on the baby (what you’ll see in my pro work as a Philly baby photographer!)

My motto is that babies are pretty perfect as is; they don’t need lots of fluff and stuff to make them any cuter or sweeter. Keeping props and doodads to a minimum puts the focus on your baby and everything you love about them! It also helps to keep them from being distracted and grabbing at different pieces of their outfits or accessories.

As you plan out your monthly milestone pictures, a white or neutral blanket or quilt is a great backdrop. It’ll also help with color cast (see above!) and allow you to create a consistent set of images at the end of baby’s first year. In my work as a Philly baby photographer, I use off white knit blankets for milestone sessions.

Consider using your milestone prop at 1 year session with a Philly baby photographer

A great way to celebrate baby’s first year is to schedule a session with a Philly baby photographer! I’ve had families bring their monthly milestone prop – like a box of donuts! – to have them photographed with instead of a cake. It’s also a great way to ensure that you’re in the picture with your baby instead of just behind it.

Did you find this post helpful? I’m so glad! You might also enjoy:

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