Types of Baby Milestone Photoshoots
Are you looking for baby photography in Orange County? You’ve come to the right place! This type of photoshoot is used to document those special milestones in a baby’s first year as they start developing more skills and showing more personality. Some parents have a monthly milestone blanket that they use to take monthly pictures of baby as they grow. Those are a great idea for a DIY photo shoot, but bring those cuties to me for the professional pictures that you want as family heirlooms. There are a myriad of baby photo sessions that parents choose to do within the baby’s first year.
THREE MONTH PHOTO SHOOT
So your baby is now out of the newborn phase and starting to smile, push up and even giggle. You want to document those adorable baby smiles and chubby cheeks before they start to grow out of them. That’s why I offer baby photography in Orange County at the three month age mark. I usually use a variety of cute baby blankets and I can sometimes use the same blanket that I used for their newborn session to really track their growth. The best time for this type of session is when your baby can hold their head up easily without assistance. All that tummy time will help strengthen their head and neck muscles so let’s show them off.
During this age range, I have also photographed quite a few babies in celebration of their 100th day being earth side. This beautiful tradition is common in Asian cultures. It is done when baby is just starting to push up, give big smiles, and sit up with some assistance. I think family traditions are so important to uphold and I love the idea of this type of photo shoot to document it. I encourage parents to bring traditional clothing appropriate for the shoot.
Scheduling is one of the most important parts of all the milestone photo shoots. We have to schedule them around your baby’s feeding and napping schedule. We could have a much different type of photo shoot if we don’t have a happy baby.
SITTER SESSION
One of my absolute favorite ages to photograph a baby is when they are sitting up unassisted but not yet crawling away (6-8 months old). At this age, baby is really starting to show their personality and making some adorable baby faces. We usually get some great big smiles. Or, possible appearances of those first few baby teeth! But, we could also get big cries as baby starts to develop stranger danger. It’s always such a fun session.
Just as all my other sessions, I have a client wardrobe with the most adorable baby outfits. These are from some of my favorite baby clothing designers in the photography industry. I like buying from brands and companies that cater to the photographers that do milestone sessions because they have a good understanding of the type of details that parents and photographers love for special baby photos. Many of the outfits are one of a kind or super limited. This adds an extra touch to your baby photography session with me in Orange County.
FIRST BIRTHDAY PHOTOS
For first birthday baby photography, I suggest scheduling that at 11 months old so that you have the images back in time for the baby’s first birthday party. These sessions will incorporate pictures of baby wearing cute outfits, as well as a cake smash portion. A cake smash photo shoot is usually done to commemorate the baby’s first taste of cake (or any sweet of your choice). Some kids may have special dietary restrictions. For this, I usually ask that mom and dad bring the cake of their choice for the baby to try.
The fun thing about these types of sessions it that they don’t always have to be just about cakes because we can pick any theme and any type of treat. Maybe you have a little Cookie Monster in your family that would prefer to munch on cookies during their photo shoot. I have done some with things like donuts, churros, and even In N Out burger. Or we could do a simple photo shoot based around your baby’s favorite fruit- strawberries, watermelons, etc.
CAKE SMASH BABY PHOTOGRAPHY
If you do decide to keep it a traditional cake smash, then I ask that you bring the cake of your choice, unless you know that your child has no allergies, then I can pick out a cake and add it as part of your photo shoot package.
There are so many popular cake smash photo shoot themes out there right now. You can choose to do a shoot based on a book like Maurice Sendak’s book Where the Wild Things Are or a Winnie the Pooh theme. Some people choose a design theme centered on a style like bohemian or vintage. Some parents may be big sports fans so we can do a first birthday sports themed photo shoot- baseball, football, soccer, whichever your family loves to watch most. The possibilities for cake smash décor are endless.
You won’t have to worry about the cake smash outfit though because I have you covered in that area. I have a large collection of baby outfits for both boys and girls for you to choose from. It’s one of the perks of doing your milestone baby photo shoot with a professional photographer.
LOCATION
These types of milestone photo shoots can be done either in my studio in Brea, CA, at a location of your choosing, or at the client’s house. An additional travel fee may be applied for photo shoots not done in the studio. We have done 1st birthday photoshoots outside at local parks and beaches. Outdoor cake smashes can get a little messy and we may have to deal with a bug or two, but they can lead to some beautiful pictures. The most important item to bring to an outdoor cake smash is definitely going to be the baby wipes haha We will probably make a mess of the baby, their smash outfit, and the props, but it will be worth it. You will want to be prepared to clean up that mess with tons of baby wipes and towels.
The studio is stocked full of different props so that I can easily tailor a session to your preferences and easily make impromptu adjustments if needed. I’ve put a lot of thought and creativity into creating the perfect environment for a photo session.
Aside from the props, I have a large selection of baby accessories like headbands, flowers crowns, baby bonnets, sleepy hats, newsboy hats, baby fedoras, and so much more. I get super excited going through everything and coming up with a plan for the photo shoot. One of my favorite props is definitely this little red racer car.
I’ve put a lot of thought and creativity into creating the perfect environment for a photo session. I have also spent a lot of time curating a client closet that is full of adorable baby boy and baby girl outfits for these types of photo shoots. One of my favorite vendors is Cora and Violet.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE INFANT PHOTO SHOOT?
Since my baby photography photo shoots in Orange County focus on the baby’s milestones, they typically only include the baby themselves. Sometimes parents may choose to jump into a shot or two though! If you would like more pictures with the entire family included, I suggest you book a separate family photo shoot for those.
FIRST BIRTHDAY AND CAKE SMASH BABY PHOTOS
I usually post a sneak peek from the one year cake smash photo shoot onto social media within 24-48 hours. Make sure you are following my accounts on Instagram and Facebook. You are welcome to share the images from my account to any of your social media. I ask that you please credit my photography page when sharing the pictures. I get so many of my clients through referrals so when you tag and credit my photography page, it means the world to me.
Your final photos will be ready within 2-3 weeks. I take each image and edit it to make sure it looks amazing. Some babies and backgrounds may require a little more editing than others. I mainly adjust the coloring, smooth out the backdrops, and touch up the baby’s skin using photoshop. If there are more people in the picture (parents and siblings), it may require some extra editing time.
The editing of an infant photo shoot takes longer than the actual photography. When it comes to these milestone baby photo shoots, there tends to be a few extra runny noses that I may need to edit out.
You will receive an email with a gallery full of your final, edited images. They can be downloaded, shared, and printed however you would like. I would love to get your feedback on how you like your pictures so be sure to send me an email, text or, even better, leave a review for other people to see.
A little more about infant photography with Freebird Studios
Freebird Studios is a baby photography studio in Orange County. Located in Brea, CA we love capturing your baby grow! A profession photo shoot is a wonderful way to document this fleeting time in your baby’s life! Let’s make some memories together.
