Newborns sessions are my fav - I can't lie! But sessions around the six month mark is a very close second for me and I'd love to tell you why I think you should consider this session in addition to having newborn photos taken.
Reason #1: Babyhood goes by fast
While it may seem gratuitous to schedule more than one family photo session in a calendar year, you'll only get 12 months with an infant before they become a toddler so get as much of this sweet, snuggly time captured professionally as you can! Having a few professional shoots before your baby turns one will reveal change and provide them with memories they can't make for themselves. Pro tip: multiple sessions lend themselves so well to beautiful keepsake "Baby's First Year" books! Pro tip #2 - progressive photos (i.e. baby swaddled on the rug at 2 weeks, baby sitting on the rug at 6 months and baby pulling up on the rug at a year) make amazing framed displays over a bed or across a wall.
Reason #2: Big personalities
When I was pregnant, a mom friend told me that I would know my child's disposition by the time they were six months old. While I didn't say "NOPE" out loud, my face often betrays my thoughts. Lindsay, I owe you an apology because, looking back, this is exactly where I can pinpoint seeing my son's personality. He wasn't the smiliest baby: he was more of an old soul, more self aware, just as he is today. And its gorgeous to look back on his 6 month pictures, knowing him now and seeing him there too.
Reason #3: Giggles and snuggles
Babies find their laugh and their limbs at about 6 months, they're always reaching for toes! It's also a great time to get all the thigh and wrist chub well documented before it burns off to the rigors of pulling up and crawling. Not all babies will sit unsupported at 6 months but it's a great portrait pose when they are able to hold their head upright and engage you without falling over. (Not that I mind a helpful hand, see below). Lastly, once babies gain mobility they will want to practice those newfound skills, which makes snuggly/still photos harder to come by. Get those snuggly-small baby pictures in while you can!
Reason #4: You've grown too
Your baby may have doubled in size since your newborn shoot but a lot has changed for you too. I can't tell you where you'll be with things because a lot can happen in the beginning: jaundice, colic, postpartum depression, sleep deprivation, big feelings and growth spurts in your other children, just to name a few. And all of these things affect how we feel during that first year. But you've got a different handle on things than you did during that newborn shoot for sure. You know how to make your baby smile and coo, you know how to soothe them, if they've started solids you know their favs (and the hilarious no-go's). There's just so much more interaction and knowing between you and your baby now and your photographer would love to show you what that looks like.
(Clearly, I love photographing parents loving their babies just as much as I love photographing babies themselves...☺️)
Six months is an adorable and playful baby age to capture, you'll never regret having beautiful pictures made! Schedule them and get in the picture too - you'll be surprised how beautiful everyday moments with your baby really are while also making memories to share later down the line. In-home sessions distill the beauty of the love-soaked fog of raising a baby and make parenting look like art.
