My baby photography club includes three sessions across your baby’s first year. For ease I describe these as four, eight, and twelve months, but that’s a rough guide rather than a strict rule, and the first session is worth thinking about a little more carefully.
At four months, most babies are still fairly flopsy when it comes to sitting without support. That’s not a criticism, just a fact of four-month-old life. I do have a posing cushion that supports them on the beanbag so they can appear to be sitting up, and I can also photograph them lying on their backs, so we always have options.
The reason timing matters for the first session is tummy time. Having a baby who can lift their head confidently during tummy time gives you a third set of poses in your gallery, and it makes a real difference to the variety of images you come home with. It also makes those happy baby shots, where they’re on their backs grabbing their feet, much more likely to happen.
They only need to hold the position for a short time, and I do have ramps to help, but my advice is to wait until your baby can look up at you pretty consistently during tummy time before booking that first session.
All babies develop at different rates. Some will be doing all of this by three months, some a little later. The four-month suggestion is just a guide. The real milestone to aim for is tummy time confidence.
