What is the best age to take baby photos? For baby milestone photography, the best age is 6 months old when your baby can sit unassisted but isn't yet mobile enough to crawl away. This is the most popular age for baby photography because babies at this stage are interactive, smiley, and easy to photograph with their personality in full bloom.

Newborn photography (5-14 days) is a completely separate type of session that captures your baby's first precious days with curled, sleepy poses. If you have a newborn or are currently pregnant, this specialized newborn photography window is time-sensitive and shouldn't be missed.

Many parents choose to capture their baby's entire first year by booking professional sessions at multiple milestone ages: newborn (5-14 days), 3 months (first smiles), 6 months (sitting), 9 months (crawling), and 12 months (first birthday). Each stage offers unique opportunities to document your baby's rapid development.

As a Glasgow-based baby and milestone photographer, I've photographed hundreds of babies through their first year. While six months is the single best time for baby pictures if you're only booking one session, this complete guide will help you understand all the ideal ages and when to book each milestone session to create a beautiful first-year photography timeline.

The Best Ages for Baby Photos: Complete Timeline

Before diving into each milestone in detail, here's a quick overview of the best ages to take baby pictures throughout your baby's first year:

Newborn (5-14 days): Sleepy, curled poses and tiny details
3 Months: First genuine smiles and alert expressions
6 Months (BEST): Sitting unassisted, most popular session
9 Months: Crawling, movement, and exploration
12 Months: First birthday and cake smash celebration

Now let's explore each milestone in detail to help you understand what makes each age special and when to book your sessions.

Why Milestone Photography Matters

Your baby will change more in their first year than at any other time in their life. The tiny newborn who needed head support becomes a sitting, smiling baby, then a mobile crawler, and finally a toddler taking their first steps. Each of these stages lasts just weeks before the next transformation begins.

Milestone photography captures these rapid changes in a way that daily snapshots simply can't. Professional baby photography sessions document not just how your baby looks, but their personality, expressions, and abilities at each stage. When parents ask me what age should I book baby photos, my answer is always: multiple ages throughout the first year.

The benefits of documenting your baby's first year through professional photography include:

Preserving memories during the stages that pass most quickly
Creating heirloom-quality images for your family
Tracking development and growth milestones
Building a cohesive visual story of your baby's first year
Capturing personality changes as your baby develops

Many families in Glasgow and throughout Scotland choose to book a first year photography package to ensure they capture all the important milestones without the stress of booking individual sessions.

Newborn (0-3 Weeks)

The Sleepy Stage

The newborn stage is the foundation of any baby photoshoot timeline. During the first four weeks of life, babies spend most of their time sleeping, making this the ideal window for those curled-up, peaceful poses that define classic newborn photography.

At this age, babies still naturally curl into the fetal position they held in the womb. They sleep deeply, allowing for gentle posing and the use of props like wraps, bowls, and baskets. Their skin is still smooth (before baby acne appears around week 3-4).

Best Time to Book

For newborn sessions, the absolute best age for baby photos is between 5-14 days old. I recommend booking your newborn session during your third trimester of pregnancy, scheduling it for when your baby will be about 10 days old. This gives you flexibility if your baby arrives early or late.

While newborn photography can still be successful up to 4 weeks, the earlier the better. After two weeks, babies become more alert, develop stronger reflexes, and are harder to settle into those deeply sleeping poses.

What to Expect

A newborn session typically lasts 2-3 hours to allow for feeding, nappy changes, and settling time. The studio should be warm (around 26-28°C) to keep your baby comfortable and sleepy. Expect a relaxed, baby-led session where we work at your newborn's pace.

While baby photoshoot sessions for older infants are quite different, newborn sessions focus on simplicity, capturing your baby's tiny features, perfect skin, and peaceful expressions during their sleepiest days.

3 Months - First Smiles

Personality Emerging

At three months, your baby transforms from a sleepy newborn into an interactive little person. This is when you'll see those first genuine social smiles and hear those delightful coos and giggles. The three-month stage is often called the "awake newborn" phase because babies have better head control but haven't yet become mobile.

This age is perfect for capturing those gorgeous gummy smiles and bright, alert expressions. Your baby's neck muscles are stronger, allowing for tummy time photos and supported sitting poses. Their eyes are fully focusing, so you'll get beautiful eye contact and engagement during the session.

Awake & Alert Photos

Unlike newborn sessions where babies sleep throughout, three-month sessions feature wide-awake babies interacting with the camera. This is when to take baby pictures that showcase personality rather than just peaceful sleeping poses.

The three-month milestone is ideal for:

Bright, smiley portraits with direct eye contact
Tummy time photos showing head control
Supported sitting with parent hands (digitally removed)
Interactive moments with parents
Close-ups of expressions and reactions

Many parents skip this milestone, jumping from newborn photos straight to six-month pictures, but the three-month session captures a unique stage that's worth documenting in your milestone photography journey.

6 Months - The Best Age for Baby Photos

Why 6 Months Is the Most Popular Session

If you only book one baby milestone session (beyond the newborn stage), make it the 6-month sitting milestone. This is universally considered the best age for baby milestone photography, and for good reason. The timing is perfect: babies can typically sit unassisted, they're not yet mobile enough to crawl away, and their personalities are in full bloom.

Six months is the sweet spot where your baby has developed personality and engagement but still cooperates for photographs. This is why when parents ask me "what is the best age for baby photos?", my answer is almost always six months.

When is best time for 6 month photos? Right when your baby can sit unsupported for at least 30 seconds. For most babies, this happens between 6-8 months. Some babies sit earlier at 5 months, while others need until 7 or even 8 months. Book your session based on your baby's development rather than their exact age.

Sitting Unassisted

The sitting milestone opens up endless creative possibilities. Your baby can sit on the floor, in baskets, in little chairs, and interact with props without needing to be held or supported. This independence makes for cleaner compositions and more variety in your images.

Six-month sessions typically feature:

Classic sitting poses with various backdrops
Props and baskets that show off the sitting skill
Textured backgrounds and layers
Interaction with age-appropriate toys
Both serious portraits and playful, smiley shots

Expression & Interaction

At six months, babies are incredibly expressive. They laugh, they're curious about everything, and they respond enthusiastically to peek-a-boo and silly sounds. This makes it relatively easy to capture a range of expressions from serious and contemplative to pure joy.

This is also a wonderful age for family photos. Your baby can sit on your lap, be held comfortably, and will often smile at parents with genuine recognition and joy. If you're planning to include family portraits in your session, six months is an ideal time.

9 Months - Crawling Stage

Movement & Exploration

The nine-month milestone often gets overlooked in baby photography milestones by age, but it captures a fascinating stage of development. By nine months, most babies are mobile - whether crawling, scooting, or even pulling themselves up to stand. Their curiosity is at an all-time high, and they're exploring everything they can reach.

This is less of a "posed" session and more of a documentary-style shoot where we capture your baby's natural movement and exploration. Nine-month babies are interested in everything except sitting still, which creates wonderfully authentic, action-filled images.

Active Baby Photos

Working with mobile babies requires a different approach to photography. Rather than posed portraits, we focus on capturing movement, curiosity, and exploration. The session becomes more interactive and playful, with your baby free to move around and discover.

Nine-month sessions capture:

Crawling sequences and movement
Standing with support
Interaction with toys and props
Natural, unstaged expressions
Candid moments of exploration

While these sessions can be more challenging than the six-month sitting session, they result in dynamic, personality-filled images that truly represent this active stage. Parents who book sessions at both six and nine months are always amazed at how much their baby has changed in just three months.

12 Months - First Birthday

Cake Smash Option

The first birthday milestone is a celebration worth documenting. Whether you choose a traditional portrait session or the increasingly popular cake smash photography experience, twelve months marks an incredible year of growth and development.

Cake smash sessions have become a favorite way to celebrate turning one. These playful sessions let your baby explore and destroy their own personal cake, resulting in adorable, messy, joyful images. The cake smash is typically the finale of a broader first birthday session that includes clean portraits before the cake comes out.

A twelve-month session typically includes:

Clean, posed portraits at the start
Standing or walking shots (if your baby has reached these milestones)
Interaction with birthday-themed props
The cake smash finale
Bath time photos for cake smash sessions (optional)

Standing & Walking

By twelve months, many babies are standing independently, cruising along furniture, or even taking their first steps. This newfound mobility makes for dynamic portraits that show just how much they've grown from that tiny newborn a year ago.

Even if your baby isn't walking yet, they'll likely be pulling themselves up on furniture, which creates lovely standing portraits. The variety of poses available at this age - sitting, standing, moving - allows for a diverse gallery of images.

Personality in Full Bloom

One-year-olds have BIG personalities. They know what they like and don't like, they have favorite toys, they dance to music, and they communicate (even if not with words yet). This personality makes twelve-month sessions incredibly unique and personalized.

At this age, every baby is different. Some are cautious and observant, others are wild and adventurous. Some love the camera, others need time to warm up. Capturing this emerging personality is what makes first birthday photography so special and meaningful.

This final milestone session completes the journey from newborn to toddler, providing a beautiful endpoint to how often should I do baby photos first year. When displayed together, images from newborn through twelve months tell the remarkable story of your baby's first year.

First Year Photography Package

Benefits of Booking Multiple Sessions

While individual milestone sessions are wonderful, there's something truly special about documenting your baby's entire first year through a comprehensive photography package. A first year package typically includes 3-4 sessions throughout the year, capturing the most significant milestones.

The benefits of booking a complete first year package include:

Cost savings: Packages offer better value than booking individual sessions
Guaranteed availability: Your sessions are pre-scheduled, ensuring you don't miss important milestones
Consistent style: All images are created by the same photographer with cohesive editing
Complete story: You document the full transformation from newborn to one year old
Reduced stress: Everything is planned in advance, so you can focus on enjoying your baby
Relationship building: Your baby becomes familiar with me and the studio environment

Most first year packages in Glasgow include a newborn session, a six-month sitting session, and a twelve-month cake smash session. Many parents add the three or nine-month session for even more complete coverage.

Consistency & Value

When you book a package, you ensure consistency in your baby's photography throughout the year. All sessions will have a cohesive look and feel, making them beautiful when displayed together as a collection. The images will coordinate in style, editing, and quality, creating a unified visual story.

The value extends beyond just cost savings. Package clients receive priority booking, flexible rescheduling if needed, and often additional perks like complimentary prints or albums. Many photographers, myself included, offer payment plans for packages, making professional newborn to 12 months photography more accessible.

Having your entire first year planned also removes the mental load of remembering to book sessions at the right times. I'll send you reminders before each session, ensuring you never miss a milestone because life got busy (and with a new baby, life is always busy!).

How to Book Your Baby's Milestone Sessions

Now that you understand this baby photography milestones by age guide, you're ready to plan your baby's sessions. Here's how to ensure you capture all the important stages:

During Pregnancy: Book your newborn session for when your baby will be 10-14 days old. If you're interested in a first year package, this is the best time to secure your spot and lock in pricing. Many photographers in Glasgow and throughout Scotland book up months in advance, especially for newborn sessions.

For Milestone Sessions: Plan to book 4-6 weeks in advance of when you'd like the session. This gives you flexibility if your baby reaches milestones earlier or later than average. Remember, it's better to book based on your baby's development (sitting, standing) rather than exact age in months.

Questions to Ask: When researching photographers for your baby photoshoot in Glasgow, ask about their experience with each milestone age, their approach to safety (especially for newborns), what's included in sessions, and whether they offer packages.

Investment Consideration: Professional baby photography is an investment in preserving memories that you'll treasure for decades. When you're 80 years old, you won't remember what you spent on your baby's first year photos, but you'll cherish having them. Consider your photography budget as part of your baby's first year, just like nursery furniture or clothing.

Ready to Book Your Baby Photography Session?

Now you know the answer: the best age for baby milestone photos is 6 months when your baby can sit unassisted. If you only book one milestone session beyond the newborn stage, make it the 6-month sitting session - you won't regret capturing your baby at this perfect age.

For parents who want to document their baby's complete first-year journey, consider booking sessions at multiple milestone ages. From the sleepy newborn stage through the joyful first birthday, each age offers unique moments worth preserving.

Ready to book your baby's milestone sessions? I'd love to help you document your baby's incredible first year. Whether you're expecting and want to plan ahead, or you have a baby approaching the 6-month mark, it's the perfect time to book.

Contact me today to discuss your baby photography needs, ask questions about the best ages for your specific situation, or book a first year package. I serve families throughout Glasgow, including Cambuslang, Rutherglen, East Kilbride, and surrounding areas.

View my portfolio to see examples of baby milestone photography at every age, and imagine seeing your own baby's journey documented with the same care and artistry.

The first year flies by faster than you can imagine. Don't let the 6-month sitting milestone pass undocumented. Book your session today and create memories that will last a lifetime.