I have been documenting my son’s life since his birth. But once we got home I really wanted to document how he grew month to month.

So I began a monthly routine of photographing him. I have loved watching him grow and change from month to month.

If you are interested in documenting your child’s first year here are some handy tips:

• Pick a date and stick to it. My son was born on the 17th so I choose every 17th of the month to take his monthly photo. I found that if I chose a date it was easier for me to commit to taking that pic.



• Decide a timeline. Because I’m obsessive I chose to take one photo a month, but a more realistic timeline could be birth, 3 month, 6 month and 1 year. (Don’t forget to add those dates to your calendar!)
• Stick to a wardrobe. Whether it’s naked with just a diaper, a white onesie, same hat, or the same pink bow. Later when you’re all done, you’ll appreciate how cohesive the photos look framed together because of the consistent wardrobe. Avoid clothing with loud colors, or prints, and wording. The simpler the better: you want the audience’s eye to focus on your baby.
• Pick a “constant”, a item, to grow WITH your child. This can be anything, its helpful to use something long are larger than your baby (at first). I used a handmade moose doll that was made for my son. You may choose to use something special for your child, or some suggestions could be a sock Monkey or Sock Kitty such as these.

• Another idea is to use a monthly sign.  My friend here chose to stamp a sign and photo her child periodically with the sign.

Anyway you choose to do it, it’s a lot of fun and really showcases how quickly these little ones grow!

If you blink, you miss it, so be sure to get it on film!