How to commemorate the first 12 months of a child? My friends take a picture of their children each month with the corresponding number. Would you like to see the results?
The very beginning of my children’s life is commemorated with photos taken each month of pregnancy and a photo book presenting subsequent stages of their development. So when my friends suggested I should also take a picture each month, I thought it would be too much. It was only when I saw their pictures that I started to regret that I hadn’t taken similar.
A photo with a number indicating the month of life may be taken in many different ways. You may add the number on the computer, but the effect will be artificial. You may use special cards, but your photos won’t have a personal touch. You may draw such cards yourself. Or you may create the numbers each time from something different that relates to the current season or the child’s stage of development, like my friends do.
What can you use to create numbers
The sky is the limit. Numbers from 1 to 6 may be composed of diapers, clothes, a favourite blanket, a baby swing or pacifiers. When your child begins to eat solid food, use semolina on a breadboard, baby food jars, bits of fruit or vegetable.
The older your child grows, the more things you may use. The next numbers may be composed of teething rings, rattles or other toys, as well as items from further surroundings: spring flowers, sand in the summer, chestnuts in autumn, stones, sticks, leaves or cones any time of the year if your child has just started playing with them.
Things to remember
The less your child moves, the easier it is to take a picture. A half-year-old is curious about its surroundings; therefore, it may destroy your carefully assembled number before you take the picture. In order to avoid it, ask someone to distract your child or place it next to the number when your camera is ready.
It is also difficult to take a good picture of a sitting or standing baby and a number laying on the ground. A sleeping baby, on the other hand, won’t smile to the camera. Instead, consider making standing numbers (e.g. from building blocks or things hung on the wall or resting against it).
As regards the background, I think a uniform one is the best as it doesn’t draw attention away from the child or the number. Naturally, it doesn’t have to be the same background in each picture.
Remember about good lighting, too. Although as a parent, you will marvel at your child no matter if it is in blazing sun or total darkness, others will appreciate it more if the pictures are of good quality. You will achieve it by taking pictures in natural daylight.
Do you have any other ideas for the numbers or things to remember when taking photos of the first 12 months? Share them in the comments below!
My advice:
– If your child was born at the end of the calendar year, you may use these photos to create a photo calendar for grandparents, in which the numbers will indicate not only the months of the child’s life but also the months of the year.
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