Lauren Milestone Baby Milestone Portraits for Ella Kate

Ella Kate is 7 months old! We did milestone portraits when her big brothers were this age, and as it always goes for the baby of busy families, time flies by and parents remember, “Oh, wait! I forgot to schedule xyz!”. So when her mom reached out and said “Ella is six months already! I think I’d like to do a milestone session and capture this sweet stage!”... I was happy to fit her in right away for a studio session. 

This is such a fun age for milestone portraits. At 6-7 months, babies have some great milestones and things to explore. They grab their toes, roll around, and get to play in our studio. I love playing peekaboo with them so we capture their laughs! One of the other things I love about these milestones is documenting their beautiful finger and elbow dimples. Babies so quickly grow out of this stage, so having portraits of their adorable smile and chunky fingers is special as years go by! 

The best part about these milestone sessions? You literally don’t have to bring a thing, so zero planning was required other than figuring out what time worked best around her nap schedule. Ella borrowed outfits and headbands from the studio, and her mom picked out all of her favorites when she arrived. It was an absolute breeze, completely stress-free. Instead, we just had lots of fun watching this sweet girl and her new skills and budding personality!

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Six Month Milestone Portraits for Sofia

Sweet Sofia is 6 months old! I can’t believe this darling girl is already halfway to her first birthday. Her mom brought her by the studio recently for her six-month milestone portraits and I just had so much fun capturing this smily girl. Sofia was super happy for us the entire time, which made our session a blast. Honestly, this is my favorite age to photograph - because their little personalties really come to life!

During Sofia’s session, I felt like I was having a bit of a flashback. Her big sister, Ella, did milestone portraits with me in 2019. We actually used a similar color palette for Sofia, and mom even brought in the same peachy romper for baby sister to wear in one setup! It was so sweet and super special to know these sisters will have matching portraits from this big milestone session!

The rest of the outfits for Sofia were from our studio’s Baby Wardrobe. I loved the white and mauve outfits mom picked out, along with some of my favorite headbands. Sofia seemed to like them too and enjoyed showing off all of her new skills around the studio. Happy 6 months, Sofia!

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Six Month Milestone Portraits for Baby Luke

Happy 6 months, Luke! Luke, along with his big sisters Nora and Margot, came to the studio recently to document his newest milestones. His big brother, Greyson, wasn’t able to join for this session but we hope to capture a few photos with him next time Luke is in the studio! I just adore the family. They’ve traveled 3 hours to my studio with three of these kiddos to capture their six month milestone portraits, so Luke’s portraits were very special to me.

Luke is Mama’s first baby boy, and she loved going through the studio’s Baby Wardrobe and choosing a few favorites for her son to wear in his portraits. All of these outfits are from the studio! I love how he looked in all of them. They’re all so classic - neutral colors, which I love - and he was so sweet.

Luke was soooooo smiley throughout the whole session. His sisters loved on him with full force and gave him all of the hugs and kisses and cuddles. Then once it was his turn for his individual portraits, his face simply lit up with the biggest smile! In so many of these he is looking off to the side at his mama, and I love the eyes and that sweet smile he has for her. How incredible is that? They’re going to have such special memories looking back at these portraits years from now.

Thank you for sharing another milestone session with me! I’m so happy I got see Baby Luke and his darling big sisters!!

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6 month milestone portraits with Saratoga Springs Baby Photographer

I absolutely adore working with Jen and her boys. I’ve photographed all three boys since they were born. Each has had a newborn, milestone and first birthday session in my studio… well, Baby Rhys is only on his milestone session. He’s got another 6 months before he turns one! Either way, I love seeing them in my studio every few months. It’s a great time to catch up on what’s been going on - and I adore watching their boys grow up. They’re all so sweet!

During the milestone sessions, we always update a portrait of the brothers together. This time, since we were close to Halloween, it seemed fitting to do their photo in their costumes. The middle boy’s middle name is Draco, and we’ve always leaned into the dragon theme for his portraits. Naturally, the three boys are dragons for Halloween this year!! They were SO cute and excited to be in their costumes. I loved capturing that fun portrait of them.

It was good to see Rhys, too. I saw him for his newborn portraits 6 months ago. Now, he’s just the most mellow baby and so happy. He made my job easy with lots of easy smiles and sweet big eyes. Mom picked out the cutest little overalls for him. He looked like such a little man! I can’t believe he’ll be back for his one year session before long!

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Beyond the Newborn Session: Capturing the First Year of Milestones

I don’t know what it is about parenthood that makes time fly by, but I know that ever since my son was born, I’ve blinked and another year has gone by. As a mom and a professional photographer, I understand the value of portraits of my child from the newborn stage and beyond. Newborn portraits are one of the things most parents put on their “parenting to-do list”. That first year is fleeting and I think it’s so important that everyone has a chance to document their precious baby. But the documentation shouldn’t end there.

When I was a new mom, I constantly had my camera out to capture every little moment and changes in our son after our newborn portraits. Looking back, I’m so happy that I have truly beautiful and classic baby portraits of my son, in (and out) of the studio to document those stages, too. Every time he started on a new milestone or learned a new skill, I wanted to capture it forever.

Our babies change SO much in the first year of life - more than any other year as they grow. They grow their first teeth, laugh for the first time, and learn to sit up, crawl, and walk. Capturing all of those milestones truly matters. We all say we never want to forget those stages and changes - and with studio portraits, you never will. You’ll have those dimpled cheeks and baby giggles documented forever to enjoy.

As babies grow, they enter into my favorite stage, the “Gerber Baby stage”, when they’re 6-10 months old. This is one of the most popular milestone sessions in my studio. Babies are sitting up solidly, they're happy and expressive, they interact with you and play into all of the games (peekaboo, tickles) to let us capture their amazing smiles. They're not that mobile yet so they're not running away from the camera - so it works out for us. These are often some of the best portraits to capture your little one’s personality as they start to figure out who they are.

After the “Gerber Baby stage”, our babies inch even closer to turning one… and then comes the super popular cake smash session! These cake smash portraits are always a lot of fun. They’re a celebration of your baby - and of your family’s journey over the last year. I love watching babies and their families interact during their one year milestone and cake smash portraits in the studio. It’s also the perfect time to document something your baby is interested in, when you choose your cake smash theme.

Capturing your baby’s first year is so important. These studio sessions are the perfect way to document each of your baby’s milestones along the way - and a great way to ensure you’ll always have stunning portraits to remember each sweet baby smile by. Our baby’s first year always flies by… make sure you don’t miss teh chance to document it all!

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Milestone portraits with adorable knitted overalls and rompers

How sweet is Colton? This little guy was just in the studio for his newborn portraits and he recently returned for his 4 month milestone portraits. Because he’s a Baby Plan member, he’ll be doing sessions all year long with me in the studio! We did the same thing for his big sister, Elliana, too. I love when clients return with their new babies and I get to see families again and again! It truly makes my job so special.

Keeping with the colors we chose for Colton’s newborn portraits, he wore blue and green for his milestone portraits. His mom actually brought all of his outfits with them for their session, but if you love the looks, know that we have very similar outfits in our Baby Wardrobe! I absolutely love the look of these knitted rompers and jumpers. They’re so classic and super sweet on these adorable babies.

Baby Colton made my job super easy during his milestone portraits. He was so happy and giggly our entire session! I love the final images they chose for their prints and products - they’re going to look perfect alongside his newborn images!!

Want to see more adorable milestone sessions? Click here!

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Milestone Portraits with Adorable Sisters

I love, love, love milestone sessions! We usually plan these sessions for between months 6-9 when baby is sitting up unassisted or just beginning to crawl, and we always have the happiest babies! This stage is one of my favorites to capture on camera and I love having these smiley babies in the studio showing off their new skills.

Sienna joined me for her 6 month session and we used lots of blush pink and white to coordinate with her newborn portraits and with her big sister’s milestone portraits from a few years ago. These fluffy peonies always photograph so beautifully, and I love them here in these portraits!

Big sister Gianna joined in the portrait fun for a few portraits in our floral egg chair. This chair is so beautiful and still so popular, and I can’t quite bring myself to take down the decor on it yet!

And of course, it wouldn’t be a Nicole Starr milestone session without a white-on-white setup. You all know I love neutrals for baby portraits, and there’s nothing sweeter to showcase a baby’s beauty than a clean and classic setup like this one!

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Classic First Birthday Portraits with a Year of Baby Photos

Now this was a fun session! Baby Ari’s mama reached out and wanted to plan an extra special portrait session to celebrate her baby boy’s first birthday, and she was really excited about creating some truly classic and timeless portraits of her little guy. With all of the beautiful neutrals in my Saratoga Springs portrait studio, it’s easy to pull together simple setups that let your baby shine, and we did just that with Ari’s first birthday portraits!

You see the cute little stool he’s sitting on? It’s actually a custom cake stand his mama ordered for his birthday party, and it worked perfectly as a toddler bench!

Instead of a cake smash we compiled a collection of their favorite portraits from the past year and turned them into a truly one-of-a-kind backdrop to celebrate their birthday boy’s first year. I love how he pops against the black & white photographs!

No first birthday portrait session is complete without family portraits! We went to the nearby Saratoga Spa State Park for family portraits, and this little man was on the go! He was just at the brink of walking when we did his session, and it was so much fun to capture on camera!

Of course, it wouldn’t be 2020 without documenting the reality of our year: masks. For Ari and many babies, masks are just part of their version of “normal” and this will definitely get noted in their baby book. We’re all looking forward to the day when we can see everyone’s WHOLE face when out in public while still feeling safe.

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Classic Milestone Portraits for Baby Henri

We added a few new outfits to our studio’s Baby Wardrobe, and I was excited that Henri was the first baby to model them! This sweet boy enjoyed his six-month milestone session at the studio, and we captured so many gorgeous portraits of him.

He has such a serious and inquisitive gaze, but he could definitely break out into a smile and be 100% silly, too! This sweet boy was so much fun and he had us all laughing with his giggles!

At six months old, some babies are sitting up assisted, and others can sit on their own without any support. Some are comfortable on their tummies, and others prefer laying on their backs and playing with their toes. Every baby is different, which is what I love so much about these milestone sessions. We capture your little one just as they are, celebrating all of their recently acquired skills, smiles, and first teeth.

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A Baby Milestone Portrait Session with Christmas Trees

Although it’s early January, we can share one last Christmas session on the blog, right?

I absolutely loved that this family chose to incorporate holiday lights & colors into their son’s milestone portraits, and we made it a whole family session to celebrate their little 6 month old!

Of course baby Ronan slept through the first part of the session, and these cozy family portraits are just so cute with him all curled up in his daddy’s arms!

Ahhhhh!!! Cutest sibling photo of the holiday season!

This six-month old cutie LOVED the camera! Doesn’t he look like a little model?!?!

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Best of 2019 Milestone Sessions

As we continue our “Best of 2019” blog series, I’m excited to share our favorite milestone sessions from the year! I absolutely LOVE milestone sessions. As a photographer it is so hard to choose what my favorite type of session is, but I must say that milestones come close! This age is always one of the sweetest when babies are developing their personalities, smiling, reacting, and trying out new skills!

Scroll through and enjoy a look into some of my favorite milestone session moments from the studio & outdoors!

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Poppy's Milestone Session at Yaddo in Saratoga Springs

Meet Poppy.

She’s two years old, filled with spunk, and such a joy to be around. She has the sweetest laugh, and her eyes twinkle when she smiles. She is an absolute chatterbox, and I was amazed at how well-spoken this sweet little girl was. We had such a great time during her milestone session at Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, and I loved getting to know her family while capturing these fall portraits for them.

Poppy brought her favorite toy to her session, so of course we had to capture a few snuggles of them together!

Her smile shines so bright, and I love those wispy little baby hairs!

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Carter's Milestone Portraits - A Sitter Session at our Saratoga Springs Portrait Studio

Does this little cutie look familiar? That’s because he’s one of our Baby Plan clients, and he had the cutest newborn session earlier this year! Do you remember the photo of him posing with his great-grandfather’s coal mining helmet? It was one of my favorite stories ever!

Carter joined me at the studio for his milestone session at 7 months old, and he brought ALL OF THE CUTENESS AND ALL OF THE SMILES! I mean, seriously, how adorable is this baby boy?!?! I could photograph him and his sweet smile every single day!

A few of my favorite features to capture at this stage?

• that round and soft belly

• grabbing those little toes

• the cute elbow dimples & finger dimples

• the first teeth peeking through

• all of the ROLLS on their arms and legs!!

Peek-a-boo is always a hit with babies during their milestone sessions, and Carter loved cuddling up underneath the blanket!

The whole family joined in for some holiday portraits. I just love that they’re going to have these magical photos to remember his first Christmas forever!

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Baby Milestone Portraits at the Saratoga Springs Track | Saratoga Springs Baby Photographer

When Oliver was born, his mama was already talking about his milestone session. They spend their summers at the Saratoga Springs race track, and they knew they wanted to capture their sweet baby boy’s sitter session at the track in August! We dressed him in a dapper little outfit, added a hat (of course!), and enjoyed a beautiful morning at this classic upstate New York destination.

I brought my camera, and Oliver brought the cuteness. 100%.

This age is always so much fun as babies learn to sit up on their own, and they are amazed at everything around them! Oliver looked at the track in such wonder, and he had the most adorable giggles. What a cutie!

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About Nicole Starr Photography 

Nicole Starr specializes in newborn, baby & family photography and has been serving families in New York and Massachusetts since 2012.  She has a portrait studio in Saratoga Springs, NY for families in the Capital Region.  Nicole also works with families year round at her Attleboro, MA portrait studio, and on location May through October in Boston and on Cape Cod.  Nicole has a clean and classic style, and the studio is filled with neutrals and luxe fabrics.  We use very minimal props to keep the focus on your perfect little baby.  Our sessions are relaxed and fun, and we’ll enjoy an hour together (or up to 3 hours for a newborn session!) laughing, cuddling, and capturing authentic smiles and belly laughs with your little ones.  

Penelope's 7 Month Milestone Session with a Strawberries & cream milk bath

I love catching up with our Baby Plan babies for their milestone sessions halfway through the first year, and I was so happy to welcome little miss Penelope back into the studio.

First, I couldn’t even get over how much hair this sweet girl has at only 7 months old, and second she won me over with her smile, tiny little teeth, and the cute little cleft in her chin.

Her mama bought this pretty pink outfit for her when she was pregnant — it was the very first outfit she bought for her baby girl. So of course we had to capture some portraits of sweet Penelope in it at the studio!

I love this phase when they lay on their backs and discover how much fun their toes are!!

Then we used a beautiful new watercolor romper from the STUDIO CLOSET that her mama saw on my Instagram stories and fell in love with. Doesn’t Penelope look so sweet in this?

This happy baby girl finished up with a strawberries and cream milk bath, perfect for a summertime baby!

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Classic and Nautical Milestone Portraits for Baby Holden

I love watching our Baby Plan babies grow! Holden came to our Attleboro portrait studio for his 6 month milestone session, and he showed off his smiley personality and ALL OF HIS ROLLS! This sweet boy seriously has the best leg rolls and arm rolls ever, and I could just hug and squeeze him all day long to enjoy that squishy baby stage that he is in right now!

We started off his session in the baptism outfit that has been passed down in his family and worn by so many little babies.

Then of course we did a striped romper for a few nautical inspired portraits to complement the nautical newborn portraits that we took when he was born. He is just recently working on sitting up, and I love how proud he is of himself when he finds his balance and sits upright without any help! Just look at that big smile!

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About Nicole Starr Photography 

Nicole Starr specializes in newborn, baby & family photography and has been serving families in New York and Massachusetts since 2012.  She has a portrait studio in Saratoga Springs, NY for families in the Capital Region.  Nicole also works with families year round at her Attleboro, MA portrait studio, and on location May through October in Boston and on Cape Cod.  Nicole has a clean and classic style, and the studio is filled with neutrals and luxe fabrics.  We use very minimal props to keep the focus on your perfect little baby.  Our sessions are relaxed and fun, and we’ll enjoy an hour together (or up to 3 hours for a newborn session!) laughing, cuddling, and capturing authentic smiles and belly laughs with your little ones.  

7 Month Milestone Portraits for Baby Jonas

These milestone sessions are so much fun, and I love seeing how much these little babies have grown since their newborn session! This age is perfect for portraits because babies are coming into their little personalities and they’re becoming curious about the world and the people in it.

They are learning to sit on their own, grab their toes, play on their backs, and laugh. They rock tummy time, have the cutest smiles, and some babies even have their first tooth already!

Jonas joined me at our Saratoga Springs portrait studio for his 7 month milestone session, and he did such a wonderful job in front of the camera! He was so playful and curious, and he loved all of the attention! Plus, his mama planned the most adorable outfits for her baby boy!

Can you even believe how beautiful his blue eyes are? And that wispy hair?!

Peek-a-boo! Always a favorite game at this age!

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About Nicole Starr Photography 

Nicole Starr specializes in newborn, baby & family photography and has been serving families in New York and Massachusetts since 2012.  She has a portrait studio in Saratoga Springs, NY for families in the Capital Region, and she also works with families at her Attleboro, MA studio and on location in Boston and on Cape Cod. 

The portrait studio is filled with neutrals, luxe fabrics, and very minimal props to keep the focus on your perfect little baby.  Our sessions are relaxed and fun, and we’ll enjoy an hour together (or up to 3 hours for a newborn session!) laughing, cuddling, and capturing authentic smiles and belly laughs with your little ones.  

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A Boho and Peony Milestone Session with Corinne

Peonies have long been my favorite flower. We had them on the tables at our wedding, and I even made my own wedding bouquet full of these fluffy pink beauties. I have a vase of faux peonies on our nightstand, and we planted six peony bushes in our front yard when we moved into our house.

This spring I am so excited to use these beautiful blooms in the studio! Corinne came to the studio for a boho milestone session filled with peonies, and I love the dreamy look of her portraits! Her romper & floral crown were the perfect complements to these flowers.

She had the cutest little giggle, and I was so happy that we captured this whole-body laugh!

Funny faces are my favorite! We always capture the smiles, the serious faces, and the faces filled with wonder… but the ones where they scrunch up their faces into the cutest little expressions always make me smile!

A 6 month milestone session for baby Ella

Ella is one of our Baby Planners, and I loved seeing how much she has grown when she came to the studio for her 6 month milestone session! It’s always amazing to watch these little babies during the first year as they begin to master new skills and really come into their personalities, and Little Miss Ella was no exception. This girl is so happy & smiley, and she truly rocked her portrait session!

Ella LOVED hanging out on this tiny bed that we just added to the prop closet. Her favorite part was using it as a teething toy, hahaha! Once she realized she could fit the wooden rails in her mouth she didn’t want to let go, and it had us all cracking up watching how excited she was!

Then we did a few portraits on our big girl bed (a.k.a. the white fluffy adult sized bed!). Ella’s mama packed the cutest white onesie with lace eyelet sleeves, and I love how simple and classic it looked in this all white set up. The lace ruffles really made it special!

Have a favorite toy or doll? Be sure to bring it to your baby’s milestone session! These cuddle + kind dolls have been making an appearance in many of our sessions for the past year or two, and I love it when they’re the same size as the babies!

Ella’s mama and daddy’s favorite portraits were in this chair with the mauve romper from our studio closet. We probably only spent about 2 minutes in this set up, but Ella brought out all of the smiles and belly laughs for so many adorable portraits! Here are just a few favorites!

Baby Outfit Ideas | Wardrobe Inspiration for Your Baby's Milestone Portrait Session

You’re so excited!!! You just booked your baby’s milestone session and you can’t wait to capture their little smile, that tiny curl of hair, and those adorable chubby legs that you love to cover in kisses. These portraits are always some of my favorites

But wait a second… what does a baby wear to a milestone session?!?!

This is probably your first time dressing your baby for portraits (after all, they just wore a swaddle in their newborn photos!), but I’ve dressed hundreds of babies for their portrait sessions and I have plenty of ideas to make it easier for you.

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OUTFIT INSPIRATION FOR YOUR MILESTONE SESSION

Flaunt those itty bitty baby features that you love so much.

Babies are only this little for a little while, and their elbow dimples, chunky thigh rolls, and puffy little tummies are the cutest things ever about this stage. Show it off! I recommend avoiding dresses that cover the legs — instead, choose rompers for baby girls to give them room to move their legs and find their toes. For boys, wearing just a pair of pants to show that cute baby belly is so classic. Plus, you’ll see those photos and just want to smooch that perfect little belly!

There’s nothing more classic than a simple white onesie.

I did my son’s monthly photos in a white onesie, and I always suggest clients go for this look when they want a few simple and extremely classic portraits. They make some cute ones with ruffles and eyelet lace details on the sleeves for baby girls if you’re looking for something a little special, too!

Go for a pop of color against our all white studio!

Pale blue, lavender, aqua, and pink all look amazing against our white walls, couch, and bed!

Make sure baby can move freely.

Opt for fabrics with a little stretch so baby can reach, crawl, and wiggle. After all, they’ve been practicing all of these new skills so let them use their whole body and show us what they can do!

Go barefoot.

Yes, baby shoes are cute, but they don’t look cute in photographs because you can only see the soles of the feet. Let’s show off their toes instead!

Show some skin.

When they’re this little, baby boys & baby girls are oh so sweet with their cute little baby bellies and soft arm rolls. Don’t be afraid to have one of their “outfits” be just a diaper, diaper cover, or a pair of knit pants! We can always use a soft blanket to cover up, too — and to play peek-a-boo!

Ruffles & lace.

Both beautiful options in photographs. You can’t go wrong with these sweet feminine details.

Consider fabric textures and your baby’s sensitive skin.

Remember when you were a kid and your mom dressed you in a scratchy tulle dress or itchy wool tights? You were miserable. Let’s give your baby the best shot at a happy session by making sure they are cool, comfortable, and content. Use soft fabrics that won’t irritate their skin. Opt for knitted fabrics (think sweater knit, not jersey knit) for a truly beautiful texture in photographs.

Avoid anything crocheted for the best portraits — even though sweet Aunt Sally was so excited to give you that crocheted turtle outfit, I’ve found that these are usually made with cheap yarn that cause the babies to sweat and immediately get a red heat rash on their skin. Then they’re crying and inconsolable the rest of the session. Nobody wants that! Plus, crocheted items don’t usually fall right on their little bodies the way clothing that is knitted can hug them beautifully. Thank your dear Aunt Sally, snap a cell phone pic, and share that with her. ;o)

Neutrals never go out of style.

Avoid anything too busy, bold, or neon. Neutrals look amazing with details like stripes, lace, eyelet lace, smocking, buttons, and knitted textures.

Still not sure what to wear? Check out our studio closet filled with beautiful options for your little one! If you’re thinking of wearing a studio outfit, let me know ahead of time what size your baby is and which outfits you have in mind and I will let you know if they’ll fit and get them ready for you ahead of time. Plus, be sure to ask me what’s new in the closet because we’re always adding new pieces for families to enjoy!