We’ve received a wonderful outpouring of questions lately, with many of you asking if we’re continuing our cherished tradition of taking weekly baby photos for Teddy, much like we meticulously documented Clara’s first year of life. For those new to our journey, you can revisit Clara’s heartwarming weekly photo project and its evolution here, delve into the creative process behind those early baby photos here, and discover how the Clara photo project continued to capture her growth here. We’re thrilled to confirm that the answer is a resounding yes! However, this time around, we’ve had even more fun infusing a slightly different, yet equally charming, spin on our weekly photographic endeavor. We’re excited to share Teddy’s very first two milestone shots, offering a glimpse into this exciting new chapter of his growth and our family’s creative journey.
For those curious about the artistic details, the distinctive number font used to display Teddy’s age is called Sullivan, adding a touch of classic charm, and the elegant “weeks” font, perfectly complementing the numbers, is known as Big Mouth. These carefully selected fonts contribute to the overall aesthetic of our weekly baby milestone photos.
While the temptation was strong to embark on an entirely novel concept for Teddy’s baby photos, we ultimately decided against completely reinventing the wheel. The truth is, we absolutely adored how Clara’s weekly photo project unfolded and the precious memories it helped us create. So, much like Clara’s successful and beloved project, Teddy’s version retains the same heartwarming and consistent core elements that made the first project so special: the adorable baby, a comforting fabric backdrop, and the artfully photoshopped age prominently displayed. This consistent approach ensures a beautiful continuity while allowing for delightful new variations that make Teddy’s journey uniquely his own. We believe this blend of tradition and innovation offers the best of both worlds, capturing the essence of childhood growth with a personal touch that truly reflects our family’s style of documenting these fleeting moments.
However, no creative endeavor is without its opportunities for refinement and personalization. For Teddy’s weekly baby photo project, we’ve introduced two thoughtful tweaks designed to enhance the visual storytelling and add even more charm to these precious keepsakes:
- Embracing Wardrobe Versatility for Baby Photos: As an undeniable lover of all things baby clothes, I often wished we had ventured beyond the crisp white onesie during Clara’s entire first year. While we did introduce adorable skirts and pants in her second and third years, which truly brought out her budding personality, I felt a playful urge to dress Teddy in “real clothes” right from the start. This allows us to showcase a more diverse range of outfits, reflecting the different facets of his personality as he grows and adding a unique sartorial dimension to each weekly photo. It’s a fun way to incorporate fashion into baby milestone photography.
- Introducing a Sense of Scale and Visual Reference: A minor challenge we encountered with Clara’s project was the absence of a consistent reference object. Without other items in the frame, it wasn’t always immediately obvious how much she was growing, as she tended to fill roughly the same amount of the frame from Week 1 to Week 52. To address this and provide a clear visual indicator of Teddy’s adorable development, we’ve introduced a charming wooden plaque into his photos. This simple yet effective prop, lovingly picked up from JoAnn Fabrics, serves as an invaluable visual reference, allowing viewers to easily appreciate his growth each week. Furthermore, this plaque offers the perfect, designated spot for us to digitally add his age, providing a consistent and aesthetically pleasing canvas for the photoshopped numbers, a clever alternative to relying solely on a blank onesie.
Teddy, even in his earliest weeks, already boasts a more diverse and extensive wardrobe than John – a true and amusing fact! This delightful collection comes courtesy of thoughtful hand-me-downs from family friends, generous gifts from loving relatives, and my own dedicated “sale rack stalking” expeditions. Consequently, conjuring a fresh and charming outfit for each weekly baby photoshoot should be an enjoyable and relatively effortless task. Those particularly dashing suspenders you see him sporting in the photo above were a thoughtful souvenir brought back from London by my mom – don’t you agree he’s the most dapper two-week-old you’ve ever laid eyes on? Beyond his adorable attire, we also made a strategic decision regarding the photographic backgrounds. Instead of attempting to rotate through 52 distinct fabrics throughout the year, we’ve opted to cycle through a curated selection of approximately eight fairly simple and versatile ones. This approach ensures the backgrounds remain understated and harmonious, preventing them from distracting from or clashing with Teddy’s charming outfits, allowing his cuteness to truly take center stage. All these beautiful fabrics, save for the special quilt I personally sewed for him, were sourced from our local JoAnn Fabrics.
We’ve chosen a particularly special and familiar spot for Teddy’s initial weekly baby photos – the very same location where many of Clara’s early pictures were taken. This spot is none other than the charming daybed that once graced the sunroom of our first home, and now serves as Clara’s beloved “big girl” bed. This location holds a beautiful sentimental value for our family, adding an extra layer of warmth to Teddy’s photos. Clara’s room is blessed with truly magnificent afternoon light, making it an ideal setting for capturing these precious moments. The soft, natural light creates a beautiful, inviting ambiance, perfect for newborn photography. Adding to the charm, Clara absolutely loves to “help” with the photoshoots, often offering enthusiastic coaching or even playfully jumping into a few random shots, creating some wonderfully candid and authentic family memories. Furthermore, John’s thoughtful Christmas reflector/diffuser has already proven its immense utility, skillfully evening out any subtle shadows and ensuring each photograph of Teddy is beautifully illuminated. For aspiring parent photographers, exploring various photography guides can indeed offer a plethora of interesting options and techniques to elevate your own DIY baby photos, from mastering natural light to clever prop usage.
And while we’re on the delightful topic of meticulously documenting a baby’s incredible journey of growth, this feels like the perfect moment to pivot and share another frequently requested insight from all of you: the collection of photographs we took throughout my pregnancy. Unlike my first pregnancy, where bump pictures were shared in a more condensed format later on the blog within a single grid, we decided to adopt the exact same strategy this time around. This involved patiently collecting all the individual bump photos as my pregnancy progressed, with the intention of compiling them into one comprehensive and visually striking grid at the very end. This approach not only builds anticipation but also creates a beautiful chronological narrative of the pregnancy journey, from its earliest stages to the joyful arrival of our little one. It’s a wonderful way to capture the magic of carrying a new life.
It was actually John, with his innate love for a good infographic and visual storytelling, who meticulously crafted the final pregnancy photo grid. More impressively, it was also his brilliant and creative idea to photograph my growing belly in front of the exact same bush in our backyard during each distinct season. This ingenious concept allowed us to not only document the remarkable transformation of my pregnancy but also to beautifully capture the ever-changing natural backdrop of our garden, adding a dynamic and seasonal dimension to each photograph. It created a powerful visual metaphor for growth and time. Quite serendipitously, that very bush burst into an explosion of vibrant, pretty blooms on almost the exact day that Teddy made his grand entrance into the world. This magical timing meant that the very last photograph in the series, capturing the culmination of my pregnancy journey, was taken when our sweet Teddy was just six days old, adding an incredibly poignant and celebratory touch to the entire collection.
Among the entire collection of photographs taken throughout this incredible pregnancy, perhaps my absolute favorite is this particular one, complete with its charming blue trim and all! This image holds a special place in my heart not just for its aesthetic appeal, but because it truly felt like a Christmas miracle that Clara stood still enough for the prolonged exposure required to capture such a beautiful, steady shot. Capturing a toddler’s cooperation for a still photograph can often be a delightful challenge, making this particular image all the more precious and a testament to Clara’s unexpected patience during a festive moment. It encapsulates the joyful chaos and love that defines our family life.
Now, we’d love to turn the conversation over to you, our wonderful community! We’re genuinely curious to hear about your own unique methods for documenting your pregnancy journey. Do you opt for professional maternity portraits, perhaps capturing the glow of expectation with a seasoned photographer? Have you ever considered, or even created, a plaster cast of your belly as a tangible memento? Or do you, like us, prefer the simplicity and consistency of snapping a series of photos in the same meaningful spot, watching your body transform over the months? And, moving to the post-arrival stage, how do you capture your little ones’ rapid growth? Do you diligently take weekly baby photos, or do you prefer a monthly photo approach to chronicle their milestones? When we first embarked on this weekly photo project with Clara, we weren’t entirely sure if we could sustain the commitment of weekly pictures for her entire first year. Yet, surprisingly and wonderfully, it quickly blossomed into something we genuinely looked forward to, a cherished ritual that brought us immense joy and created a treasure trove of memories. We’re holding onto that same hopeful anticipation for Teddy’s project, confident that it will bring just as much fun and fulfillment. So far, it has been an absolutely great time, filled with laughter and love. You really should hear Clara from the sidelines, actively coaching her little brother during his photoshoots – her commentary is priceless. We might just have to capture that on tape for posterity!