Three Annual Must-have Childhood Photos

There are so many fun childhood photos and capturing them is my favorite part of my job. As a mom of four kids aged 6-13 years (as of 2022), I’ve been busy photographing childhood in my family for a while now.

Today I’m sharing three easy ideas for childhood photos from infancy through the teen years. These are photos I would include in any photo session, but you can capture them on your own too.

Childhood Photo #1: The Smile Update

Kids’ smiles change every year. If the eyes are the window to the soul, the smile is the window into the heart. Even on the toughest of parenting days, seeing our kids’ genuine smiles melts our hearts. Be sure to capture that grin often.

Pro tip: try this on a day with thin cloud cover and have your child look up just a bit toward the sky for nice even light on their face.

Childhood Photo #2: How Tall are You?

As kids grow, it’s fun to have some photos that show just how short — or tall — they are each year. The key is to include the child’s entire body and a point of reference. Eventually there might be photos showing that the child is taller than one or both parents!

Just be sure to to take a step back and capture a photo that shows how much your kiddo has grown since last year!

Childhood Photo #3: Parent(s) and Child

Parenting keeps us busy, especially for those of us with a job and/or multiple kids! It is so easy to forget to get in the frame, especially if you are the parent who takes most of the family pictures. (Sidenote: I’ve left some room for improvement here…)

Be sure to get at least one photo of you with each of your babies (fur babies included!) each year.

I love photos that highlight the stories and connections unique to each season. These types of childhood photos are an important part of every family session as well as senior photo sessions.