How often do you get your child's picture taken?

[dhano923]

I mean professionally, like JCPenney or Picture People, not at-home shots.

I was talking to a friend about our kids and mentioned that I am going to be taking DD for her 6 month picture next month so I needed to find a good "first portrait" picture. She was shocked that I didn't take her in for pictures before 6 months! She said she takes her daughter in every other month for portraits.

We take DS in every 6 months for pics, so I was planning on following the same schedule for DD, but now I wonder if I am "supposed" to do it more often? I felt a bit guilty when she said that because I thought "OMG was I supposed to do that too?" I will admit that sometimes my friend is a bit overzealous when it comes to her daughter, but then she told me her neighbor takes her kids every 2 months too.

Am I in the minority here? Should I start taking DS and DD more often? (and on a related note, where the heck would you hang up so many portraits? LOL)

[aliceinwonderland]

never have, probably never will :)

[BaileyBea]

First you should take photos when you want to take photos. Don't listen to everyone else. A lot depends on your budget etc.

We have a professional child photographer that had a plan to take photos several times a year and she even did my maternity shots. We did every 3 months for the first year then we are doing every 6 months till he's 3 then once per year.

So newborn, 3mths, 6 mths, 9 mths, 12 mths, then 18 months etc...

I don't think you are in the minority. I only had one photo taken when I was 6 mths and a lot of my friends were the same way. I think now because photography is so accessible we take more photos. But really you should do them in a schedule you are comfortable with and don't worry about anyone else. :-)

ETA: I edited the 2 months to 3 months. I type too fast.

[thomma]

Do what works for you or what you're comfortable with. We didn't take ds and dd until they were a year old. It was a nightmare and haven't been back since. We might try again this summer. Lately the only shots I get are the ones of them running...
away from the camera! :)

Kim
t&e 5/03

[barbarhow]

What she said. :-)

[jenjenfirenjen]

Since there is no sitting fee, we have gone about every 3 months. We don't buy every shot or sometimes any shots if there are no good ones. I have place in our home for the latest 8X10. When we get a new one, it gets replaced. I have a very large family that lives out of state so I probably do it more often than I would just to keep them supplied with recent photos. I say do whatever you like.

[g-mama]

I do it very sporadically - not on any set timetable - and not very often, either. I've always been happier with the ones I take myself and get them enlarged for framing if I get one I really love.

~Kristen

Paolo 11-00
Benjamin 8-03
Marco 12-05

[LD92599]

We use Picture People whenever I have a coupon for a free sitting and free 8x10. We then stick soley w/ the free 8x10 and that's it.

Laura
mom to William

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[almostamom]

Whenever the mood strikes me or the need arises (I had one done for DH as a Valentine's gift) we have a picture done. Since there isn't a sitting fee, if he's dressed nicely and in a good mood we may just stop by and have a few done. That said, my absolute favorite one of him is the one we took ourselves at the pumpkin patch last October.

~Linda~
DS 11/9/04

[Lovingliv]

I found the picture people experience to be like poking my eye out. I went once (ok, actually 4 times) to get her 6 month shot and have not been back since.

[holliam]

Never. I take very good photos myself. :)

Holli

[elliput]

I have never taken DD for portraits, although she did have school pictures taken at daycare which are amazingly good. I personally prefer candids over posed photos, but maybe someday I'll take her in for portraits. We'll see. :-)

[aa2mama]

Most of the people that I know get professional pictures every 3 months. I feel like a slacker since I've only done pictures at 12, 18 and 28 months. All of them have been great, and I've resolved to do it more often.

[kath68]

Yup. *Maybe* I'll do a family portrait one of these days -- like for our 10th anniversary. But not likely.

[lilycat88]

We did do pictures every month for the first year. But...I did the package at Target that ranged from 9.99 - 12.99 each time. I don't hang them. I took an 8x10 from each month and put it in an album. We did a special fancier photo shoot at 1 year and incorporated photos taken with her in her birthday dress and her christening gown. That cost a fortune.

Overall, having all of those pictures has been one of the most fun things I've done.

[Melanie]

Early on, maybe 6 weeks, then with Ds it was 3 mo, 6 mo, 9 mo, 1 yr, 18 mo, 2 yr, Easter/3.5 yr, 4 yr...

It's trickier now that I have two, but the goals are the same. LOL. I was going to have an Easter one done but they were ill, I think I will still take them in together, soon, as I didn't get one of Ds and Dd for her 6 mo.

The hanging of them, that's the problem! I have some frames that I rotate pictures in, but there are some which are favorites and don't get rotated out (and into an album). I am definitely running out of frames and space!

[jeniferrlynne]

So far we haven't paid to take him anywhere and he is 5months.
My Brother in Law has a professional grade ($2000) digital camera he got on ebay and so we have done some setups ourselves. I don't plan to pay anytime soon. We did a 4week announcement pic in time for Christmas, a 3month and a 5month pic in time for Easter. So I guess we are pretty random but somewhat coordinated with the holidays :)

[linsei]

We did every 3 months for his 1st year, and every 6 months now. I try to go every time his looks change :)

Linda

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[maestramommy]

I just took DD in for her 6th month (first time). We did a 2 session membership so I'll take her again when she's a year old. After that probably nothing until #2 comes along. Then we might sign up for a 5 session membership so we can take a family photo. DD could just sit up when we went in and she hated tummy time until she was over 4 months, so I'm glad I didn't try for a 3,6,9,12 month baby panel which our photog also offered.

[RwnMayfair]

Every month for the first year, and then yearly after that. :) I have a portrait wall going at the moment. ;) Eventually most of them will end up in books as the kids get older, though.

-Melissa

Taran, November 20, 2003
Elowen, August 20, 2005

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[buddyleebaby]

I posted the same question a few months ago!
With my dd, we did her newborn picture at home. We take tons of pictures at home and all of my favorite shots of dd I have taken by myself. So you don't HAVE to go to a studio.
Then we took her for professional shots at 3, 6, and 9 months, and will take her when she turns a year. After that we will only take her on her birthday, I think.
I just took her to JCPENNEY and used the coupons for no sitting fee, 3.99 a sheet and got one 8x10 per visit, because we did have to worry about keeping the price low.
I have her portraits hanging on the wall of the living room in age order, with space reserved underneath for the new baby.

[dhano923]

Thanks ladies. I didn't think my photo schedule was strange but for some reason, my friend put a tiny doubt in my mind!

We do most of our pictures at home/park/grandparent's house, etc. My hubby is actually a photographer on the side. :) So he has a couple professional cameras and we do candids and posed shots in more natural settings (ie. no backdrops!). We do the JCPenney portraits so that we have a variety of pictures for the albums and to send to extended family.

My dad is also an avid photographer with his own "super camera" so between my hubby, dad, my brother and myself, my kids get their pictures taken like 100 times a week! LOL

[KBecks]

We did something like

6 weeks
4 months
8 months
12 months

and next we'll do 18 months and 2 years.

After that, we may go once a year and just try to take more home shots in-between.

I'm trying to do it when there is quite noticeable physical change... and also I wasn't regimented enough to get the 3-6-9 exactly on time :)

[pb&j]

Never. DH is a professional photographer, and neither of us care for portrait studio posed portraits of babies.


-Ry,
mom to Emma, stillborn 11/04/04
and Max, 01/05/06

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[Dcclerk]

We've had someone out taking our family's picture twice, and never been to a studio. However, I have a pretty good camera, and I take a TON of pictures of my kids. In fact, my office at work is lovingly referred to by all as "the Gallery."

For those that don't get them done at a studio, one thing I do, though, is print them professionally. I REALLY like White House Custom Colour if you do digital. (www.whcc.com) It's for professional photographers and there are a lot of hoops to jump through to get set up, but their printing is absolutely fantastic. I've been playing around with metallic paper, having them mounted on boards, etc., and everything is really reasonable. Obviously, they are not as cheap as Costco or something like that, but I had some pictures printed at WHCC and Costco to compare, and I can say that for me, without any hesitation, I prefer the WHCC and think it is worth the extra money.

[jhaud]

my intention when doing pictures of dd, is that it is something i would be able to maintain for any future children. the plan is this: every 2 months the first year then every 6 months for another year or two, and a family portrait on our anniversary. dd is 20 mo and it has worked for us. initially there was no sitting fee at sears as we are military, but since then we have joined smile savers... the cost of that was less than the sitting fee for the projected year.

do what works for you! after all in the end, they are your momentos to look back at. as for sharing pics with family (we do share the prints with our parents and brothers and smaller ones for others) we use 4x6 prints as postcards to send out periodically during the year so that our families can see dd as we do not live near either of our families.

[kedss]

We've never done the professional pics, we just take tons of pics ourselves. I think we have thousands of digital pics on our computer, its almost a family joke how many pics we take. :)

[amp]

We do every 3 mths for the 1st year (starting at 3 mths) and then every 6mos or once a year, depending on the occasion (birthday, Christmas)

[candybomiller]

We had Matt's picture taken at 6 months.

He'll be 4 next month.

[ribbit1019]

We follow the same schedule. The first year was rough we tried Target, JC Penney, Sears and Picture People. We found Kiddie Kandids for her 9 month and they were great, but a fair distance from the house. We took her there for her 1 year photos too. But for her 18 month we took her to Portrait Innovations. We customers for life now. Their system works well for us. DD doesn't like to be "posed" and their candid photography style is perfect for her. They get her sort of where they want her and then let her play or walk around. The only exception is the family protraits since we all need to be together for those. ;) In addition, I am spending half of what I used to spend on photos because of their awesome $9.95 package. I am very lucky that they are only 20 minutes from us.

I am very excited that DS's 3 month falls on DD's two year. One trip sounds good to me....

Christy
My Waterbabies
Maddy born 6/9/04
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[mamato1]

We did newborn, 3 mos, 6mos, 9 mos, 1 year, 18 mos and 2 years. we will probably go every 6months for awilhe and then once a year.

that being said, I have spent a small fortune on pictures that are still sitting in the envelope they came in. I know I will be glad down the line, but right now I think I have overdone it!
Chris

Mama to Brendan (aka Boomer) 01/04


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[MelissaTC]

His first year, I had pictures done at 1 month, 5 months, 7 months, 9 months and one year. Incidently, they all coincided with a major holiday. We then switched to twice a year, his birthday in June and then Christmas. It works out to every 6 months. They also take "school" pictures at preschool and I am suckered into those every time!!!!!

[smilequeen]

Everyone is different. There is no reason you have to do it at all, as others have said :)

We did 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months. Then we did some Easter shots and we'll do 18 months, and then probably 2 years. Not sure after that.

Our photographer is awesome though, and I am just not good at taking pictures myself.

[Globetrotter]

There are no rules! Some people like portraits. Others don't.. do what you feel is right.

However, I do wish I'd done more for dd. She had her first portrait at 9 months, but I wish I had gone in much earlier. I feel like I missed an amazing opportunity as she really looked like a doll with little ringlets (she was mistaken for a doll on a few occasions LOL).
I do have good pictures taken from my camera, but the backgrounds are awful :(

My friend has displayed portraits of her three kids during the first year (At 3, 6, 9 and 12 months) and put them in three consecutive rows at the top of her staircase. I loved that idea, so I did it for ds and I'm trying to salvage some pictures for the first few months of dd's life (hoping to erase the background, which doesn't seem very easy). After the first year, I like to go once a year.

I recently found a photographer who will come to the house and take her time. The results were far superior to the usual studios. She has a sitting fee, so I'm thinking I'll do that once a year and get both kid's annual portraits and maybe a family shot done at that time.

I display the portraits on the staircase wall, and also a few other walls.

Kris

[Splash]

Charlie's are done the third Saturday of every month, starting when he was 10 days old. We have about 150 sheets of pictures in the house.
We buy between 15-20 sheets each time, and give a lot of them away. Then we hang our favorites and put the rest in an album. We have an album of all 8x10 and one of all 5x7.
We do them at Sears.
And I shoot an average of about 200 a month of him at home.

But we have a digital so it doesn't cost me anything to take the pictures (I end up getting about 30-40 a month developed) and the district manager for Sears Portrait is a good friend of mine, so I get everything at cost. It costs us about $40 a month.

There are NO pictures of me as a baby/child. Okay, some, but not many. My mom was always sick and dying, so pictures of the kid took a back burner. I want Charlie to have tons of pictures. Even if he doesn't have skin in half of them.

[hez]

I took Payton at ~2 or 3 months for his first, but generally speaking stick to his birthday and once or twice a year max besides that. This year we ended up with Christmas pics 'cause we had the family done too, but haven't gone in since then (going on 6 months). Pretty much, I do 'em when the mood strikes-- otherwise, we've taken tons of candids at home!

You're right, though, even with the few professional shoots we've done, I'm running out of shelf & wall space :)

[AngelaS]

I take my girls in every 3 months for the first 2 years and then every 6 months after that. In between we might do a family picture or a picture of all three of them together.

I bought the 'Frequent Flier' (totally blanking on the name right now!) card for JCPenneys and I always use a coupon and just buy the package for $6.99 or so.

[TraciG]

we did Sydney's omce at around 16 months , she now 2 1/2 yeah where would you hang all the pictures ??

[ett]

We had professional pics of DS done at 1 year at Picture People. The pictures were overpriced and the photo session felt very rushed, so we haven't been back since. We have no plans to do them anytime soon since DS runs from the camera every time we take it out.

Do whatever is comfortable for your budget.

[Smiles81]

So far we have done them at 4 months, 1 year, and 2 years.

Reena
Mom to Dovi 3/16/04

[pixelprincess]

I did the Sears portrait club thing when DS was a baby and it didn't work out. I didn't like the pics and felt that I could do a better job. Although, I'd love to do so pics by hiring a "real" photographer...someone that doesn't do canned pics.

[starrynight]

First kid, every few months.
Second kid, birth, 2 months, 1 year
Third kid, birth, 1 year family portrait.

Ahem...in my defense I got sick of paying for every month or every holiday pics. I take some at home and then with free print offers or cheap prints that I can order with sales/coupon codes I can do just as good and get more poses printed. Plus my youngest has sensory issues, trying to get her to chill out for 1-2 or more hours waiting our turn at sears and then still hoping for good pics was too much. I would show up early or on time and still have to wait, forget that!

Also you are right about hanging them, when I realized I had more in a drawer or keepsake box than on the wall it was time to stop. At least the 4X6 I print can go in an album. I occassionally have the really great ones blown up to 5x7 or 8x10.

We still plan on doing 1 family portrait once every other year at a pro place. Going to do it this Christmas I think.

Honestly you are only "supposed" to do what you feel like ;). Don't worry about keeping up with everyone else.