When should I take baby’s photos? | Northwest Indiana Natural Light Photographer

One of the questions that friends and family ask me most often is–when is the “right” time to take photographs of my new baby? Though there isn’t one “right” answer, I am going to tell you guys all the reasons why this is what I suggest to family, friends and clients alike. I love taking photographs of new babies, and I love kids. Anyone who knows me will tell you this, and there are so many photographers out there (especially portrait studios) who will tell you that you “HAVE TO” get your baby’s photographs made every three months during the first year.

Welp, I disagree. I think you should get your baby’s photographs done a little less often (gasp!). Let me tell you why…

First, newborn photos. Newborn photos are CRAZY important to get. Anyone who has EVER been a parent will tell you that your baby is only a newborn for a short time, and when I say short, I mean SHORT. Typically, newborn photographers will only take “newborn” pictures for the first 14 days of the baby’s life. This is when their behavior mimics the behavior in the womb, and that’s how we get those adorable, squishy poses out of your sweet babies.

Newborn Baby

This is gorgeous Ashland. See how she is so comfy all squished together like that? You can’t do that with a 1 month old baby.

Newborn Northwest Indiana

This is Abigail at just about a week old. She slept wonderfully (once we got her asleep), and it’s all because of her age!

Newborn NWI

This is Alison, and she was AMAZING. I was able to pose her like this because she was still a newborn.

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Alison again. Who doesn’t love a baby in a bucket?

Newborn photographer Northwest Indiana

This is also a great time to get some photographs with new big brothers/sisters. The baby will let anyone hold him/her. These boys are the cutest!

Chicagoland Newborn Photographer

So cute. I can’t stand it.

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Beautiful Lucia at 9 days old. She snuggled up perfectly, and I love her.

Babies change so quickly the first few months, and the next time I suggest having photographs done (by me, duh!) is when they are around 4 months old. The reason for this one is pretty simple. Most four month olds can hold their heads up pretty well. A lot of 3 month olds cannot. Both of my boys had gigantic heads(seriously) and had trouble holding their heads up for long periods of time when they were 3 months old. But, by four months old they did amazing. They were also still small enough that they weren’t rolling around a TON, and they are fairly immobile, which is great too because then you can use a lot of props.

Baby photographs nwi

This is the perfect example of the head situation. Crosby has a giant head, and by 4 months he did an amazing job holding it up to capture this gorgeous image.

Another bonus is that they are so much more expressive by four months old. I get a ton of variety of expressions–smiles, gurgles, coos, and serious faces too!

Baby photographs

You can also still get away with a bit of naked-ness.

I love the natural, playful tone of this image.

Cute boy

Cute boy.

The next time to take photos should be between 6-8 months. In my opinion, you should be closer to 8 months than to 6 months. By this time, your little one is doing all sorts of new things. Most importantly, sitting up by themselves pretty well. This opens up a whole new level of photographs. Some babies do this earlier, which is why I have a range here. However, by eight months the majority of little ones are sitting up pretty well and are able to do a lot of different things, some are crawling, and some are even pulling themselves up which again mean that you will have a great variety of images to choose from!

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So much expression by this age! I love it!

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Crawling opens up a whole new world for pictures!

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So does sitting up! What a big girl!

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Another thing I love about this age is that I feel like you can FINALLY do things with cute outfits. Babies no longer look uncomfortable in clothes, or like they are too big for them!

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Cutie.

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Just cute.

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Crosby is so excited to be sitting up!

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And the differences in expressions are amazing!

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More props too!

Then, last at one year old! I love one year pictures! Babies can pull themselves up, most are standing on their own, some are walking (or walking holding on to Mama or Daddy’s hand, which is just as cute!); and also…CAKE SMASHES. I just love everything about one year pictures.

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There is NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING cuter than twin girls.

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Love this little guy. How cute is he? He was a walking fool at his one-year session.

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Love it! They can sit (safely) in chairs now, and stand with them. It’s just so cute.

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Babies standing up. So cute.

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Intense cake eating. I love it.

Welp, that’s what I suggest for your baby. Once they are over a year, I would still do one more session at 18 months, and after that things tend to slow down, so yearly sessions should be good! Though, I do love a good themed session once-in-a-while too.

To set up your session with Rebecca Hoyle Photography check out my website, or click the contact me button under this post to email me!

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Chicagoland Natural Light Maternity Session | Golden Session

A few weeks ago (sorry guys, I am terribly behind in blogging), I was fortunate enough to meet a beautiful, and super-fun couple–Rachelle and Dan. They are expecting a little boy in a few weeks, and I was super excited to travel into the city and shoot their maternity photos. They are one of those couples that (1) is way cooler than I am (for example, Dan has done the Polar plunge several times, how cool (or crazy?) is that?) and (2) that I secretly want to be friends with outside of photography.

Well, I will stop babbling on and just show you their cuteness. I can’t wait to meet their little one!

Chicago Maternity photography

We were able to get outside for a few images, and while the images LOOK warm, I promise you that it was FREEZING outside. We stopped to do a few images under the El, and they are some of my favorites. How gorgeous is she?

Chicago skyline maternity session

Those booties were Dan’s, and they are so cute. I love when clients bring things from their childhood!

Chicagoland maternity photographer

They are both so cute. This is one of my favorite images from their session. I love the natural light, I love how natural they look, and I love how everything about this image will remind them of this time in their lives when they look back at it. It’s awesome.

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I just love this. Seriously, how adorable are these two?

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The light here was so great, and that baby bump is so cute I can hardly stand it. Why can’t I look this good when I’m pregnant? It’s totally unfair.

Maternity photographer Chicago

Just gorgeous. Also, I’m pretty sure that I referred to the Hancock building as the Sears tower during this shoot, which is incredibly embarrassing. Sorry guys.

Maternity photographer Chicago

Beautiful, just beautiful.

Maternity session Chicago skyline

I just love them. Can’t you just tell how loved their little man is going to be?

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Such great colors, and such cute clients!

Natural Light Photographer NWI

Beautiful. Rachelle and I waited for good weather, and while we didn’t get great weather, we definitely got beautiful light!

Natural Maternity Chicagoland

I cannot get over how awesome she looks!

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Love, just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this!

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We were FREEZING during this shot, but you can’t tell at all! They are amazing!

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I love a couple that will PLAY together. Seriously, this picture is one of my favorites!

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Okay, this picture is just adorable to me. Did I mention that it was COLD!? Because here’s Dan between poses making sure Rachelle is warm and cozy. What a good husband, and he’s going to be an awesome Daddy!

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So cute. Unfairly cute.

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Beautiful!

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One more skyline one, because I just love it! They will always remember this crazy winter!

I told you that they were cute! I love going into the Chicagoland area for Maternity/Newborn sessions, and I was so happy to meet Dan and Rachelle, and I can’t wait to go back to meet their little man!

Congratulations guys!

If you’re interested in booking a Maternity/Newborn session please check out my website or email me!

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Baby Lucia 11 days new | Chicagoland Newborn Photography

A few weeks ago, I traveled into the Chicagoland area to do a natural light newborn photography session. I was able photograph a truly beautiful family as they welcomed the lovely Lucia into their family(or Lulu…which, seriously, I cannot even deal with how adorable that is…it’s too much cute for one name). Their apartment was literally one of the most beautifully decorated spaces I’ve ever been in, and their baby…gorgeous. I was jealous. I’ve worked with their (extended) family before, and I was honored to be able to capture the newest addition to the family.

Newborn Family Photography

I can’t even take how much I love this image.

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I’m cheating a bit here, and going out of order. These are some of the last images we shot, but I am IN LOVE with the results. Such beautiful light! Not to mention, the beautiful Mama and baby!

Mother and newborn daughter

I just can’t. I love this. LOVE.

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This is another one of my favorite images from Lucia’s session. She is absolutely perfect!

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Beautiful little one. See how perfect she is!?

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This hat was a perfect hat for Lucia, who was born in one of the worst winters Chicago has seen in quite a while. She looks so warm and snuggly.

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This is one of my favorite bonnets, and Lucia makes it look even better!

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I love that we got her lounging AND a sweet little smile. It’s so cute!

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I love everything about this image. Everything. She couldn’t be cuter.

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I love how she snuggled right up in here. So precious.

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She is just perfect. I can’t get over it.

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I love baby profiles!

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Love this sweet kiss.

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I may, or may not, have said that I wanted to “steal” their bed. Howe beautiful is that wood? This is another one of my favorites from the session, I love how natural it is, just a sweet, new family enjoying their little one.

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I’ve had the pleasure of working with Nancy (Grandma) a few times before, and it was an honor to have her there to be able to capture a photo of the three generations.

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And you can see where Lucia gets her beauty from right here. It’s almost unfair that so much cuteness is in one family. Simply gorgeous.

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Are you kidding me? Her sweet toes and her sweet fingers in the same picture! Beautiful!

I just love photographing these moments for my clients, and to be able to meet Lucia, and her lovely parents, was an honor.

If you’re interested in scheduling a newborn session please email me at rebecca@rebeccahoylephotography.com or message me through

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Chicagoland Natural Light Newborn Photographer | Baby Ashland 11 days new

A few weeks ago, on an absolutely FREEZING Chicago day, I ventured into the city to take photographs of newborn Ashland and her new Mommy and Daddy! In case you don’t know this…I love babies, something terrible. If my husband would allow it, I would have like 10 children. Alas, I have to settle for snuggling newborn babies instead of 10 of my own.

In this case, it was ALMOST as awesome. Baby Ashland is simply beautiful, and such a little peanut! I loved photographing her and meeting this gorgeous family (just wait–they are seriously gorgeous–you are going to die when you see how awesome Mama looks 11 days postpartum).

Beautiful newborn photography chicago

How gorgeous is Ashland? Seriously she is too perfect.

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That adorable little face. It’s just too much. She was so warm and cozy in that adorable hat!

Chicagoland natural light newborn photographer

I just could not get over how beautiful she is! She was a champ too!

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Beautiful new family. There is just something so emotional about images of brand new parents. I just love it.

Chicagoland natural light newborn photography

Beautiful. So simple, so perfect.

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Did I tell you? It’s just unfair how awesome Mama looks.

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Beautiful family.

Motherhood photography chicagoland

I always love to get at least a few pictures of new moms. Sometimes I have to coax them into it (because they feel blah!), but it’s so worth it!

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Love. Just so full of love.

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Those lips, that little nose, that cute headband.

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Too cute. She’s just too cute.

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I just love her all snuggled up in this wrap. It’s so sweet.

Newborn photographer nwi

She looks like a little princess here!

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Just perfect.

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Perfect little profile. Just perfect.

Love her sweet hat and sweet face

Thank you so much for giving me the honor to capture Ashland while she is brand new. She is gorgeous! Congratulations!

If you’re interested in a newborn session; it’s best to schedule early! Click here for more information!

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Northwest Indiana Natural Family Photographer | Yerga Extended Family

A few weeks ago, back when the weather was gorgeous I had the opportunity to photograph a beautiful extended family. They had two of the CUTEST little boys I’ve ever seen–Cormac and Jase. Even the names are cute. Cormac’s mom and dad had a very special surprise to share at the end of their session–which is why it’s taken me so long to get this preview up! But I couldn’t wait to share this beautiful family with you guys!

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One of my favorite things when photographing an extended family is getting shots of the Grandparents with their grand babies. How cute are those boys? I’m serious.

Grandparent photography nwi

Those boys are pretty lucky to have such awesome grandparents!

Grandparents photography nwi

We also were able to get photos of “Grandma and Grandpa” together, which was great!

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This is my favorite of them from the session. In fact, I love it so much that it’s in black and white too!

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See?

Extended family photographer nwi

I just love this. We did this photo session in Grandma and Grandpa’s backyard, which is so sweet because then they have all these photographs in the space where they actually play with their grandkids. And also, it’s pretty gorgeous, right?

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Just love it!

Extended family photography nwi

I just love when people bring their dogs. It’s so awesome!

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I love being able to photograph individual families during extended family sessions! Jase thought I was hilarious…or maybe Grandpa was playing with him behind me. I am not sure.

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Even the doggie is smiling! So cute!

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Just so cute!

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I just love this. Such a beautiful family!

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Cormac had a special announcement for everyone! He’s going to be a BIG BROTHER! 🙂 So excited to be a part of the announcement!

Baby 2 announcement nwi

I hope baby #2 looks just like Cormac, because I cannot imagine anyone cuter than he is.

big brother nwi

This little man was such a ham, and I loved every second of it!

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Cormac–you are ALL SORTS OF HANDSOME!

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I always love when we can get some pictures of families being real and natural!

I told you it was a beautiful session! Thanks so much for letting me take these images of your beautiful family!

If you’re interested in booking a session, or learning more about Rebecca Hoyle Photography click here! or click contact me at the bottom of this page!

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