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Baby's first Thanksgiving photo ideas

You can take the Thanksgiving photo and the monthly photo as one picture. Put this month's sticker on the onesie, and keep the rest of the setup plain.

How old will baby be?

A first Thanksgiving can fall in any month of the first year. Use the sticker for the month they are in that week.

If they were born in November, this is the newborn photo, and you use the first month sticker. If they were born earlier, count the months from that birthday and use that number. The blanket and the props show the holiday. The sticker keeps the photo in the year, so you can tell it from the other months later.

A smile is optional. If they are done after a minute, stop and try again later in the week with the same month sticker.

What should baby wear?

A plain onesie is enough. Choose a color you can see against the blanket, such as cream, rust, or a soft brown, and leave the face clear.

The sticker sits on the chest, so that part of the onesie stays uncovered. A bow, a vest, or a costume over the chest hides the month. If you want one extra piece, add a soft hat, and take it off if it slides toward the eyes. The onesie and the sticker still show the day.

Skip face paint. Skip feathers near the mouth, and skip anything with small parts they can pull off.

How do I set up the shot at home?

Take the photo in the daytime, on the floor, near a window, with the light coming from the side. Turn the flash off.

Use a blanket you already have. A solid color keeps the onesie and the sticker easy to see. Sit on the floor with them. If they can sit, sit beside them. If they are younger, lay them on the blanket. Hold the phone near their eye level. A photo from standing height often shows the top of the head and misses the sticker.

If the window is behind the baby, the face goes dark. Turn them so the light reaches the face. Monthly baby photos at home covers a plain background and a short session. Monthly baby photos with a phone covers focus, a short burst, and holding the phone still.

Stay with the baby the whole time. Don't set them on a table, a counter, or the arm of a couch to line up a prop. A baby can roll off a raised surface. If they can roll, keep this photo on the floor.

What props are safe and easy?

Use one or two things you can set on the floor, out of their hands. A cloth napkin, a small whole pumpkin, or a few leaves that stay in one piece are enough.

Leave the pumpkin whole. Don't carve it, and don't put a candle in it. Set it to the side, not in their lap, and move it back if they reach. Keep candy, nuts, beads, loose feathers, and small decorations out of reach. Don't hand them the sticker.

Take the photo before the meal, in a quiet room. Hot food and an open flame do not belong in the frame. If they grab a prop, take the prop out. You still have the onesie and the sticker.

How do I fit in the monthly sticker?

Press this month's sticker onto a clean, dry onesie before you start. Peel it off when the photo is done.

Monthly Onesie Stickers is the blue, turquoise, and gray necktie set, for a monthly photo on a onesie. The shop lists the sticker sets if you want to see them together. Using monthly stickers on a baby onesie covers which set to open if you have not picked one yet.

Check that you can read the month. If a hat or a napkin covers the sticker, move that piece. The month has to stay readable if this picture is also the monthly one. Don't leave the sticker where the baby can chew it. Peel it off before you put them down to rest.

If the week is hard, use the same month sticker on another day in November. If Thanksgiving passes, skip the pumpkin and take the regular monthly photo. The sticker still marks the picture. Baby's first Halloween photo ideas uses the same plan for October: one sticker, one small extra, and the photo on the floor.

• Monthly Onesie Stickers

  The blue, turquoise, and gray necktie set.

• Shop

  Onesie stickers and the rest of the shop.