If you’re having a baby or just had one, now is the time to plan how you’ll catalog the baby’s first year’s development. We’ve covered video in other articles on GreatDad.com, but here are a few ideas and tips for photos;
1. Start early. You’ll want photos even before the baby is born, including of your wife’s stomach, and then in the delivery room. No one needs a lot of photos of a bloody baby, and within a few years, you’ll realize that you’ll be deleting photos showing your baby’s private parts.
2. Take lots of close-ups of chubby little baby hands and feet.
3. Find a place in the house like a big chair where you can take a picture every week or month to give some perspective on how much they’ve grown.
4. Consider a “day in the life” theme, taking pictures of the little things in their, and your, life.
5. Add photos on a regular basis a photo sharing site or Mac’s iPhoto so your project is largely done by the time you get to finishing if off in time for first year birthday presents
Remember also that first year baby books, while a souvenir artifact that will help your child understand their roots, is largely for you to look back on lovingly years from now when your kids are teenagers and you’re ready to send them to boarding school.