First birthday photo ideas

One-year-olds won’t pose, so the best first birthday photos come from things they already love: frosting, bubbles, wrapping paper, the people they know. Here are 18 easy ideas for the party and the days around it, with the safety basics first.

Keep it safe and simple

Buckle them into the high chair or keep them on a mat on the floor, with an adult within arm’s reach the whole time. Never stand or sit a baby on a table or counter for a photo. Keep candles, latex balloons and small decorations out of reach, and pop and bin any burst balloon straight away. Schedule the photos right after a nap and a snack, and stop when they’re done.

Cake and party

1. The first taste Offer one fingertip of frosting and shoot their face at the first lick. The confused look comes before the delight.
2. The cake smash A small cake on the high chair tray or on a mat on the floor, a bib or a simple onesie, a towel nearby. More in our cake smash photo ideas.
3. The singing face When everyone sings, crouch in front at their eye level and shoot the look of total confusion.
4. Helping with the candle Babies can’t blow candles out, so a parent or sibling does it with the baby on a lap. Keep the candle out of grabbing range.
5. Frosting everywhere After the smash: frosting in the hair, on the ears, on both palms held up. Shoot it before the cleanup.
6. The bath after A parent’s hands rinsing frosting off in the baby tub, one hand always on the baby.
7. More interested in the box Give them a present and shoot them ignoring it for the paper and the box.
8. A soft crown, about to come off A fabric crown or party hat will last ten seconds. Shoot the second they pull it off; that’s the real photo.
9. Bubbles in the backyard Blow bubbles above them and shoot from low as they reach up. Works every time.

Milestones and family

1. The month-by-month lineup Print their monthly photos, lay them in a row on the floor, and sit them at the end of the row. They’ll grab one; let them.
2. Back on the newborn blanket Lay or sit them on the same blanket from their first photos. The blanket shrank; they didn’t.
3. Cruising the couch If they’re pulling up or taking first steps, sit low at the end of the couch and shoot a burst as they come toward you.
4. Big foil “1” behind them Tie a foil number one to the chair behind them, out of their hands, and shoot them sitting in front of it.
5. Kisses from both sides Both parents kiss a cheek at the same moment. Shoot the squished face in the middle.
6. Up in the air A parent lifts them overhead with a firm hold, both laughing. Shoot from low so the sky is behind them.
7. Story time with a grandparent Their favorite board book on a grandparent’s lap, both pointing at the same page.
8. The wagon ride Party outfit, a wagon, a walk around the block. Shoot from the front as they wave at everything.
9. The big sibling showing how An older sibling demonstrates how to blow, clap or unwrap while the baby watches. Shoot both faces.

Make your first birthday photos move

In Add effects, free sticker packs fit the party: Classic has a party hat, a crown and a balloon, Things to hold has a cake and a gift, and Vibes has confetti and bubbles. Pick a pack and they land on your little one in about a second; drag a sticker to fix it or tap Shuffle for a new set. The stickers keep moving in the saved Live Photo.

Puff, also free, puffs up the head or any spot you tap, like a frosting-covered hand, then bounces back. For a giggly shot, Lively makes people laugh, turn their heads and wave; it’s an AI tada made on Tada’s servers with OpenAI and xAI, and Tada asks you first (privacy).

iPhone tips for a first birthday

• Get on the floor. Shooting at their eye level makes a one-year-old look like a person, not a top of a head.
• Swipe the Shutter button left for a burst during the cake smash, the bubbles and first steps.
• Leave Live Photo on. A one-year-old’s expression changes every half second, and you can choose the key photo later.
• Use Portrait mode for the cake and the decorations before the party starts, while everything is still clean.

Questions

Sources: Apple Support: Take and edit Live Photos · Apple Support: Take Burst mode shots · Apple Support: Take portraits with your iPhone camera

More you can do

• Couple photo ideas
• Prom picture ideas
• Animate a photo
• Add stickers that move
• All guides