Book around the nap: our online start times are 6:30, 7:00 and 7:30 am and 5:00 and 5:30 pm, and other times can be arranged on WhatsApp. Stay close to your room, pause for every feed, and choose a length that suits your baby, from 35 to 90 minutes. There is no deposit, and the full gallery arrives in 1 to 3 business days.
A baby will not pose, will not wait for the light and has no idea the sun is going down. That is fine with us. Families bring 11-month-olds, one-year-olds and babies in arms to their Cancun sessions, and the photos come out best when the session is built around the baby: the nap, the feeds and the mood of the day. Here is how we plan family photos with a baby or a young toddler on vacation, what parents have written about it, and straight answers to the questions we hear most.
What Parents of Babies Tell Us
IVAE Studios is led by Vianey Díaz, who has more than ten years behind the camera. The studio has delivered more than 500 sessions and holds 5.0 across 73 Google reviews, 29 of which mention the children. Several of them come from families who brought a baby.
“It's not easy getting great shots with a baby, but Vianey was incredibly patient, playful, and made all of us feel comfortable from the start.”
Ivan S., Google review
Ivan's family came with an 11-month-old. Ibrahim S. wrote: “They were so good at getting us to feel natural and getting our 1 year old to smile.” Rose S. wrote: “They were both amazing with our baby and made our photoshoot so much fun!” You can read more of what parents say in our roundup of Cancun family photographer reviews. The rest of this guide is how we plan a session so a baby can be at their best.
Book Around the Nap, Not the Sunset
The most useful thing you can tell us when you book is your baby's nap and feeding rhythm, because we build the start time around it. A session that starts about an hour after your baby wakes beats any timetable on paper. A rested, recently fed baby gives us the good minutes. A tired one does not, however beautiful the light.
Online booking at ivaestudios.com/book offers five start times: 6:30, 7:00 or 7:30 in the morning, and 5:00 or 5:30 in the afternoon. If none of them fits your baby's day, message us on WhatsApp and we will look at other times.
The morning slots suit early risers. Little ones on vacation are usually awake at dawn anyway, the Hotel Zone beaches are at their quietest, the sand is still cool, and a sunrise session usually ends well before a late-morning nap. The afternoon slots suit a baby who naps after lunch and wakes up ready to play. Our guide to why sunrise often beats sunset with young kids compares the two.
Tell us when your baby usually naps and eats. We would rather start inside your baby's good hour than at the prettiest minute of the evening.
How Long Should a Session With a Baby Be?
There is no single right length, and our collections come in several sizes, each at a fixed published price. The Postcard, our shortest, is 35 minutes and 15 edited photos for 295 USD, and was made with couples in mind. The Keepsake is 45 minutes and 25 photos for 375 USD. The Chapter, 60 minutes and 35 photos for 475 USD, is the one we recommend for families, and the longer collections run to 90 minutes. All six are on our prices page.
A shorter session asks less of a baby. A longer one leaves room for a feed, a change and a reset without anyone watching the clock; as our guide to how long a family photoshoot takes with kids explains, the extra time goes to pauses, not to more posing. Short can work beautifully, too. Marouchka G. came with a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old:
“They organized a last minute sunset shoot for our family with great art direction, and made it fun, short and efficient”
Marouchka G., Google review
If your trip has already started, our guide to booking a last-minute family photographer in Cancun is the place to begin. Whichever collection you choose, you can upgrade anytime, paying only the difference.
Feeds, Tears and Pauses Are Part of the Plan
A session with a baby usually has a pause or two, and we plan for them rather than fight them. If your baby is hungry, we stop and you feed. If your baby cries, we pause, a parent scoops them up, and we keep photographing gently. A baby curled into a parent's shoulder after the tears is often one of the most tender images a family takes home.
None of this is lost time. For us, the youngest child's break is the schedule, not an interruption to it. When your baby has reset, we start again, and when your baby is truly done, we stop. There is no pressure from us. The same approach, for children who are already running, is in our guide to family photos with toddlers in Cancun.
Stay Close to the Crib
With a baby, the best location is usually the nearest one. Your own resort beach or a garden path means no transfer, no car seat and no overtired arrival, and you stay minutes from the crib, the bottle warmer and a clean change. We plan around the youngest, with short walks and shade, and we photograph across the Hotel Zone, Playa Mujeres, Costa Mujeres and the Riviera Maya, on your resort beach or a quieter stretch of public beach nearby.
For the youngest babies, the session can stay out of the sun: first-year sessions are kept gentle and lifestyle-led, in the soft light of your suite or on a shaded terrace, at the baby's own pace. If your baby is only days or weeks old, read our guide to newborn photography in Cancun resorts. If this is your baby's first trip abroad, our guide to photographing a first family trip covers each age, from newborn to toddler.
One practical note: some hotels charge a fee for an outside photographer. You pay it to the hotel, and we confirm your resort's rule before the session.
Babies Don't Pose, and That Is Fine
We never ask a baby to perform. Babies who are not walking yet are usually content to be held, so we let you hold, play and walk, and we work around the edges, catching the glances between you. Expect your baby to ignore us at first. That is normal, and the first minutes are a warm-up for everyone.
Once your little one is on the move, the session becomes about following. We crouch, we chase, we let them dig, and we get the parents playing so we can photograph the reaction. A shell, the foam of a retreating wave or a swing up into a parent's arms earns more real laughter than any request to smile.
We take the group portrait first, while everyone is fresh, baby included. There is no limit on the number of people and no per-person charge, so grandparents, aunts and cousins are welcome. Huong's family was seven adults and one baby:
“We had a family of 7 adults and one baby and the pictures turned out beautiful!”
Huong, Google review
Planning for a bigger group? Our guide to a large family photoshoot in Cancun covers it.
What to Bring and Wear
Protect the nap, then arrive fed: a baby who slept and ate within the hour before we meet is ready to enjoy it. Pack a backup outfit, the favorite pacifier or comfort toy, a muslin wrap, snacks if your little one is old enough, water, and sunscreen applied well before we meet so it has dried.
Dress the baby in soft, breathable fabrics they already know, nothing brand new, and skip the shoes: bare feet are perfect on the sand. Bring a sun hat in the bag rather than insisting on it. For the rest of the family, soft coordinated tones photograph better than exact matching, bright logos or busy prints, and linen and cotton survive being crawled on. Our guide on what to wear for a family photoshoot in Mexico has the full palette.
Let's Plan Yours
Tell us your baby's age, the usual nap and feeding times, your dates and your resort, and we will suggest a start time and a spot that suit your baby. There is no deposit: you pay at the end of the session, and a sneak peek arrives within 24 hours. You can book directly at ivaestudios.com/book, or read more about our family sessions in Cancun first. Vianey Díaz and the team will take it from there, at your baby's pace.
Frequently Asked Questions
Parents of babies say so in their own Google reviews. Ivan S., who came with an 11-month-old, wrote that Vianey was “incredibly patient, playful, and made all of us feel comfortable from the start.” Ibrahim S. wrote that the team was so good at “getting our 1 year old to smile”. Rose S. said they were “amazing with our baby”, and Marouchka G. described a session with a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old as “fun, short and efficient”.
Online booking at ivaestudios.com/book offers 6:30, 7:00 and 7:30 am, and 5:00 and 5:30 pm; other times can be arranged on WhatsApp. Choose the slot that falls after a nap, ideally about an hour after your baby wakes. The quiet morning slots often suit early risers, and 5:00 or 5:30 pm may suit a baby who naps after lunch.
It depends on your baby. Our two shortest collections are The Postcard, 35 minutes and 15 edited photos for 295 USD, made with couples in mind, and The Keepsake, 45 minutes and 25 photos for 375 USD. The Chapter, 60 minutes and 35 photos for 475 USD, is the one we recommend for families, and the longer collections run to 90 minutes. A shorter session asks less of a baby; a longer one leaves room for feeds and resets. You can upgrade anytime, paying only the difference.
We pause. You feed or comfort your baby, and we start again once they reset; there is no pressure from us. If your baby cries, a parent scoops them up and we keep photographing gently, because those minutes in a parent's arms often become some of the most tender images of the day.
Yes. There is no limit on the number of people and no per-person charge. Huong's family, for example, was seven adults and one baby. We take the group portrait first, while the baby and everyone else are fresh, and then the smaller groupings.
There is no deposit. You pay at the end of the session, by card or in cash, and cancellation is free up to one day before. A sneak peek arrives within 24 hours and the full private 4K gallery in 1 to 3 business days, with unlimited downloads and print rights.