Turning one is such a momentous occasion for both the baby and parents. I know first hand how hard, yet extremely rewarding that first year is! I remember feeling so emotional on my son’s first birthday, because it was the end of a chapter of my life that I’ll never forget. It was a year full of ups and downs as I learned how to be a parent and I learned about this new little person in my life. Every moment of that year was filled with firsts, as he learned more every day.
At one year old, you are so excited that your little one is ending infancy, but also so sad to know that your tiny little baby is growing more independent.
That’s why I love doing one year old photos. It’s such an amazing time in their journey. They are still babies in so many ways, yet their brains are bursting with new information every day. Some of them are walking and saying a few words at this point. Some are still figuring out how to stand. No matter where they are at this stage, they are such a joy to be around and I love capturing happy little moments of them.
For Clara’s first birthday pictures, Mom gave me a lot of free range to create a set. She said she likes soft colors, and when I suggested we use flowers, she was down! She sent me a photo of the outfit she had in mind, and I used this to choose the flowers I used to make the garland for the backdrop.
Baby Clara is definitely in that stage where she has to be by Mommy’s side at ALL times. This made it a little difficult when Mom set her down for photos. It also made it a bit difficult when we tried to get photos with just Dad and Baby!
We eventually figured out that if Mom went into the other room, and I used my best baby-attention-getting techniques, we could get the shot!
I loved how everything came together with the floral garland, her outfit, the flowers in the foreground, and all the props. All the colors looked so pretty and soft. This was probably my favorite set to date!
We wanted to do some Christmas photos as well, so Mom put Clara in a gray dress, while I put together my second set.
Using some wooden panels from Lowes, I created a faux wooden wall and floor that I feel like gives perfect wintery Christmas cabin vibes.
We also utilized the fact that they had their Christmas tree set up by their front window, which gave lots of beautiful natural light, to get some family shots. Look how cute they are in their matching pajamas!
By the end of the photoshoot, Clara was definitely done. We made sure to get some happy photos, but I still included some of the sillier photos in their gallery. They might not be the most “aesthetic” but I know they always make the families laugh. This one was even on the Christmas card!
Overall, I love the amount of variety we were able to get all in one photo session. This is why I love doing in-home sessions with my portable studio!
