I love that so many of my clients have been opting to do family sessions in place of the traditional cake smash photo session. A first birthday is the perfect milestone to update those family photos. I often encourage my clients to get into the frame with their children and this is especially true when a client opts to do an outdoor session in place of the studio.

I recently photographed this family, whom I first met 11 months ago when I photographed them in their home for a lifestyle newborn session. I loved that I was able to see how much baby M has grown over the year and she was an absolute delight to photograph. She was all smiles and giggles throughout the session. I usually schedule my sessions an hour before sunset, but in the Summer months this time of day can be problematic for children because sunset coincides with bedtime. I can work around that time of day and shoot an hour or even an hour and a half earlier by scheduling the session at an outdoor location that provides lots of trees to filter the light. I am glad we moved the start time for this session because our birthday girl was so happy and I was able to capture some really sweet moments.

Mom dressed the family in a palette of blue, which I absolutely adore. I try to keep things simple for my clients and I provide a Pinterest board for each session that is updated by me weekly with outfits from online vendors. Moms can essentially shop my board for outfits for their families, which is what my client did for this session. In fact, her dress is from one of my favorite online vendors. To commemorate Miss M’s first birthday, I brought along one of my boho romper and headband sets. I keep a variety of rompers in stock that I use for my six month and one year old sessions and my clients are always welcome to use them.

It was a pleasure to work with this sweet family again. The hour flew by and I just love their gallery of images. Here are a few of my favorites from the session.

If you are interested in a session, contact me.