When Kea emailed me to schedule a family session with some focus on her youngest daughter’s first birthday, I was so excited! I’ve been working with them since Kea was pregnant with their second child and have loved every session with them. They’re such a loving and fun family, and their kids all have so much personality! Because I’m also a mom of three, I really enjoy photographing big kids and larger families - a little bit of chaos never scares me! ;) (and who are we kidding, sometimes it’s a LOT of chaos!)
We sent over the style guide and Pinterest board to Kea and she came up with two different outfit collections and sent me photos. Both options she had come up with were wonderful, but I was a bit concerned about one due to the very summery nature (sleeveless dresses, sandals, and shorts) and the forecast being a bit on the colder side for spring. She hadn’t considered that factor, and it helped her make her decision immediately! Cold children can be more difficult to distract. When wearing clothing for a session that might be on the colder side, you can never go wrong with layers. That way pieces can be removed if anyone finds themselves too warm as the session goes on. I’m here to help with your wardrobe styling if you desire! While most of my clients find the resources we send them perfectly adequate, others want to run their choices by me, and I welcome that. I know it can be stressful to pull together the look for everyone, and I’m here to help ease that for you as much as possible.
Because we were celebrating Brooke’s first birthday, Kea wanted a lot of the focus during the session to be on her, but she wanted the entire family photographed also. That’s the great thing about First Birthday sessions! We can customize the focus to whatever you desire.
During family sessions, you can be assured that not every child will want to participate at the same time, and that’s perfectly ok! I look for who is interested and willing amongst the kids, and I come up with fun games to engage your children. I ask parents to go with the flow no matter what’s happening, and the rest will work itself out. When Kea viewed her gallery, she emailed me to let me know how much she loved the images and how her gallery perfectly showed who each of her children were.
As I photographed the family during their session, I kept laughing at each of the children’s very distinct personalities. You can see for yourself in the images exactly what their personalities are, and I absolutely love it! At the very end, Kea pulled out a cake pop for Brooke to enjoy. She had decided that Brooke had eaten enough sugar that week with all the birthday celebrations, and that she wanted to keep it super simple but still have SOMETHING. The cake pop was the perfect solution! I’ve had clients choose to present their one year old with cupcakes, cakes, pies, and donuts - there’s no right or wrong way to celebrate a birthday!
If you're expecting a baby or already a parent and looking for a newborn, maternity, or family photographer, I would love to work with you to create images that you will love for a lifetime. Watch this video to hear about my philosophy and see how I work in the studio so you can determine if I'm the right fit for you. I can't wait to meet you!
Lily Sophia Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, and family photography in Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding areas.
