Hitomi contacted the studio to schedule up a First Birthday portrait session for her daughter, Emily. She asked to come by the studio to look through dresses we had. We scheduled a time for that, and sent over our easy to follow style guide for her to look through beforehand.
Our style consults are complimentary to our booked clients, and scheduled for 20-30 minutes. Clients can bring clothing from home that they’re considering wearing and we’ll look through studio pieces too. Some clients end up wearing studio clothing, while others wear their own or a mix of the two. Hitomi brought along a gorgeous pastel peachy skirt with an off white shirt, and a dress for Emily for me to look at. We talked about what her husband could wear from his own wardrobe as well. They asked if they could bring along a flower crown for Emily to wear and if they could incorporate balloons into the session. I’m always up for this, but just know going in that your baby might not want to keep anything on their head - so don’t get married to the idea that they’ll wear it for the entire session. Hitomi left the studio that day feeling confident in her choices for wardrobe, which is the whole point! Planning a session for your family can be overwhelming, and I’m here to take that away by providing assistance to you. If coming into the studio isn’t an option for your schedule (we completely understand busy lives!) that’s not a problem! Plenty of our mamas choose to coordinate over emails instead. It’s as simple as taking a phone snap of your outfit considerations and sending them over. I’ll use markup to circle things and respond with detailed feedback.
On the morning of their session, when the family arrived, Emily was very, very shy. She had been bubbly and outgoing at the style consult, but on this day was not. I could see that her parents were concerned that we wouldn’t be able to get any photos from our time together, and reassured her that we would take our time. This is the primary reason that our portrait sessions are structured the way that they are. Sometimes your baby needs extra time to warm up and feel secure!
We started the session with Emily in her parents’ arms, and I asked them to just love and snuggle her, and play with her. As predicted, Emily wanted nothing to do with her flower crown so it didn’t stay on for very long! Hitomi attempted to put it back on her head but after the tenth time of Emily flinging it to the floor, she gave up. Pro tip: if you want your child to wear something on their head for part of their session, definitely plan to incorporate a cake smash. As we present the cake to your baby, we’ll slip whatever you’ve brought onto their head and they’re usually so distracted by their cake that they keep it on for a little while or for the entire time! Every baby is different. ;)
As you look through these gallery images, you’ll probably notice that a cake smash didn’t happen! First Birthday sessions can incorporate a cake (or an alternative like donuts if that’s more your style!) or just be focused on your baby. There is no right or wrong way to do it - it truly is whatever your preference is!
Emily started warming up and having fun, and we played some of her favorite music over our studio bluetooth speaker. We suggest that parents have something on their phones and connect to the speaker since singing and dancing around with your baby can loosen even the toughest little client up. Baby Shark and Frozen songs are big winners around here!
As Emily became more and more comfortable, we moved on to solo portraits and some of those showcased her walking and standing skills and some BIG smiles, much to the delight of her parents (and me!). Only about half of my one year old clients are walking at the First Birthday session, so don’t worry if your baby isn’t! The goal of photographing your baby for their First Birthday session is to document them exactly as they were at that milestone. Pictures of your baby crawling are JUST as cute walking ones - and I promise that soon you will miss the days when they crawled over to you on the floor.
Here are a few of my favorite photos from Emily’s session! She was just the cutest little girl with the biggest eyes and smile. She has an affinity for her mama’s shoes, and I love that she grabbed one and wouldn’t let go of it.
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.
