After her amazing maternity session in the spring, I was so excited for the birth of Kelli’s sweet baby girl. Her adorable little man Kyler was such a cutie pie and was so excited for his role as big brother and at his sweet sister Kamryn’s newborn session he did not disappoint. Little Kamryn was a dream for her session, giving me tons of adorable smiles and sleeping soundly as I moved her throughout several different poses and set-ups.
Alright folks, I am going to be real with you. Like REALLY real with you. Years ago, when I evaluating my business model and knew that I wanted to focus on newborns- one of the reasons I chose to go that route was the 14 month-3 year old. You all…toddlers are HARD and frustrating to photograph sometimes. I mean like, really hard. Especially if you needed them to work with you for more than 10 minutes. If you have an 18 month-old that doesn’t want to cooperate (which really is most 18 month-olds) there wasn’t a ton I could do. At the time, I had two pretty young kiddos of my own and had enough of my own toddler battles at home.
However, over the past several years after doing a LOT of newborn/sibling images, with many kiddos in that age range, I began to realize something about this age group. Even though I had to sometimes work REALLY hard, once I got those adorable images, it was really rewarding. Toddlers, while obstinate and not quiet yet old enough to bribe, were often really fun. Sure, they may not sit for you when you ask them or give you a big smile but man oh man do they have personality. Thus enter Miss Isabelle.
This gorgeous little girl had one of the most eventful births I have ever captured and I feel so lucky that her momma entrusted me to capture her first year. In the spring when her mom mentioned getting some outdoor images of the two of them, I jumped at the chance. Isabelle had always been a joy to capture and even though I knew she was at that tough toddler age,I was up for the challenge. Sure, this sweetie would NOT keep the gorgeous floral crown her momma got for her on her head for more than a second or two and sure, she was a little bit of a stinker occasionally, but my patience, goofiness and “go with it” attitude allowed me to capture some precious images of this cutie and her mom which I know she will treasure for years to come.
When it came time to blog this little guys session I couldn’t believe how much he has changed since I capture these images last May. Since this one year session below was captured, this cutie has become a big brother!! For his one year session last May, he was his usual happy self with some of his adorable personality coming out in his images. Of course for his smash cake session, his Cubs fan parents opted for a set-up to support their favorite team and Cannon sure was a fan of his cake!
When I moved into my home studio, one of the inns I was most excited about was the fact that we had a beautiful backyard which backed up to an equally beautiful golf course. While most of my milestone sessions take place in my studio occasionally, if weather allows, we can sneak outside for a few images and take advantage of the greenery and natural light. This was a perfect idea for Miss Eloise’s one year session. Mom mentioned that she would like a picture of Eloise with each of her parents to capture her big milestone of turning one. I remember the day this sweet little girl was born and being there at the hospital that day was so much fun.
After we moved inside to capture a few images it was time for her smash cake! Her mom had coordinated the most adorable pink and gold set-up but….unfortunately Eloise wanted nothing to do with her cake (it happens more than you think.) Getting sticky icing on her fingers was the last thing this cutie wanted. Fortunately, mom jumped in and was able to warm her up to the idea of cake- as long as mom would feed her to her, lol! Can’t wait for this cutie to become a big sister this coming April!
One year olds just crack me up sometimes. It is that age where they are getting out of the infancy stage and starting to explore the world around them and often times give me the cutest expressions! For the smash cake portion of his session little Otto was so much fun to watch as he devoured his yummy monster cake. One of my favorite things to do after a smash cake is what I call the splash portion. Since little ones tend to get quite messy during their smash cakes, I have found that putting them in a small bath afterwards not only helps the parents to clean them off before going home, but also reaps some adorable extra images for their gallery. How cute is Otto’s sweet smile as he enjoys his warm bubble bath?!
Victoria Kegg of Blue Daisy Art is a fresh and modern portrait photographer. She specializes in birth, maternity, & infant photography, but also captures families and children. Blue Daisy Art is based in Springfield, IL.
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