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Preparing For Your One Year Session

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Well Hello There

We are delighted to welcome you to our studio for your big one year milestone shoot. Our studio has many different sets and props that we change out seasonally, and we're happy to create something custom for your little one too. We love photographing families outside whenever possible, but our studio gives your baby, the true star of the show, a great space to shine.

Scheduling Your Session

Please schedule at a time that's optimal for your little one's mood. Natural nap and meal times tend to bring out the crank factor, so they're not ideal for photos.

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If we're planning shots both inside and out, we'll also factor in the sun. We prefer to schedule outdoor shoots during the hour before sunset.

What to Wear

Our studio palette is natural colors, wood tones, neutrals, and muted tones, our sets are built to complement that look, but we're flexible if you'd prefer brighter colors.

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We strongly encourage rompers over dresses for babies, on both girls and boys. Dresses can be tricky for babies and don't photograph as well. (Heirloom or special dresses are always welcome too, just let us know!) We also love a good onesie shot. Those little thighs!

What to Bring

  • Your normal diaper bag, plus a few extra clothing changes

  • The cake: we love Sweetened Memories (they offer discounts to our clients on smash cakes). Donuts or any other smashable food work too

  • A snack and water: most babies aren't that into cake until we plant their favorite snack (puffs, cheerios, whatever they love) right on it

  • Decorations for your theme (find inspiration here), pre-assembled (balloons blown up, tissue fluffs floofed) since we won't have shoot time for setup

  • A towel for cleanup, this one's important!

  • A favorite toy or lovie

Choosing Sets & Including Family

We usually create three sets for your session. Let us know in advance if you have preferences, we love when you email photos of your baby's outfits or any theme/prop ideas ahead of time. This helps our planning a lot and will make the session go more smoothly.

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If you arrive and don't love one of the prepared sets, just tell us, it won't hurt our feelings. These are your pictures, and we want you to love them. (Though sometimes baby "makes" the set, you might love it more once you see them on it.)

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Siblings and parents are welcome to be part of the photos. If you aren't feeling photo-ready, we can shoot without your face in frame, no pressure either way, just let us know your preference.

Session Flow

We typically shoot in this order:

  1. Family, Parent, & Sibling photos first (so baby should arrive in their family-photo outfit)

  2. Baby solo shots

  3. Cake smash around the halfway mark. Sessions, and babies, are usually "done" after about 40-45 minutes.

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A few tips to help things go smoothly:

  • Stand behind the photographer when trying to get baby's attention, including during the cake smash, if you're off to the side, baby will be looking off to the side too

  • Try clothing on beforehand. You may need to cinch, sew, or pin things to fit, better to find out before the shoot than during it

  • Feed or nurse baby before the session. A full tummy means a happy baby. Don't try to save their appetite for the cake, it won't work out the way you hope :-)

After Your Session

You'll receive a link to your gallery within 14 days. We also typically post a "sneak peek" on Facebook within 24 hours, unless you let us know you'd prefer we don't.

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Your gallery will contain 30+ edited images, which you can purchase as prints or digital images, digital packages start at $399.

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Galleries expire in 1 week. There is a $25 administrative fee to reload expired galleries.

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