It's So Much Fun To Be Turning One!

What an amazing advancement photography, and birthday sessions in particular, have made. Eight years ago, when my oldest was turning one, it never crossed our minds to have his picture made to mark the milestone. And a "cake smash" session. Who ever heard of such? (gasp) What an evolution! And to be honest, I love every bit of it. My interest in photography started long before I ever picked up my first camera. I would consistently find myself critiquing others photos (never out loud), thinking "how posed" or "how unoriginal". I never dreamed that the ideas I thought at 13 years old would come to be such a trend 15 years later. I constantly find myself challenged, trying to be more original than the last. And when it comes to my own, that effort is not lost by any means!

What a fun, fun photo shoot this ended up being!

I must say, I dreaded this day like some women dread turning 40:) It blows my mind how fast the days of the first year (and  all of them, reallly) go by. As parents, we revel in every milestone and new accomplishment our little ones make. And it is so amazing to think of all the incredible things this special little guy has done. It does not seem like a whole year has gone by since I was giddy with anticipation, just waiting to see his sweet face for the first time.

LOOK AT HOW MUCH I'VE GROWN

My goal in every session I do is to capture the child....Not literally....although sometimes that does end up being the case!! But I want to capture "them": their personality, their expressions, their silliness.....all those things we love about them as parents. Let's face it, no family is perfect. No child (always) smiles on command, and no child smiles all the time for that matter. A photo session full of perfectly smililng children is great....but is that really your family? It sure isn't mine! And I was beyond thrilled to catch this little stinker making this face below. It is something he JUST started doing...this week in fact. But it is absolutely adorable, and it is so "him"!! I think I treasure this photo the most, and it will probably end up on my wall.

What one year session is complete without

CAAAAAKKKKEEEE?

Thank you all for continuing to keep up with my work! You are very very much appreciated:) Not a single comment or "like" goes unnoticed. There is a "like" button at the top of this blog as well as the link from Facebook. I would LOVE it if you would like this if you have seen it so I can keep up with how often my blog is viewed. I am still trying to decide if this is something I will continue to do. Thank you again!!!

For the photogs: (indoors) F/1.8, 1/800 sec., ISO 800 (outside shots) F/1.8, 1/640 sec., ISO 100