Many of my clients have been opting to do family sessions in place of the traditional first birthday sessions. I love this idea for so many reasons. Opting for this type of session allows you to update your family portraits and get birthday portraits of your little one as well. It allows me to capture all of those fun and cozy moments with baby and with the full family session, we still have time to do a cake smash.

One of the best parts of my job is being able to watch my clients’ families grow. This is especially true when I capture newborn photos for a family and then have the opportunity to capture the first birthday milestone session for them as well. It is such a pleasure to be able to see how baby has grown over that past year and I also love getting the opportunity to work with the family again. The rapport that I develop with my repeat clients allows me to capture natural images of their family for them.

I had the pleasure of working with the Q family again last week. I photographed their son for his first birthday session a few years ago. I also had the honor of photographing their daughter, Miss H, last year when they came to my studio for a family newborn session. When mom contacted me in April to set up an appointment for birthday portraits, I could not believe that a year had already gone by. I was thrilled to be able to work with this awesome family again .

I met this little birthday boy when I photographed him for his holiday photos at The Little Gym . I was so excited to be able to photograph him again for his first birthday portrait session. When mom said the theme for his birthday party was going to be Sesame Street themed, I just knew that I had to incorporate that into the session somehow. To do so, I opted for my signature bright white brick backdrop and dressed it with very bright and cheerful primary colors. To icorporate the Sesame Street theme, I went with plush animals. This little boy was an absolute dream to photograph. He did not cry at all during the session. Instead, he happily played with the plush animals on the set.

I had a wonderful Fall season photographing families and children for their holiday photos. Although I loved every second of this time, I had very little time to keep up with blogging. Now that the dust has settled, I am finally catching up on blogging some of the newborns and birthdays that I photographed recently.

I love photographing first birthdays, especially when they involve cake smashes. My studio birthday portrait packages include two sets. Because a lot of what I do involves lifestyle photography, I usually encourage clients to utilize one of the more natural set ups that my studio provides, such as my bed or teal velvet couch. I find that these set ups allow for more natural images, as opposed to children being posed on a rigid backdrop. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the clean and classic look that my backdrops provide, but I find that you will be more likely to hang an image in your home of your child on a bed or seated on a couch.

I have been in the process of renovating my studio here in Long Beach, NY and I am excited to reveal some of the changes. I want all of my studio sessions to have a very clean, modern, and polished look, so I have made some changes to the layout of the studio which will provide me the opportunity to do so.

My most recent addition to the studio is a gorgeous teal mid century velvet couch with which I am obsessed. It makes the perfect addition to the studio and will be a staple in my studio newborn sessions, as well as children’s portraiture. The couch will allow me the opportunity to get cozy and connected family images, as well as timeless images of babies celebrating their birthdays.

I recently photographed this little cutie, who happens to share the same birthday as me.  I have photographed both her and her siblings before. Baby’s mom is super creative, so I love working with the family.  

Mom contacted me and wasn't sure if she wanted to schedule her daughter's first birthday session in the studio or outdoors. During the warmer months, I always encourage my clients to schedule their child's cake smash session outdoors. An outdoor session allows for more natural and organic images and no backdrop is more beautiful than that which Mother Nature can provide. Because mom had a boho themed session in mind, it made even more sense to choose an outdoor location for her daughter's first birthday photos.  

When my client said she wanted a session for her daughter's first birthday that was natural, I knew she had come to the right place. Don't get me wrong, I love studio birthday sessions, but if the weather permits, I always encourage my clients to choose an outdoor location of their choice. 

Outdoor locations allow you to get more "mileage" out of your photos. Not only are you getting photos of your child commemorating her first birthday, but you are also getting images that capture the natural essence of your baby.  These are timeless images that you can use not only for thank you cards, but to hang on your walls year round.

With the exception of the Winter months, I always encourage my clients to schedule their child's first birthday session outdoors. There is nothing more beautiful than using nature as a backdrop and photographing outdoors allows me to capture your child exploring the world in a natural way.

To capture that soft and gorgeous golden light, I only schedule beach photos at sunset. I have recently been photographing families who have young children at sunrise. Because sunset is so late in the summer, this time of day seems to work better for toddlers. I will be the first to admit that getting up early enough to catch a sunrise at around 6 am is very difficult; however, the light at this time of day is absolutely breathtaking and I can't think of a better way to start your day than watching your child frolic and play in the sand while the sun is rising.   

I love my new studio here in Long Beach and I have been getting lots of use out of it over the past year.  I have been making changes to the studio and will be adding more as the year goes on so that. can give my clients diversity in their gallery of images and also make them as comfortable as possible during their photo session with me. 

I absolutely love when I have the honor to photograph my former newborn clients for their first birthday portrait session. It is so wonderful to see how much the baby has grown over the course of the year and I just love to see how each she has developed a unique personality.  

I love when my former clients return for milestone sessions.  It is such a pleasure to watch the children grow and it is an honor to be able to document that growth for their parents.  I photographed this little beauty in June for her six month sitter session and when I saw her again the other day, I was amazed at how much she had grown in these last six months.  It truly was such a delight to be able to photograph her again.  

I spent a gorgeous September afternoon at the park with mom, her twin sister, and the absolutely gorgeous birthday girl, Miss V.    Mom had selected the most adorable outfits for Miss V, including a gorgeous bohemian style pineapple print dress.  She also brought along a beautiful birthday banner that coordinated with the dress.  The birthday girl was a pleasure to photograph and never cried...not even after two full outfit changes!  My favorite part of the session was when we took her cake smash photos.  Miss V loved the cake and had so much fun with it.  

If you aren't smiling already, this baby is sure to bring a smile to your face.  I photographed this blue eyed beauty for her first birthday photos this past week in my brand new studio space in Long Beach, NY.  Mom brought along the cutest elephant themed accessories, all of which were made by her very talented mother.  Miss H is one of the happiest babies I know and I had so much fun photographing her.

It has been a very rainy June; however, on the day I photographed these siblings for their birthday photos, it was close to 100 degrees out.  These two little ones are amongst the cutest and sweetest children I  know. Of course, I am slightly biased because they happen to be my goddaughter and nephew. Regardless, it is always a pleasure to photograph them and to spend extra time with them.   Here are a few of my favorites from the session.  

Melissa contacted me in the winter about a first birthday session for her daughter and I was thrilled when she decided to do a family session instead.  Although I love photographing one year olds on their special day, there is nothing quite like a family session.  I love getting to know my families and having fun with them on the day of their session to capture the unique dynamic of their family.  

I am so thankful for all of the families who have hired me to photograph them this holiday season. I am looking forward to meeting all of you.  

I would like to take a moment to offer some tips that can help to make our mini session run smoothly.