Your baby is turning one. It's a milestone worth celebrating in the biggest, messiest, most joyful way possible — and if you're imagining warm sand, sparkling water, golden light, and a very happy baby face-deep in frosting, you're already thinking about a beach cake smash session.

If you’re looking for a Jacksonville first birthday photographer and want something more natural than a traditional studio cake smash, an outdoor first birthday session may be the perfect fit. These sessions allow babies to move, explore, and interact naturally while creating timeless family photographs in beautiful outdoor locations throughout Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra, and St. Augustine.

A question I often hear as a family photographer here in Long Island for over a decade now, is how often should I schedule family portraits? I have met many families during this time and I see many of them annually for updated photos, but is it necessary to have photos taken annually? As a mom and photographer, I can tell you the answer is, yes. I schedule photos for my own family every year and plan on doing so annually. I realize that for some, this may not be realistic, so I am going to go through some suggestions about when to schedule photos and why you should continue to do so.

A first birthday is a special milestone for every family. Your baby has grown and developed tremendously over the past twelve months and now your little one’s personality is shining through. It is a good idea to take this opportunity to schedule a photo session for your child. If you There are many types of sessions you can book to commemorate this special occasion. If you are unsure about what type of photo session you want, I will go over each of the options below.

Your little one’s first birthday is quite a momentous occasion. Many people contact me to book a first birthday portrait session or cake smash session to document this special moment. While I offer several packages both in the studio and outdoors for first birthday photos, I do encourage clients to use this opportunity as a time to update their family photos.

I recently renovated the Long Beach studio space and I am so in love with it. I wanted the space to have an earthy and natural look to it and be one that allows for natural and relaxed lifestyle images. When decorating with photography in mind, I try my best to incorporate an array of textures. Adding texture adds dimension to images. Although I incorporated some earthy textures like rattan and green plants, the studio is a very neutral space that allows for bright and airy images.

A first birthday is a very special milestone for any family. It is one of the most popular requests I get for photos and rightfully so. Babies are so adorable at this age. They have so much personality and it is a great stage to finally capture those photos of your child to preserve this special moment.

I swear…I feel as though I blinked my eyes and it is now the end of August. It has been an amazing Summer. The weather has been gorgeous. I traveled with my family to various New England locations. Best of all, I was able to photograph some former clients and meet new ones.

I first photographed this family when their oldest daughter was six months old. Since then, they have grown from a family of three to a family of five. I see them annually and I always look forward to working with them. It truly is such an honor to watch my clients’ families grow and to be able to document their special moments for them.

This particular session was scheduled to commemorate they youngest son’s first birthday. Mom scheduled a family session so that she could not only get photos of a cake smash, but also images of their entire family together. I love this idea and many of my clients choose to this type of session.

This recent session at the arboretum made me giddy with glee. Not only did this session take place on the first truly warm day of the Spring, but it was with one of my favorite families and it was scheduled in the most gorgeous location.

When planning a set, I always ask clients about themes and color preferences. My client said she was going with a pink floral theme for the birthday party, so I designed this set with that in mind. My goal is to keep the set clean and uncluttered, but to always coordinate with any vision my clients might have. Whenever I am able to use florals, I am giddy. They just bring so much visual interest to images and I love the way the look paired with the muted pink handmade balloon arch that I used for this particular birthday session.

This little boy is the sweetest little man. He was born at the start of COVID last March and was able to have a newborn session because of the pandemic. I have photographed his family multiple times before and they are so fun to work with. Big brother always makes me laugh and this little man is so sweet.

When his mom contacted me to plan a first birthday session, I wanted to create a set that was timeless and classic. Because he did not have newborn photos taken, these photos would most likely be the ones that will hang on the walls of their home. As always, my goal for the set was to create something uncluttered, yet visually interesting. I wanted the set to have a timeless and classic look to it, yet still commemorate the milestone of the first birthday. For this session, I went with a pop of blue through the use of a handmade balloon arch.

I recently photographed the most beautiful twin girls for their first birthday session and cake smash. I always love photographing one year olds for their birthday portrait sessions, but twins really are twice the fun. I had a blast photographing these two.

When my client first contacted me about the session, she told me that she was unable to do newborn photos due to Covid and she wanted images that did not scream birthday. Once she showed me the outfits that she had selected for her girls to wear for their portrait session, I knew right away that an earth toned bohemian influenced set would be perfect. I also knew that this was the perfect choice because Mom said her house is neutral toned and she prefers muted colors, which is exactly what this set consists of. I always customize my sets based not he needs of my clients.

Although I Have a fully equipped studio space, I love shooting outdoor sessions. Photographing families and children outdoors allows for more natural, candid and relaxed images. A first birthday is the perfect opportunity to update your family photos and capture adorable images of the birthday child.

This client contacted me for a cake smash scheduled outdoors for her son’s first birthday. She wanted a very natural session with no props, which is perfect for me because I prefer a much more natural and simplistic look to my images.

I photographed this sweet man for his newborn session last year. Although I did see him for his holiday photos a few months ago, I was still so happy to see how much he has grown in the past year. I love that I am able to watch my clients’ families grow each year and I truly am always honored by the fact that they choose me to document their milestones.

Mom wanted a simple and uncluttered set for her son’s first birthday portraits, which is perfect for me because I always take a minimalist approach to my sets. Once she sent me his outfit, I knew exactly what type of set I would build for his birthday pictures.

The weather this September has been AMAZING! I have been loving every second of it and I have been busy doing as much outdoors as possible. I want to soak up every last second of the remainder of the this good weather, which includes lots of outdoor photoshoots. I spent a good deal of the Summer photographing families and children on the beach and I am happy to start shooting some Fall sessions at my favorite park location.

Many families have been scheduling family sessions in place of the traditional first birthday portrait session. I love this trend because you not only get images that commemorate your little one’s first birthday, but you also will have images of you interacting with your child that you will treasure forever.

I love that so many of my clients have been opting to do family sessions in place of the traditional cake smash photo session. A first birthday is the perfect milestone to update those family photos. I often encourage my clients to get into the frame with their children and this is especially true when a client opts to do an outdoor session in place of the studio.

I recently photographed this family, whom I first met 11 months ago when I photographed them in their home for a lifestyle newborn session. I loved that I was able to see how much baby M has grown over the year and she was an absolute delight to photograph. She was all smiles and giggles throughout the session. I usually schedule my sessions an hour before sunset, but in the Summer months this time of day can be problematic for children because sunset coincides with bedtime. I can work around that time of day and shoot an hour or even an hour and a half earlier by scheduling the session at an outdoor location that provides lots of trees to filter the light. I am glad we moved the start time for this session because our birthday girl was so happy and I was able to capture some really sweet moments.

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.