Hot Air Balloon First Birthday Session | Custom Studio Portrait Sessions
The first birthday is such a special milestone. Your baby has grown so much over the past twelve months and you want to document this special moment. I love photographing babies at this age. They have such big personalities and are so much fun to photograph. While I offer several options for first birthday portrait sessions, the most popular session is the studio birthday photo session.
What is a Studio Birthday Session?
The studio first birthday session includes a custom set of your choice. My sets are all created on a seamless white backdrop. My goal is to create a set aligned with your vision or theme with a clean aesthetic. My sets are simple, modern, clean and uncluttered. This allows the focus to be on your baby. I want a set that is timeless and beautiful, but the main focus should always be on how adorable your little one is at this particular stage in life.
Hot Air Balloon First Birthday Session
My client originally contacted me because she wanted a simple and clean floral set for her daughter’s first birthday session. She wanted a session similar to a recent set I created. Her main goal was a minimalist set and she wanted to incorporate a few florals and the color mint. After we chatted on the phone for a bit and explored some options, she sent me an inspiration photo of a hot air balloon session she came across. I was stoked for this concept and dove right into the set design.
I started with a white seamless backdrop and went to Hobby Lobby to gather the remainder of the items needed for the set. Whatever Hobby Lobby didn’t have, I either had on hand or I purchased from Amazon.
I started with the basket and used a mint green balloon for the hot air balloon. I used netting, rope, burlap and florals to pull the colors and theme together. The finishing touch was the clouds and gold stars. It all came together beautifully and was so pretty, yet so clean in design. I couldn’t wait to photograph my client.
How a First Birthday Studio Session Works
Most clients will choose two outfits for the birthday boy/girl. One for the portrait portion and one for the smash. Having two outfoits allows for diversity in the gallery of images. Additionally, it is a good idea to choose an outfit for the cake smash portion, that coordinates with the cake, is conducive to icing and cake, and shows the arms, legs and sometimes, belly of the baby. You want to see the icing smearing the baby and you want to see the beautiful l mess that the baby creates. The mess allows for those fun images.
During the portrait portion, I will capture an array of images of your little one. If you want sibling photos, those are captured during the first part of the session. The set is not large enough for family photos, but if you want to sneak in a few photos with siblings, we can do so. I will work in additional time for your session for that.
The Cake Smash
Most babies will dive right into the cake, others will require some coaxing and others simply want nothing to do with the cake. For many babies, the texture of the icing is off putting. I do encourage clients to do a trial run at home with a small cupcake. I know that is not always possible, so there are many ways we can encourage a resistant little one to participate in the smash. For example, I always ask clients to bring puffs, cheerios or a favorite snack to use hidden in the cake for those little ones who need coaxing. Nine out of ten times, this will do the trick. In other cases, a parent will have to do a little preliminary smashing to the cake to soften up the cake or to show the baby that it is ok to smash the cake. Some babies really do not like getting messy. It really all varies from client to client. Regardless, the images from this portion of the session are adorable and fun.
When to Book the Session
All studio sessions are booked in the morning. The start time is detrined by your child’s napping schedule. I recommend booking the session 2-3 weeks prior to the first birthday. If you need the images to use at the party, then 3 weeks is ideal. Additionally, because I custom design these sets, I require some lead time for the session to prerpare,plan and purchase the required props for design. It is best to book a few months in advance. If you need a weekend date, bookin at least 2-3 onths in advance is ideal.
Other Options for First Birthday Sessions
I know that the studio first birthday and cake smash is not for everyone. I do offer other options for birthday session. For more info about those options click on the following link:
Are you Ready to Book a Session?
Contact me for more info.