Mother-Daughter 1st Year Session | Grimsby, Ontario
One of my favourite parts of my job is building a relationship with my clients and watching their beautiful families grow!
When I welcome my clients to the studio, it’s like seeing a good friend, and meeting their babies is simply the best.
I’ve enjoyed documenting the growing Friedrich family six times, from newborn to baby milestones and family photos. Our most recent mother-daughter first-year session was the sweetest yet. First-year portrait sessions are always so fun to plan and prepare for. It seems like yesterday that I was honoured to meet this precious newborn, and now she’s one!?
After reading this blog, you’ve got to look at Navy’s newborn portrait session. Parents Carlin and Hans wanted to continue the tradition of welcoming their baby to the world with family sibling photos. Their three adorable boys, Cohen, Wolf, and Teddy, are over the moon about their baby sister Navy. You can see their love for each other throughout the newborn session.
If your baby is approaching one, you may be thinking about their first-year portrait session. Should you do a cake smash? What should you wear? What do you need to do? I’d love to answer all of these questions and more while we admire the beautiful birthday girl Navy and her mom.
Planning Your 1st Year Studio Session
For many families, this is a very busy time. You may be planning a first birthday party as well and juggling other family commitments, which is why it’s important to me that I take all the stress of planning the session off your plate. Once you book, I’ll ask you a few questions about your child to get a feel for her personality and ideas for the session. We plan the session, but know that we are very much baby-led! I’m here to capture your child in her perfect essence and not put her into uncomfortable poses.
Four First Year Portrait Ideas
1. We'll start with your baby in a simple outfit, showing their standing milestone, or even their first steps! It's wonderful to be able to showcase what they can do.
2. Cake Smash - We bring in a small cake and let your child “smash” the cake. Some kids go after it resulting in an adorable mess, and some aren’t so sure about it. Both result in the best, cutest images!
3. Bath Time - We have the cutest little tub to wash your baby. Bathtime with your child is truly a time for bonding, so I love being able to capture this sweetness for parents.
4. Cuddling Mom - Photographing the love between mother and child is the most precious. All you have to do is play with your baby, and I’ll take care of the rest!
If you have a different idea for a first-year portrait, I’d love to hear it! Send me a note here.
Stress-Free Portrait Session
Notice I didn’t mention how mom can plan the first-year session. That’s because I take care of everything else! My client wardrobe is available for you to find the perfect outfit that you feel comfortable and confident wearing for the session. My hair and makeup artist will be here to pamper you and help you get your glow on for the day of the session. Friend, all you have to do is walk into the studio with your child. I’m here to handle the rest. After the session, we’ll have a reveal session to look through your beautiful images together. You'll decide which ones will become heirloom family portrait artwork. After that, I deliver your portrait artwork and help you display it for you to enjoy every day.
Grimsby First Year Portrait Photographer
Finally, these kind words from Carlin mean the world to me.
“Karen has been our photographer for the last 5 years! She has taken newborn photos of our last 3 children, first birthday photos, as well as family photo sessions. It is very difficult in this digital age to remind yourself to keep and print those photos that really matter and we are so happy and thankful for Karen and the work that she does. Because of her, we have beautiful prints and albums that will someday be given to our children. Karen is very professional and is amazing with our children. I love that when I tell my children now that we are going to see Karen, they know who we are speaking about. Karen has watched our children grow over the years and is able to capture those changes in a way that we can't. We can't say enough about her work and we will continue booking sessions with her in the years to come.” - Carlin Friedrich
The first year of your child’s life flies by. Pausing to capture first-year portraits is a beautiful way for you to hold on to this moment. My goal is to take all of the planning and stress out of the portrait process, and, instead, allow you to simply be present with your child. I’d love to be your photographer for this special session. If you’re interested in scheduling a time to chat, please reach out to me here.
