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.

We started the session with some classic portraits on my grey velvet couch. The drivers cap was the most adorable accessory to add to the session. After we captured some diverse images, it was time to move on to the cake smash portion of the session.

Mom made a beautiful funfetti cake with bright blue icing. I absolutely love the bright hue of the icing and the pop of color it adds to the images. I always tell my clients that the cake for this session does not have to be elaborate; after all, the baby will end up smashing it to pieces by the end of the session and this cake was absolutely perfect.

We dressed the birthday boy in an adorable navy blue diaper cover, with coordinating suspenders and bow tie. He looked simply precious in it. Once he was placed in front of the cake, he dove right in and made a big mess, which is exactly what I want to see happen during this particular type of session. In fact, the messier, the better.

I don’t think that there was one photo in this collection of images that did not make me smile. Here are a few of my favorites from his session.