One whole year of loving you.
Your baby's first year seems to disappear in the blink of an eye. A first birthday session is all about capturing the little person they've become. Wether you choose something more simple and natural, or a little more playful, we'll create beautiful photographs that tell the story of their first birthday and give you memories to treasure for years to come.
First birthday studio sessions require a £50 booking fee to secure your slot with me, and this will be deducted from your final order.
You will receive your viewing gallery around 2-3 weeks after your session, it is at this point you can choose your final purchases. To ensure you are able to keep the beautiful portraits of your baby with ease, the option to spread the cost is available.
Package selection:
From your gallery, you'll select your images for keeps. If your heart finds it hard to choose (and it often does), you'll have the option to purchase additional images or upgrade to the full gallery.
If you choose the Simple package and any Add ons, you will have 48 hours to make your selections and finalise payment to receive your selections.
If you wish to purchase the Ultimate package, just get in touch with me to finalise payment and you will receive the full gallery.
Please note- Galleries will be live for 48 hours for selections.
•1 hour studio session
•Online/In person viewing appointment
•10 high resolution digital images
•Full use of studio wardrobe
•Bespoke cake & Balloon display
•Family and sibling images included in your session
ADD ONS :
• 1 Image - £15
• 10 Images - £100
•1 hour studio session
•Pre-session consultation
•Online/In person viewing appointment
•40 - 50 high resolution digital Images
•Full use of studio wardobe and accessories
•Bespoke cake & Balloon display
•Family and sibling images included in your session
•1 hour studio session
•Online/In person viewing appointment
•10 high resolution digital images
•Full use of studio wardrobe
•Bespoke cake & Balloon display
•Family and sibling images included in your session
ADD ONS :
• 1 Image - £15
• 10 Images - £100
•1 hour studio session
•Pre-session consultation
•Online/In person viewing appointment
•40 - 50 high resolution digital Images
•Full use of studio wardobe and accessories
•Bespoke cake & Balloon display
•Family and sibling images included in your session
I'd suggest booking your little ones first birthday session around 3 weeks before their birthday, this will allow me enough time to get them ready in time for the big day. If you're wanting to book it on the day as part of the celebrations (some do), that's absolutely fine, please just expect your final images around 2-3 weeks after this date.
If you know the date you'd like, it's always worth getting in touch early, as availability can be limited.
The session includes a bespoke cake, beautiful white balloon garland or balloon feature, and bubbles to help capture those gorgeous smiles.
We'll start with around 10 minutes of family and sibling portraits, before the rest of the session focuses solely on your birthday baby. We'll capture some beautiful classic portraits before letting them explore their cake and get wonderfully messy!
We'll then finish with a bath splash, which is often where we get the biggest giggles from the whole session!
You'll receive a gallery filled with a mixture of classic portraits, family moments, cake-covered smiles and those gorgeous splashy bath photographs, giving you a complete story of your little one's first birthday milestone.
Your first birthday session will be around 1 hour. It is quite fast paced, this is to keep your little one engaged and focused, as spending too much time on each part of the session can cause them to be fed up, which we don't want!
At one years old babies can be unpredictable and I never expect them to sit perfectly, or smile on queue. Some of the most beautiful photographs happen from the quiet moments, curious expressions and little personalities that naturally appear when they're simply being themselves.
Not every baby wants to dive straight into a cake, and there is no pressure for them to do so. We will take our time and let them explore it their own way. If cake really isn't their thing that's ok! We can use wooden cake props, and move straight onto the bath splash, which most babies tend to love.
I provide outfits, props, cake and accessories during your session. I have carefully selected beautiful, natural pieces to compliment my photography style. That said, if there are any outfits you wish to bring along for the family portraits, or cake smash portion of the session then that's absolutely fine! As long as they're in keeping with my style.
I provide most things for a cake smash, so there's no need to worry.
I'd suggest bringing a water bottle for little one, their favourite snacks if in need of encouragement with the cake, and a change of clothes for afterwards.
For the first 10 or so minutes, I will focus on capturing some family portraits, so please come dressed to be involved.
BABY WIPES - Your birthday baby will get messy, you will get messy, and everything you touch will get messy! It's always worth keeping these to hand throughout the session.
Please let me know of any allergies or dietary requirements when booking your session so we can discuss these well in advance.
My baker may be able to create a cake specific to your child's dietary needs, if this isn't possible you will need to provide the cake yourself. For styling purposes, the cake must be a simple sponge cake with white icing and no jam filling.
Absolutely! Siblings are very welcome to attend the first 15 minutes or so of the session to capture those precious family and sibling portraits together. Arrangements will then need to be made for siblings to be collected, or to leave the studio with one of the attending parents.
It is understandably difficult to expect young children to sit quietly for the remainder of the session. The cake smash itself is for your birthday baby, and at this age little ones can be easily distracted, I've found that keeping the cake smash environment focused and calm creates the best opportunities for smiles.
Simple, neutral and timeless. Think whites, creams, beige, taupe and other warm neutral tones. For dads, please try and avoid blue jeans. It can affect the warm, soft feel of the final images. Stick to brown or beige trousers. For moms, you don't need anything too jazzy! I want you to feel yourself, if that means wearing something loose and comfy, that's fine!
For siblings, I recommend the same, soft minimal and neutral tones. Zara, H&M and Next do really nice clothes that compliment my style.
I strongly, strongly encourage parents to be included. It will be for the first 10 minutes of the session, then the pressure is off! This time is about capturing your family, and these will be the most treasured images you own, and then we can focus on the fun, messy, birthday part of the session!
You don't need to feel camera ready, loose clothing is perfect and your images focus on the connection with your baby rather than looking directly at the camera. And if you decide you don't love it, you simply don't have to choose it. But you'll never regret giving yourself the chance to be in those memories.
My aim is to get everything right in camera, this allows me to get your images to you faster, and prevents them being overly edited, here are some common things to consider:
Fake tan - If you choose to wear fake tan, please note that your skin tone will appear warmer in your final images compared to your baby and family. I would gently advise against this, my final editing style adds a depth of warmth anyway.
Tattoos - Real tattoos are beautiful, artistic and photograph beautifully. However, children's temporary tattoos should be removed fully before your session, otherwise they will be visible in your final images, we don't want to take away from that classic and pure feel of the images.
Nails - Broken acrylics or chipped nail varnish can be seen in your images. I would advise removing beforehand. It's quite common on the morning of a session for a family to not notice their child wearing chipped nail varnish in the holidays, please be mindful of this, as it will show in your final images, especially in those gorgeous close ups.
It's simple, your £50 booking fee is taken off the balance of your image selections, which is payable once you receive your viewing gallery.
There's nothing worse than wanting to keep each beautiful memory to treasure forever, but I understand funds aren't always available when we want them. For this reason, I offer a payment plan. You can spread the cost interest free, and will receive your galley upon final payment.
