My best advice to parents who book 1 Year Old Sessions with me is to come with the expectation to have no expectations! With 1 year olds, they’re like pets…unpredictable and uncooperative. But don’t get scared off from doing them. This milestone is one of the best memories to have captured! What really helps prepare new parents (or even parents who’ve been through this age with their other kiddos) is to come with your diaper bag filled with the essentials: diapers, lots of wipes, snacks, teething gel, and squeaky toys for getting them to look! Your photographer (me) will do the rest to guide the right shots! What I always plan for is extra session time: time for the parents to perhaps change, feed or soothe their 1 yr old during the session. So I do not dock camera time for these unescapable activities! If you book an hour and the session runs over because we took some time away from the camera, I won’t charge you like some other photographers (remember I’m a mom of 3 boys and have been in your shoes).

A few things to consider before your session is making sure your 1 yr old is napped, fed and changed before you arrive. While it’s difficult to know what kind of mood your kiddo might come with, its important to not get rattled if (s)he isn’t cooperating. Most often times than not, giving your 1 yr old some time to roam, take breaks and be held (or nursed) tends to calm the little ones so that they’re ready to resume the session. Bringing along grandparents, aunts and uncles, older siblings or friends are also great back ups to hold your accessories, diaper bag and to give you and your partner a break from baby (…and so I can get a few shots of the parents by themselves).

While these sessions don’t always go as planned I promise you’ll get through it and I will always be able to get the adorable shots you’ll be proud to share! As a candid photographer I welcome the unposed, silly, chaos and in between moments that make for images you can really feel and appreciate!

Meet the Palmeri Family! These sweet first time parents of their 1 yr old boy did great on their session! Hubby brought his parents as back ups and they came with a few tricks in their bag (like a pom pom and squeaker toy for getting their son’s attention). I always welcome those kind of props and people to shake rattle and roll them for me since I’ve got my own hands full guiding and taking the pics! This little one was definitely a roamer and loved being held! Check out his adorable outfit! It makes me miss those days! They really do go by so fast….and when they do I’ll be here to capture them all or you!

1 Yr. Old Photo Session Idaho