A lot of moms worry that we won’t have enough time to get great shots, but actually, the opposite is true — especially for babies! To get those happy, smiley expressions that you love, it’s important to work as quickly as possible. In fact, most one-year sessions are finished in an hour or less!

Because we’re limited by the baby’s attention span and mood, I make sure to work really quickly with priorities in mind. A typical one-year session looks something like this: we usually start with a great family photo while I still have the advantage of being a new and hilarious stranger to the baby! Then we move on to some of the more creative shots, like mom/baby and dad/baby pairs. If there’s time at the end, I always like to circle back to family photos because you can never have enough of those! ALL of the following images were taken in an hour. My shutter finger works at lightning speed! 😉

This was my second time photographing this particular family, and I’m just thrilled that they came back to see me! I adored their newborn session, and I was looking forward to their second session for weeks beforehand. This mama always does an absolutely fabulous job of planning their clothing based on the inspiration in the KLP session guide. But even more importantly than wearing great clothing, they are just great PEOPLE. They are kind, generous, patient, and loving, and they are raising their baby with a healthy sense of humor. I’m honored to be a small part of their family history each year!

(See the first image below on Shutterfly’s family photos interactive!)

I always try to remember to sneak in a photo of JUST mom & dad! In fact, I’ve been known to hold a baby or two while taking the photo just to make it happen!

Boys will be boys…and that means letting them play in the dirt for a few photos! 😉

I’m convinced that it’s in boys’ DNA to chase ducks with sticks. Seriously. We didn’t prompt him to do this!! 😉