an afternoon with miss betsy & co.

so. i’ve been keeping myself really, really busy over the past few weeks! and, that has resulted in the grand neglect of the blog! (i promise i’m going to get better about that!! haha!) that being said i’m going to try to catch up! i want to share my afternoon with an adorable one year old, betsy.

let me preface this post by stating how refreshing it is to work with a client that brings tons of ideas to the table, fair expectations and room for compromise and collaboration? to want to have significant input and be hands-on with the set-ups and preparation, but also open to and encouraging of my ideas and creativity? not that i have had any bad clients, don’t misunderstand, but this mom, by far, impressed me! and, i proudly call her a friend, not just a client. xo HS

first, we took advantage of the gorgeous day! some photos taken all around the family’s new home: single shots of the birthday girl and some family photos (with attempts to include the family dogs!) — all while embracing of the early november colorful foliage, still lush green grass and amazing sunlight! i even got to try out using empty frames to ‘frame’ the little one… one shot, in particular, came out pretty great. i’m sorta proud of it. 🙂

then we came inside and put our full attention on the little honoree. i got full use of my (awesome) old prop chair and got a chance to start learning how to utilize my amazing, brand-new, professional (squeal!) lights.

then came the ‘smash-the-cake‘ portion of the session. oh. my. gosh. this was my first ‘cake smash,’ and, by far, one of the funnest premeditated shoots i’ve done so far! i mean, i’ve taken pictures of MANY young children attack their birthday cake/cupcake, but never like this! all of my other subjects have been contained in a highchair, etc. and they have always had TONS of people around (unavoidable during a party). this was different. awesome different. we stripped betsy down to her bloomers, plopped a very enticing gigantic cupcake in front of her and just watched…. the stages were distinct — and completely adorable — from inquisitive to delighted! the only ones there that day were me and the proud parents. nothing to distract her from her cupcake; and no one to get in the way of me getting the best shots from any angle i wanted. it was like a dream to have (physical) room to be creative. and, i have to say, the shoot was a success! by the end, she and the floor were covered in ‘frosting’ (aka cool whip)!

we followed the cake smash by putting the cool whip covered baby into a tub/bucket of bubbles! that was also adorable — and sweet to see the slight confusion on her sweet, little face… like she was thinking, ‘why have i been put in this little tub in the middle of the kitchen? shouldn’t we be upstairs in the real tub…?’ umm, just too cute!
after the bath, we got her dressed again and took her back outside, and got what i consider one of the best family shots of the day — right on the front porch of their new family home. ::sigh::

back inside and upstairs for betsy’s last portion of her shoot — the impromptu pre-nap snuggles in the chair with mom. too precious! so serene…. and so intimate. i almost felt like an intruder. almost.

once nap-time was underway, i drug mom and dad out to the back deck for some couples photos to finish the day. dad was full of jokes and silliness, but never complained about the long day of photography. amongst the fun and silliness shined a few gems. they truly are a handsome couple. it made for a great end to the day before my trip back home to my own little family. i left feeling so honored to have been invited to photograph and preserve such an important moment in this young family’s life: their baby’s first birthday.

meet baby B…

(and, please ignore the fact that my pictures are posting backwards…. i upload them in order, and they post the opposite. i think i need a wordpress tutorial!)