Even though I exclusively offer maternity and newborn sessions for my clients, I have lots of students in my photography community who offer family and child milestone sessions in addition to motherhood portraits. It’s important to me to cater to what my students want to learn and customize their membership experiences! Keep reading to see how this 12-month milestone session came about.
This summer, when new neighbors moved in next door with an adorable little girl, the wheels in my mind started turning. I’d been hoping to find a family to photograph a 6-12 month milestone session and now they had dropped right in my lap!
Tips for Milestone Sessions
I typically recommend these sessions take place when the little one is close to 10.5 to 11 months old. That allows time for editing images, delivering to the family, and ordering prints. Due to scheduling, I photographed Bexley’s session about 3 weeks after her first birthday. The session took about 90 minutes. I had planned on a one-hour session but Bex needed some breaks and snacks (which is totally normal and expected!).
At this age, it’s so important to follow the child’s lead. Don’t force toddlers to sit still or be held or do anything they don’t want to do. The key is patience, flexibility, and creativity. Brittnie and Wade had some awesome ideas for keeping Bexley happy and interested in continuing the photo shoot. I always like to start with photos of the baby with the parents so she has time to warm up. Luckily, being Bexley’s next-door neighbor worked to my benefit. We’re basically besties 😉
It’s not easy to get a toddler to smile so much, but we got a TON of smiles from Miss Bexley. Take a peek at my favorite images from Bexley’s milestone session below.
Looking for community and behind-the-scenes?
If you’re a part of the Membership for Motherhood Photographers, this session is our behind-the-scenes video for this month! Members will get to watch me photograph the entire session and learn tons of tricks along the way. Including how to get little girls to wear a bow if they’re not interested, how to let 50% more light into a dark room, how to shoot and place clients to avoid cluttered backgrounds, why we want to avoid screen time during the session, and you’ll get to see me use my handy on-camera flash. Log in to watch now!
Not a member yet? I’d love for you to join our community of motherhood photographers! Every month, members have access to a new BTS session video, a business masterclass, and a live group coaching call. Plus, you’ll get exclusive discounts on all BHP courses and digital download products as well as access to our private online community. Click here for more info and join today!
