Sitter Session Milestone Portraits in the Studio

‌Capturing milestone portraits might be one of my favorite parts of my job as a children's photographer here in Saratoga Springs! This winter was super busy at the studio with lots of families bringing their babies in for milestone portraits, especially with their second and third babies. All of them turned out to be so simple and classic… none more so than Jordan’s 8 month milestone portraits! 

I’ve actually photographed all three brothers’ milestone sessions, so seeing Jordan and his two big brothers, Jonas and Jacob, all together in the studio was a real treat! Jordan loved showing off his new skill: sitting up! He sat on the studio floor, on the blankets we gave him, and on the bed. It was perfect - and exactly what I want! I want to see what your babies are getting up to when they come in for their milestone portraits! He was so cute playing peek-a-boo and enjoying the little wooden toys in the studio. 

As I do with all of my milestone portraits, I kept the setups super simple so we could focus on Jordan (and his big brothers). Everything was neutral and mom chose some super cute blue outfits for our little guy to wear. The end result is SO timeless. I know these portraits will be cherished in their home for years to come! 

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Classic studio portraits with family heirloom dresses

Meet Annabelle! This sweet girl came to my studio for milestone portraits to celebrate a few things! First off, she’s 2.5 years old so we wanted to take the time to photograph her at this stage. Toddlers are so much fun. They’re talking, they’ve got sweet personalities and the best laughs and smiles. I’m so happy her mom decided to document this beautiful time in her childhood.

Annabelle’s mom also brought in two very special heirloom dresses for her session! The first was a dress that’s been passed down multiple generations from her grandmother’s Norwegian family. It’s a traditional Norwegian folk dress that Annabelle’s mother wore when she was little, too. For Annabelle’s family, it was important to photograph this sweet girl in her family’s dress. What a beautiful way to celebrate her family’s heritage, special traditions, and clothing. I created the Norwegian folk art backdrop especially for her session to complement the dress.

Her family also lives part of the year in Kenya, so they brought a second dress in to celebrate that part of her life. This beautiful white dress was sent by their neighbors there and Annabelle looked so sweet in it! Again, what a wonderful way to capture what’s going on in her family’s life right now.

We ended the session with a few classic Easter portraits in the studio. Annabelle had fun being her silly self during those - and I love how they came out!! Annabelle’s session is a great reminder that milestone portraits are truly about capturing what matters most to your family.

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Beyond the Newborn Session: Capturing the First Year of Milestones

I don’t know what it is about parenthood that makes time fly by, but I know that ever since my son was born, I’ve blinked and another year has gone by. As a mom and a professional photographer, I understand the value of portraits of my child from the newborn stage and beyond. Newborn portraits are one of the things most parents put on their “parenting to-do list”. That first year is fleeting and I think it’s so important that everyone has a chance to document their precious baby. But the documentation shouldn’t end there.

When I was a new mom, I constantly had my camera out to capture every little moment and changes in our son after our newborn portraits. Looking back, I’m so happy that I have truly beautiful and classic baby portraits of my son, in (and out) of the studio to document those stages, too. Every time he started on a new milestone or learned a new skill, I wanted to capture it forever.

Our babies change SO much in the first year of life - more than any other year as they grow. They grow their first teeth, laugh for the first time, and learn to sit up, crawl, and walk. Capturing all of those milestones truly matters. We all say we never want to forget those stages and changes - and with studio portraits, you never will. You’ll have those dimpled cheeks and baby giggles documented forever to enjoy.

As babies grow, they enter into my favorite stage, the “Gerber Baby stage”, when they’re 6-10 months old. This is one of the most popular milestone sessions in my studio. Babies are sitting up solidly, they're happy and expressive, they interact with you and play into all of the games (peekaboo, tickles) to let us capture their amazing smiles. They're not that mobile yet so they're not running away from the camera - so it works out for us. These are often some of the best portraits to capture your little one’s personality as they start to figure out who they are.

After the “Gerber Baby stage”, our babies inch even closer to turning one… and then comes the super popular cake smash session! These cake smash portraits are always a lot of fun. They’re a celebration of your baby - and of your family’s journey over the last year. I love watching babies and their families interact during their one year milestone and cake smash portraits in the studio. It’s also the perfect time to document something your baby is interested in, when you choose your cake smash theme.

Capturing your baby’s first year is so important. These studio sessions are the perfect way to document each of your baby’s milestones along the way - and a great way to ensure you’ll always have stunning portraits to remember each sweet baby smile by. Our baby’s first year always flies by… make sure you don’t miss teh chance to document it all!

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For the Love of Neutrals: All About Why My Baby Portrait Studio is Filled with Whites & Creams

Neutral & Natural.

Whites. Creams. Tans. Grays. Blush pink.

Weathered wood. Whitewashed wood. Linen. Wool. Textured fabrics. Delicate details. Handmade with love.

That describes my studio in a nutshell, and all of the elements that I love to incorporate into your baby’s portraits. You won’t find any crazy props or cluttered setups here. I am all about keeping the focus on your baby and showcasing their perfect little details and personality while embracing simplicity.

It’s timeless. It’s classic. It’s beautiful.

From the wooden props to the furniture & the walls, almost everything in the studio is shades of white & cream. I have a few colors of seamless paper and lots of colorful balloons, garlands, and flowers that we use for cake smash sessions. I use wraps, chunky wool bump blankets, and headbands for pops of color in our newborn portraits. But after many years of designing sessions and creating artwork for families to hang in their homes, I am drawn to those soft neutral colors and I just can’t get enough of them!

One of the questions I get asked often is WHY. So today I’m sharing a few of the reasons that our studio is filled with neutrals for our baby portrait sessions.

1. Neutral portraits match everyone’s decor.

Whether your home is decorated in neutrals, bold colors, or darker tones, family portraits in soft neutral colors will look good on any wall in your home. What if you redecorate in a few years and completely change your style? These portraits will still look perfect on your walls with the new decor. Your artwork is meant to be timeless, to last for generations, and to become a part of your home. Our neutral color base helps that happen!

2. Neutrals keep the focus on your baby’s personality & tiny features.

When you look back at these portraits in 15 years, you want to remember your daughter’s big smile and those cute little elbow dimples. That is why we keep the background clean and uncluttered with tones that make your little one’s features pop.

3. Neutrals don’t have to be boring!

I could work with all whites & creams every day and never grow tired of it! Layers, textures, different fabrics, and a mix of tones keep it interesting! Plus we add pops of color with outfits, flowers, and blankets.

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Classic Milestone Portraits for Baby Henri

We added a few new outfits to our studio’s Baby Wardrobe, and I was excited that Henri was the first baby to model them! This sweet boy enjoyed his six-month milestone session at the studio, and we captured so many gorgeous portraits of him.

He has such a serious and inquisitive gaze, but he could definitely break out into a smile and be 100% silly, too! This sweet boy was so much fun and he had us all laughing with his giggles!

At six months old, some babies are sitting up assisted, and others can sit on their own without any support. Some are comfortable on their tummies, and others prefer laying on their backs and playing with their toes. Every baby is different, which is what I love so much about these milestone sessions. We capture your little one just as they are, celebrating all of their recently acquired skills, smiles, and first teeth.

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What Does the Baby Plan Really Look Like? Two Different Babies, One Year, Lots of Photos

We introduced the Baby Plan a little more than two years ago, and it has been such a joy to watch so many little babies grow and celebrate all of their milestones with beautiful portrait sessions.

I love seeing our Baby Planners every few months and getting to know their families over the course of 12+ months. From the eager expectant parents that come in with stories about baby showers and building cribs, to the tired mamas rocking their brand new babies and looking for tips on nursing and swaddles during their newborn sessions, to the (slightly more well-rested!) parents who are playing peek-a-boo with their babies and cheering their birthday baby on to taking their first steps and tasting their birthday cake! It’s always such an honor to be invited into a family’s life for all of these events, and I truly enjoy capturing all of these memories for every single family.

So, if you’ve been wondering what the Baby Plan actually looks like, here is a peek at the Baby Plan for two different families. Maternity session, newborn session, milestone session, and a cake smash.

Here you’ll see a baby girl with her lifestyle maternity & newborn sessions at home, followed by studio portraits for her milestone session, and outdoor family portraits for her first birthday with the cake smash in the studio. At the end of the year we have a gorgeous collection of images that go together beautifully. I love that the colors they chose for each of their portrait sessions complement each other so well, and will look amazing paired together on the walls of their home!

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Next up is a year of portraits for one of our coastal families in Massachusetts. I absolutely adored photographing their maternity session AND cake smash session on the same beach. Partway through the year I said to this sweet mama, “Wouldn’t it be amazing to do his cake smash on the same boardwalk where we did your maternity portraits?!” And we immediately fell in love with the idea, and made it happen almost exactly one year later! Depending on the season we can do some of the sessions outdoors between May through October, but the newborn sessions are always indoors.

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A Baby Milestone Portrait Session with Christmas Trees

Although it’s early January, we can share one last Christmas session on the blog, right?

I absolutely loved that this family chose to incorporate holiday lights & colors into their son’s milestone portraits, and we made it a whole family session to celebrate their little 6 month old!

Of course baby Ronan slept through the first part of the session, and these cozy family portraits are just so cute with him all curled up in his daddy’s arms!

Ahhhhh!!! Cutest sibling photo of the holiday season!

This six-month old cutie LOVED the camera! Doesn’t he look like a little model?!?!

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Holiday Portraits for the Whole Family plus a 6 Month Milestone Session

When your baby turns 6 months at the same time as our annual holiday portrait event, you combine your family’s holiday portraits with a milestone session at the studio, of course!

I loved seeing this sweet family again, and I can’t even believe how much David has grown since his newborn session!

These three siblings are always so adorable together, and I was so happy to capture this twinkling Christmas portrait for them!

We did a few more casual sibling portraits on the studio bed so that they would have some photos to hang on their walls year-round, and then lots of individual portraits of the baby to focus on all of his new skills and his blossoming personality!

You might not be able to tell from the photo below, but that is what his happy shriek looks like!!

David LOVED sitting on the tiny bed, and we captured the very best smiles from him!

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Glitter & Gloves: Pretty but fierce hockey portraits to celebrate a 7th birthday

I was so excited when Samantha’s mom reached out to plan her annual birthday portraits. She told me how Sammy had fallen in love with playing hockey this year, and she really wanted to plan an extra special birthday session for her daughter in her hockey gear with a Tutu du Monde dress.

Ummmm, YESSSSSSS!!!

Of course, I couldn’t resist adding a little extra sparkle and glitter.

We had so much fun incorporating her helmet, hockey sticks, guards, and pucks into the session. Sammy loved putting on her tough face and her fierce face, and kept bursting into giggles, too. It was truly the perfect session and such a blast to photograph!

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