Turning one is a big deal! Get some simple tips so you can get the perfect one-year photo shoot for your child.
I posted on my personal facebook page that I use parties to deal with the pain of my kids growing up. It’s partially entirely true. It’s distracting planning for a party, but it also has a pleasant side effect. I got some fantastic pictures of this boy for his one-year photo shoot. I’ve always been frightened of taking pictures of people. It’s not my forte since most of my subjects don’t move. For this lumberjack party, I planned out all the details to make everything go smoothly.
You guys…seriously CAN’T HANDLE THE CUTENESS! Aren’t these guys just the cutest little guys you’ve ever seen? I think so. Though, I’m biased because one is my son and the other is my nephew. I’m not new to photography, but I’m not exactly comfortable with telling you what settings to use and what not. If you want to learn photography tips, I love everything from Capturing Joy and Simple as That.
I am, however, good at staging, and I think that’s what made these pictures work…so read on for my six tips for the perfect one-year photo shoot!
NUMBER 1: Set up during nap time
This was a huge factor in the success of this photo shoot. Both boys were well rested, fed and happy. I did all the work for the party ahead of time, but I set up while they were napping. I did this so they would be in a good mood and also so they wouldn’t mess up the display while I was putting it together. You might need to smooth out some bed head, but besides that, it’s the perfect plan!
NUMBER 2: Good lighting and Contrasting Colors
My kitchen area has AMAZING lighting. People always comment on our beautiful windows. That’s not the only thing that makes the lighting work. I also have very light gray walls. Gray looks fantastic as a background.
Since this was a lumberjack party, I used black and red as the accent colors. It pops with all the white in the background, and since the kiddos are on a dark blanket, I wanted their shirts to be white. You want the child or children to be the focus of the shoot, so don’t make the background, patterns or colors too busy. Balance is key. You can see I have a lot of white space and just enough pops of color. If you’re unsure of something, take pictures of the set up before you get baby into the mix. If it looks over crowded, move some things around.
NUMBER 3: Don’t be Forceful
Babies will do whatever the heck they want. These kiddos were all over the place and kept trying to get the decor behind them, but they were happy. The last thing we wanted them to do was to throw a fit. We would just gently nudge them back to the desired position, and we made it fun. Which brings me to my next tip…
NUMBER 4: Use Familiar Phrases
Your one-year-old isn’t going to look at you if you just tell them to look. To catch their attention, we called out their names, of course, but we also called out familiar phrases. For example, when you ask Dexter how big he is, he holds his arms out THIS BIG…and I got THE PERFECT shot of that. Not only did it make a cute picture, but it captured a great memory! For Beau, he will clap every single time you say, “YAY!” so there was a lot of applause going on.
Number 5: If you bring Cake, they will come
So, this totally wasn’t planned, but these woodland chocolate cakes worked out perfectly for this shoot. The tutorial for the cakes will be up soon, but you can see there are chocolate flakes on the top. Instead of smashing the cakes, they just ate the chocolate off the top. It kept them busy, and we got a few pics in before they got messy.
But the biggest takeaway is that food will keep them busy. Don’t be afraid to coax them with some snacks!
Number 6: Plan to be messy
If you can’t stand chocolate cake on the ground…too bad. Or you can be like me and use blankets. Do that…do the blanket thing. It was super cute and mess free. Our boys didn’t make a huge mess. The smash cake never got smashed…just moved around a bit. But their faces got dirty, and that was adorable. Just go with it!
So, there you have it! What tips would you add to the list?
Linda A Cassidy says
This is so cute, I am not even sure I read your words the first two times through because the boys looked so adorable. Great tips
Erin says
ha! Thanks so much!!
Desiree @ The36thAvenue says
These are adorable!
Kelly says
Seriously, these pics are too cute! Great tips.