When Jessica first contacted me and told me her dad gifted her with a newborn session to ensure she had a beautiful capture of her precious baby girl, my heart melted.

He UNDERSTOOD. He knew how fleeting that stage is and how important it is to make such an important investment.

Jessica and I started communicating and plans were formed for Violet’s session based on Jessica’s color and theme preferences.

We talked a little about what Jessica should plan to wear, and she chose a beautiful but simple dress for her photos with Violet.

After we captured some beautiful shots of Momma and baby, Momma got to relax and settle in. We transitioned to a bucket shot with florals and lace and added a beautiful wreath for Violet to wear. Keep an eye on that wreath - it shows up again later!

Violet settled right in and we were able to get the most beautiful captures of how beautiful she was at this precious newborn stage!

Time went by and Violet was growing! Jessica had such a special relationship with her dad, and they discussed making plans to invest in Violet’s first birthday session. He was planning to help with the investment. They were both excited as they looked ahead to that exciting milestone.

But then tragedy struck, and Jessica lost her dad when Violet was just 9 months old.

Jessica knew that investing in a beautiful capture of Violet’s big first birthday milestone was not only important to her, but that it was important to her dad.

She made this a priority, and contacted me to chat about scheduling the session.

She told me that Violet loved cows and that she thought it would be fun to do something with cows and sunflowers. I got to work with plans for a set up and choosing a cake design that would be a perfect fit for this request.

Recognize that wreath? That is the same wreath she wore for her newborn photos!

We got several beautiful shots of Miss Violet in her pretty green dress and also in a second outfit with a sunflower top and distressed jeans. I almost couldn’t contain myself at how adorable she was in these outfits! But even more fun was capturing her fun personality and having a variety of sweetness, silliness and just plain cuteness!

Because I knew Violet needed some time to warm up to me, I had momma set her down and play a bit with momma right there. I sat down near her so she could see me, but she saw there was comfortable distance. I talked to her and gave her some time. We didn’t rush anything. After about fifteen minutes of letting her play and be close to momma and watch and study me, she began to smile little bits at me and her body language began to show that she was becoming more comfortable. We moved into the studio and I gave instructions for momma to set her down for her first set of photos. This allowed her to become more familiar with being in my studio and seeing me with the camera but still being very close to momma.

Before long, she was warming up enough that I could come closer and touch her just a bit or move her a bit to make sure the light was hitting her in just the right way to ensure we were capturing the most beautiful photos of her.

And then it was finally time for the finale of the session - the cake smash!

Violet was very interested in the ears on her cow cake and eventually figured out how to pull one of them out and use it to play with the top of the cake. It was so entertaining to watch her play in her own way and for her unique personality to be on display.

And by the end, she definitely got messy!

She let her personality shine and she and Jessica will always have this beautiful celebration to remember her first big milestone. Jessica’s dad would be so proud and happy to know that she has these photos - these heirlooms to treasure for always.