Celebrating little Miss Violet | From newborn to first birthday | Indianapolis Newborn Photographer

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.

We started the session with shots of Momma and Violet.

Parent shots are always first. We want mommy to be fresh for these special shots with her baby.

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!

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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.

Every milestone session allows for up to three different outfits!

Jessica chose this gorgeous green jewel toned dress that complimented Violet beautifully! We started her session with this outfit.

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!

Violet was very shy when she first came for her first birthday session

Her momma gave me the heads up that it can take a bit for her to warm up

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.

By the time we got to her second outfit with the sunflower blouse

she was completely warmed up and all of her personality started to shine through!

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

Violet is known to not be a fan of getting messy

Jessica wasn’t sure if there would be any smashing of the cake.

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.

Happy Camper Cake Smash | Indianapolis newborn photographer

Say hello to Mr. Theo.

He is the sixth child in his family and has quite the story of survival. You can read about his journey here!

In the meantime, let’s talk about the epic cake smash we had to celebrate his first birthday.

Theo’s family acquired an RV in recent years. With six kiddos, they decided it would be fun to plan vacations they can take in the RV and take their home on the road as they travel. It allows them to cut lodging and food expenses. As you can imagine, eating out on vacation with six kids can add up really fast!

Sometimes, they go to campsites around Indiana or nearby states and just enjoy a beautiful outdoor location to get away from home together. Other times they have paired up with friends and added to the fun of the adventure making memories with others.

They have also traveled to vacation sites across America and have found nearby places to park their RV and enjoy seeing different sites in the USA.

When Theo was in the NICU, his mommy and daddy and five older siblings took a special trip away for a short time to catch a breath and get a break from the trauma of everything that was going on in the NICU.

You can read more about that story on the next blog post!

When Theo’s momma and I started to discuss a theme for celebrating his first birthday, we landed on a happy camper theme. It was just so perfectly fitting for the experiences they are having together as a family as they take their vacations!

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As always, every cake smash session begins with one or two set ups that are separate from the cake smash. While doing the cake smash is fun and definitely the highlight of the session, you don’t want your baby smashing cake in all of the photos celebrating his first birthday!

Theo’s momma opted for just one outfit - a cute little burgundy and white striped shirt with some sweet little jeans. We left him barefoot for these photos because who doesn’t love seeing some sweet little baby piggies!

We grabbed a few shots of him in his little striped shirt with the backdrop for the cake smash to add variety to his photos.

He was all about the pinecones, and we laughed as he kept trying to eat them.

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We chose to have a cake that looked like a big stack of pancakes with a party flair, and this cake did not disappoint! It truly looked like an actual stack of pancakes with butter slathered between the pancakes and thick, sweet maple syrup on the top dripping over the side. The sprinkles on top added that party flair and the sprinkle colors of oranges, reds and greens coordinated with the happy camper theme.

What makes this cake even more amazing is that it was made by his very own grandmother, Paula!

When we first sat Theo in front of his cake, he wasn’t quite sure what to think

He kept looking at his momma wondering what to do

It didn’t take him long to recognize that there was some fun sitting right in front of him! Theo started playing with his cake and had fun smashing it and tasting it!

By the time we were done with the session, Theo had thoroughly enjoyed himself and some very special memories were made!

Click here to see the childrens packages available and contact me to discuss the theme for your little one’s first birthday! I am always excited to provide a theme that fits your baby and your family’s personality!