Your little one is growing like a weed already! It always goes by way too fast. Your first year with your little one is going to feel like it passed in the blink of an eye. Booking your milestone session is definitely going to help cement these moments in time. I know you’re working out all the details for your session. I hope this milestone session planning guide can help you!

Choosing Outfits. 

For family you can check out this blog post for all the general details.

For your little one.

I don’t recommend any more than 2-3 outfits for your session. Multiple changes for little ones can cause stress & push them in to early tiredness. We don’t want that. My recommendation is an outfit for family photos & photos of them just causal. A 2nd outfit that usually has something about being one and another more casual outfit. The final outfit should be to get messy in! If you’re not sure what to put them in, I have outfits in my studio closet just for this purpose! Still need some ideas let me know! However some of my favorite places to get outfits are H&M, Alice + Ames & of course Target!

Props or items you’re thinking of including

Don’t bring a bunch of stuff. I am all about including a family blanket, or something that was used during their newborn session (like a photo of them). Adding too many extra things really takes away from the focus on your little one. Additionally, it distracts your little one. They will want to touch all the things & get in to things. Keep it simple & easy for yourself & for your little one.

If you’re planning for a one year session.

Cake. SOME kids don’t like cake. My recommendation is to go with a cake that has fruit in it or on top of it that they do like. Ie. if strawberry is their favorite that should be the flavor! It doesn’t have to be big! a little 4-6 inch cake will suffice as will a cupcake, donut (stack of donuts), lollipop, giant bowl of cereal really anything you want! Should you pick up a last minute cake bring cheerios or a similar snack that can be stuffed in to the back of the cake. Since most babies don’t like cake this will make them look like they do, but also encourage them to dig in. 

Outfits. You should pack an extra outfit for the cake smash just to ensure your kiddo isn’t going home in your car covered in cake.

Extra items to pack. A towel & washcloth to clean up your little one & if not some wipes.

Session flow.

Whether in the studio space or at an outdoor location, when you arrive I give you all some time to get situated. Once we get started I typically go in the following order:

• Family photos
• Sibling photos
• Photos of your kiddo alone

Hopefully this milestone session planning guide helps your when preparing for your session. These are just some things that I have found over time that have helped clients in the past. If you don’t find the answer to your question though just give me a shout by email, text or phone call!