Holden's 1-Year Photos

Last year, when searching for a newborn photographer, I ended up purchasing a 3-session package: newborn, 6-month, and 1-year.  The focus of the 6-month shoot was more on our entire family because it was October and I intended to use the family photos for Christmas cards.  For his 1-year session, however, I wanted the focus to be back on Holden.  After all, we got 1-year (and cake smash) photos of Brantley so, of course, I had to remain consistent!  The session was scheduled for exactly one week after Holden's first birthday.  Wouldn't you know, he came home from daycare the afternoon before with a 102 fever (likely a reaction from his 1-year immunizations a couple of days prior).  He was also not acting like himself whatsoever, so I decided to reschedule the pictures.  Well, then he woke up on Saturday morning acting more like his normal self, so I frantically texted our photographer to see if she could come over after all.  We worked out all of the details and the session was back on....and then Holden started acting unhappy again.  At that point, I wasn't cancelling again, so we gave him some Tylenol and hoped for the best.

We started with brother photos.  Despite the two prior photo sessions, we still only have about two decent professional photos of the boys together and I was determined to try yet again.  We walked across the street to the lake and got both boys to semi-cooperate.   We bribed Brantley with a "special treat" that I, of course, forgot to pick up at the grocery store.  Thank goodness for some leftover Easter candy.

I'm decently happy with the photos.  Both boys are looking and they are semi-smiling at the same time, which is a huge victory, but the pictures don't seem to POP in my opinion.  Maybe it's because I'm getting better at taking photos myself so I have really high expectations.  Or maybe because we were in our own neighborhood and there's nothing exceptionally special about the setting.  Who knows.  I still love the photos because they feature two of the most handsome little boys I know.  And I think they portray Brantley's love/protection his little brother just perfectly!

After 20 minutes at the lake, we headed back home for a few more of Holden himself and the cake smash!  Bear in mind, he wasn't feeling great, but I still think she captured some adorable photos of his sweet personality.

All images courtesy of Sarah Ireland Photography. 

Follow the links to check out Holden's newborn and 6-month photo sessions (also taken by Sarah Ireland Photography) and Brantley's 1-year session (taken by KJane Designs).