Oliver: 1 Year

I first met Oliver last summer when his mom Nicole booked me for a baby session. Oliver was just 10 weeks old and I just couldn't get enough of his pouty little lips and chubby cheeks, so you can imagine my excitement when Nicole contacted me about coming back to Des Moines for his 1 year photos. One thing I love about Nicole is she has great ideas and so when she suggested a cake smash as part of the session, I was super excited.

The session started out at the Des Moines Botanical Gardens, which was perfect - lots of pretty greenery and flowers everywhere made it feel a little more like spring. I wish we had something like this in the Iowa City area, it would be wonderful for winter photo sessions. Oliver was ready for his session from the start, although he definitely kept my on my toes as he's walking around a ton and curious about everything!











I love this photo, just look at that smile!






After we finished up at the Botanical Gardens, we headed back to Nicole and James' home to take the cake smash photos but first we had to get a few more beauty shots. A model's work is never done...




Then came Oliver the Owl's photo debut! Nicole is throwing an owl themed party for Oliver's 1st birthday at the end of the month and found this adorable hat on Etsy (love that place). I proposed the idea of doing a sort of "nest" for the photo and here's how it turned out!


After all that work, it was finally time for Oliver to enjoy his first taste of birthday cake. He's never had any sweets, so Nicole and James were interested to see his reaction. These pictures are some of my all time favorites - it was such a fun way to end the session. Thanks again to Nicole, James, and Oliver for inviting me back to take your photos - it was great seeing you all again and I hope you like the preview!