Birthday Babies Post #4

The next big milestone that parents bring their little ones in for is 1st birthdays. As a kid, birthdays are a big deal and what is a bigger deal to most parents than their kiddos turning one. Working with a one year old has its own set of challenges. By the time a child has turned one they are mobile and independent. There is no telling a one year old what to do. They like to do their own thing and want nothing to do with sitting still. After awhile every photographer develops tricks of the trade so to say. We find things that distract and entertain the kids while getting the shots they need. One of my personal favorites right now is using a feather duster. Yes, a feather duster! Tickling kids with the duster is a great way to get them laughing and give you enough time to jump back and snap that image. A few others tricks are having them give you a high five and pretending it hurt, or having them call you a monkey, Turkey, or whatever. Today in particular I used my lost rubber duck trick. I put the duck on my head and asked them if they could find it and when they did I start to fake sneeze and knocked the duck off my head and caught it. For whatever reason kids think it is one of the funniest things they have ever seen!

One big part of a 1^st birthday session is doing a cake smash. Letting kids stuff as much cake into their mouths as they can, seems to be a rite of passage when turning one. Basically, give a kid a cake and see how messy they can get before crashing from a sugar high. Even though the cleanup kind of stinks it is pretty cute and fun to watch!