First Birthday Portraits of Joseph with his mum & dad

Doug was thinking about the perfect Christmas present to get his beautiful wife, Tamsin. He could buy clothes, but fashions change and threads wear out over time. He could buy books, but once read they get passed on or forgotten. He could buy gadgets, but within a few years they become obsolete.

What’s the one thing we keep and treasure for the rest of our lives? Our photographs. Our portraits record life’s milestones and capture our loved ones at their very best. Anything else we throw out, replace or pass on. But our photographs stay with us.

What’s more, their adorable little son, Joseph, would be turning one in January. Timing the shoot to coincide with his birthday would capture this milestone and be something fun for the family to look forward to after all the excitement of Christmas.

Early in the New Year, we met to discuss the shoot. Doug and Tamsin have recently moved house and are working through the redecoration process. They love a bright, airy, Scandinavian aesthetic, with putty-coloured wall paint. Doug and Tamsin planned their outfits to compliment the colour scheme of their home, which means their portraits will look simply perfect once displayed on the walls.

It’s not very often that you get to have your family in front of a professional camera, so we made the most of it by capturing all the different combinations. That meant all three members of the family together, each parent with Joseph and of course, plenty of the birthday boy on his own.

The image above is one of Doug and Tamsin’s favourites.

“This is so characteristic of Joseph right now,” Doug told me. “He’s always crawling at high speed across the floor, and you’ve captured him perfectly.”

Joseph is the sweetest little thing, with a big, ready smile revealing his two bottom teeth. We played lots of mini games to hold his interest, and he regularly rewarded us with superb grins just like this one:

Afterwards, Doug said:

“Sarah offers a fantastic service with a personal touch. We are very happy with the quality of the pictures she captured. Thank you.”

Doug, family photography client in Bicester, Oxfordshire

If you’re interested in family photography, please get in contact:

Sarah Plater LMPA is a qualified professional family photographer based in Bicester, Oxfordshire.