First Birthday & Family Photos with Meredith

Charlotte got in contact when her beautiful daughter, Meredith, had just turned one. She and partner Mark hadn’t yet had the opportunity to capture some beautiful family photos of them all together, and decided that this birthday milestone might just be the perfect reason to get a date in the diary.

If you’ve got a family, you probably recognise the scenario: you take many, many pictures of your baby, but you’re rarely in them yourself. All of a sudden a year has passed, and you’ve still not got one you love that has all three of you in it. The passing of a milestone – such as a birthday – is a great reason to make time for those important (but not urgent) tasks that never make it to the top of the to-do list otherwise!

And – happily – a beautiful family photo appreciates in value over time. After all, you can never go back to when your child was younger to re-capture a memory, which makes every photo you do have more precious.

Meredith’s mum Charlotte originally hails from Essex (like me), although she grew up on the other, prettier side of the county: Leigh-on-Sea. Oxfordshire is leafy and stunning with its stone-walled and thatched-roof cottages, but unfortunately it is also completely landlocked.

Charlotte misses the sounds of the waves and the salty smell of freedom from the ocean air, and can’t wait to take Meredith to the seaside for the very first time this summer, probably to the beautiful beach at Bournemouth!

I can imagine Meredith will spend the day busily rearranging the sand and the sea. She’s incredibly bright and curious, and is on the move all the time, keeping mum and dad busy!

Luckily, they both have stockpiles of energy, as they are both fitness fanatics, enjoying triathlons, exercise classes and gym sessions.

Mark and Charlotte met in Egypt, while both on separate holidays with their friends. They connected over their shared shock at the grubbiness of the hotel, and kept in contact when they returned home.

After driving long distances to meet up each weekend, they decided to give the relationship a serious go and moved in together six months later. They’ve now been together seven years and married for three of those, with little Meredith arriving on the scene a year ago.

Meredith has turned their world upside down but also lit it with a million spotlights. She finds joy and wonder in everything. All the things that we grown-ups have done a million times and find mundane, she watches with amazement. Charlotte and Mark are loving watching her grow and develop, hearing her laugh and seeing her smile.

Meredith bought a couple of her favourite toys with her to our shoot, including a black cat called Betty and a soft, grey rabbit, aptly called Bunny, captured here:

Charlotte tells me that Meredith is incredibly kind towards animals. She was certainly looking after her cat and rabbit, making sure to offer them both some of her crackers and juice!

In fact, Meredith is a complete cutie, with her big eyes and cheeky little giggle (most often heard when running away from us grown-ups!). It seems one year old is the perfect age to capture this little one’s sweet personality, as well as the incredibly loving bonds between this beautiful family of three 🙂

After our shoot, Mark said:

“We had a family photo shoot with Sarah and she was so fantastic. Our 1 year old daughter did not want to sit for the photos but Sarah was so patient and had so many ideas to entertain her and get just the right shot. The whole process was relaxed and fun. Consequently our finished photos are outstanding – we love them! We would recommend Sarah to anyone.”

Mark, Family photography client from Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire

If you’re interested in professional portraits of your child(ren) or family photography in and around Bicester and/or Oxfordshire, please get in contact:

Sarah Plater LMPA is an award-winning qualified, certified professional newborn and family portrait photographer based in Bicester, Oxfordshire. She is the Master Photographers Association Newborn Photographer of the Year 2019 for the Central Region (covering Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire).