First birthday photos with Joseph

It never ceases to surprise me when a little one that I’ve photographed as a brand new baby arrives back at the studio – what feels like just a few weeks later – for their first birthday photoshoot. From a snoozing, swaddled little newborn emerges a lively, active and energetic toddler-in-the-making.

So it was with Joseph. His newborn photoshoot with me was a year ago. I’ve followed his progress on social media, but seeing him in person is startling. He’s already crawling at speed, standing up and taking his first few tentative steps. He has the cutest, cheekiest grin and loves babbling away in conversations with his mum, Laura.

There have been so many favourite moments since Joseph was born. One of Laura’s favourites was seeing Joseph finally reunited with his grandparents after all the months in lockdown.

Little Joseph loves being out and about exploring, going swimming and singing along in his sensory classes. COVID-19 put a stop to all of those, but the toughest part of all of it was the separation from his grandparents. Their eventual reunion, on Laura’s dad’s birthday, was an emotional moment.

There has been one upside to COVID-19, however, and that’s James working from home.

He’s a self-employed recruitment consultant; probably the kindest, funniest one you’ll ever meet. So much so that his clients only want to work with him. However, sometimes the days are long, and little Joseph is already tucked up in bed when James gets home. 

Laura fills him in on each of Joseph’s achievements, but of course it’s not the same as seeing them in-person. Thanks to home-working, however, James has been able to watch Joseph achieve so many more developmental milestones.

For James, his favourite moment so far is when Joseph was four months old. James walked into the room and Joseph looked up at him and said, “Da da!”. It was the first time he’d said it, melting James’ heart completely.

Indeed, towards the end of our shoot, Joseph reaches out to indicate that he wants his dad to pick him up. James scoops him into his arms, and Joseph rests his head against his dad’s chest. James leans his head towards his son, returning the affection.

“Hopefully we’ll be back here with another newborn in the next year or two,” James told me as Joseph snuggled into him.

Laura laughed, “Maybe.”

“Definitely maybe,” James smiled. 🙂

If you’d like to book your child’s first birthday cake smash photoshoot, or if you have any questions about family photography with me, please get in contact.

Sarah Plater LMPA is an award-winning, qualified, professional 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).