I’ve Been Photographing Her Since Before She Was Born… and Now She’s FIVE

There are some sessions that make me realize just how long I’ve been doing this.

And then there’s Caroline turning five.

Because technically, I’ve been photographing this girl since before she was even born.

I first met Sam and Nick when Caroline was still just a thought. Since then, I’ve gotten to watch their family grow, photograph milestone after milestone, and meet two more little girls along the way — Meredith and Blaire.

Three baby girls later, and somehow the one who started it all is FIVE.

I don't know who authorized that.

Five Deserves Its Own Photoshoot

There are certain ages we automatically think to photograph.

Maternity. Newborn. First birthday. Maybe another family session around the holidays.

But somewhere after those first few years, we stop treating every birthday like the milestone it actually is.

Five feels BIG.

They're not babies anymore, but they're still so little. They're starting school. They have opinions. They have jokes. They know exactly what they like, what they don't like, and — in Caroline's case — how they want to pose for a picture.

So for her fifth birthday, we made the photos entirely about her.

A birthday girl headband.

A cupcake with a giant number five.

A handful of ridiculously colorful balloons.

And one of my favorite colorful walls around Cornelius.

That was really all we needed.

This Is Why I Love Photographing Kids As They Grow

The coolest part of photographing the same family over and over isn't recreating the same picture every year.

It's watching the kid in front of my camera change.

I've photographed Caroline through so many different stages of her life, and now she's old enough to really participate in her own photos.

She can give me the huge cheesy grin.

Then the serious face.

Then the tiny smirk.

Then hold up her cupcake like she's personally responsible for turning five.

At this age, I don't have to manufacture personality.

It's already ALL there.

My job is basically to give it somewhere to go.

Birthday Photos Don't Need a Giant Setup

This session is also proof that celebrating a birthday with professional photos doesn't have to mean building an enormous themed set.

The location was already colorful.

Her dress was already colorful.

We added balloons, a birthday headband and a cupcake.

Done.

Instead of the props becoming the entire photograph, Caroline still gets to be the star of them.

We played with the balloons, moved around, grabbed some close-up portraits, wandered away from the colorful wall for a few simpler shots and, of course, documented the very important fact that she is officially FIVE.

Simple can still feel like a celebration.

The Best Part of Having Longtime Photography Clients

I've photographed a lot of kids over the years.

But there is something incredibly special about families like this one.

I knew Sam and Nick before they were Caroline's mom and dad.

Then I photographed Caroline.

Then their family grew again.

And again.

Now there are three little girls — Caroline, Meredith and Blaire — and I get to watch all of them grow up through my camera.

That's one of those parts of this job that I don't think I fully understood when I started.

You book a maternity session thinking you're photographing one chapter for somebody.

Then suddenly it's five years later, you're standing in front of a colorful wall with the same little baby who used to be inside Mom's belly, except now she's holding a cupcake, wearing a BIRTHDAY GIRL headband and giving you approximately 47 different facial expressions.

Excuse me???

Don't Wait for the "Big" MilestonesFirst birthdays deserve photos.

But so do fifth birthdays.

And seventh birthdays.

And the random year when they lose their two front teeth.

And the year they suddenly insist on wearing the same sparkly dress everywhere.

The things that feel completely ordinary right now are usually the things that change without you noticing.

That's why I love photographing kids at the age they actually are — personality, weird little expressions and all.

You don't need an elaborate reason.

Sometimes she's five now is reason enough.

Children’s Birthday Photography in Cornelius & Lake Norman

If your kid has a birthday coming up and you'd rather have photographs that actually feel like them than another year of phone pictures, let's do something fun with it.

We can keep it simple. We can bring balloons. We can grab a cupcake. We can find somewhere colorful around Cornelius or Lake Norman, or create something completely different in my studio.

They don't have to stand perfectly.

They don't have to give me their "picture smile."

And I'm definitely not spending the entire session asking them to say cheese.

Let them show me who they are this year.

Because apparently you blink once and the baby you photographed before she was even born is FIVE.

Still not over it.