Outdoor toddler photography is the way to go for one and two year olds, if you ask me- and I’ll bet if you asked them, too! Staying put in one spot is not a toddler’s strength, to put it mildly.  It makes sense to set up a session that will give them something to do that they’re good at. Toddlers are great explorers, fantastic movers and wonderful interacters. The great outdoors gives them lots of opportunities to do all those things, and they are adorable doing them, so it’s win-win for a photography session. Once we find a spot with room to roam and pretty backgrounds, we can take a step back and let it unfold. Evelyn was turning one, so her mom scheduled a session for her in an outdoor park. It was a picture perfect summer day, and the light was just magical. Evelyn’s such a happy girl. She smiled almost non-stop and didn’t even mind the outfit changes. I’m so glad, because her mom brought some adorable ones along! She’s been waiting for some time to see this first dress on her, because she bought it before Evelyn was even born. It was so sweet on her, and fit into the garden scene perfectly-

 

 

the thing that made me happiest about this outdoor toddler photography session was that Mom wanted to be in some of the pictures, too. I love including family, especially moms, because we often put ourselves behind the camera. Our kids are going to want to know what we looked like, and they’ll love seeing themselves interacting with us at this age! (For a persuasive article on this topic, see Allison Tate’s post, ‘The Mom Stays in the Picture’).

 

 

 

Since this was her first birthday session, we had to photograph the one year outfit too. Evelyn can pull off the tutu and sunglasses look like no one else!

Mom’s other request for the outdoor toddler photography session was that we incorporate the blanket that was used in the newborn session. We decided to use it in a picnic scene. Such a picture of that first year- from lying on the blanket to using it in imaginary play!