The First Year Collection is perfect for you if you want to be certain to document the first year of your baby’s life! It encompasses three milestones: newborn, sitting milestone, and First Birthday. You’ll enjoy many perks that are exclusive to members, and I’ll go over many of them in this post. Pricing information can be obtained by contacting the studio directly, which you can do here.
As a note, this post is sprinkled with images from a First Year Collection member’s entire year as I go through what to expect with each session. It is SO fun to look back and see how much your baby and (older child(ren) if you have them!) grew and changed throughout the year.
Perk #1: the ability to add on more sessions throughout the year with a waived session fee for any added on sessions. Clients select and purchase a collection after viewing their proof gallery, but there is no session fee for any added on sessions. Add on sessions are: natural light maternity in studio or outdoors, and milestone sessions. Here’s an example of what your year could look like - these are all configurations that past clients have chosen to do!
Maternity (add on), Newborn (included), Sitting Milestone (included), First Birthday Session (included)
Maternity (add on), Newborn (included), 3 Months (add on), 6 months (included), 9 months (add on), First Birthday (included)
Newborn (included), 4 months (add on), 8 months (included), First Birthday (included)
Maternity (add on), Newborn (included), 4 months (add on), 8 months (included), First Birthday (included)
You get the gist! You can customize your year exactly to your liking and to the milestones that are most important to you.
The family featured in this post chose to add on a maternity session to their First Year Collection enrollment. These are just a few of the images from the session below. When older siblings are involved, I photograph a mix of the whole family together, just mom and dad, and individual parent photos with their older children. Clients view a pretty varied proof gallery after their session and choose what they love the most.
The family chose the field for their maternity session location, and the timing was in the hour right before sunset. I only photograph in the hour-ish before sunset for outdoor sessions. If you’re not sure what time that will be, simply google “sunset time on X date and subtract an hour and that will give you a generalish start time! It was FREEZING cold in the month of December when I photographed this session, but had such gorgeous light. Mama borrowed her dresses from the studio wardrobe, and brought along the cutest hat to accessorize! I also have to give dad his due credit: dad is the family stylist and knocks it out of the park every time.
The Newborn Session
Once baby arrives, you will let us know! You can text the studio phone or send an email to announce the happy news. Most of our clients add us to the list of people to contact as soon as the baby is born so they don’t forget. Letting us know ASAP ensures you get first pick of what we have available for your newborn session. Newborn sessions always take place during the week and not on weekends. We will work around your partner’s work leave and any applicable nap schedules if older siblings are involved. We’ll also ask you a few questions about how your delivery went and if there are any complications or physical restrictions we need to know about. My studio is located in a handicap accessible building with a wheelchair ramp and elevator, so you won’t need to worry about navigating stairs!
Perk #2: As a First Year Collection member, you will receive complimentary hair and makeup services for your newborn session. Mamas absolutely love not having to worry about getting themselves ready the morning of, and our expert hair and makeup artists will ensure that you look refreshed and not sleep deprived. We’ll coordinate directly with the team to secure an artist for your date so you don’t need to worry about figuring that out by yourself with everything else you have going in in the early newborn days. All you have to do is show up!
Newborn sessions are laid back and relaxed, and take place in my Poncey-Highlands studio right next to New Realm Brewery and two.urban.licks, very close to Ponce City Market. We provide free parking to our clients with a virtual pass in our building lot during their time here in the studio.
If your baby has older siblings, they will only be present in the studio for the time they are being photographed. In this scenario, you and your baby will arrive first. You’ll get comfy in the hair and makeup chair while I photograph your baby’s solo portraits. Dad/your family helper and big kid(s) will arrive roughly 90ish minutes after your report time and we’ll immediately go into sibling and family photos to get those knocked out. This portion of the session generally takes about 20-30 minutes max. As soon as your big kid is finished being in photos, they will exit the studio and head home with your designated helper. We’ll finish up the session with parent/baby photos and any solo portraits not taken during that first 90 minutes.
If this is your first baby, you and your partner will arrive with baby and we’ll follow the same timeline above minus the older sibling portion. Partners are welcome to come and go (your parking pass has in and out privileges) if they want to go grab coffee or run a nearby errand, but most choose to stick around and take a nap on the studio couch or relax and enjoy snacks and drinks from our studio snack basket and drink fridge.
Mama’s dress is from our studio wardrobe, and I provide all wraps and blankets for babies! If you’re wondering: all your final images for every session you do with me come to you in BOTH black and white and color versions. Check out the big dimply smile baby boy gave us in the black and white image with dad and his sons.
Perk #3: Weekend priority scheduling for all sessions in the first year except the newborn session. Newborn sessions take pace on weekdays regardless. However, for your sitting and First Birthday sessions (and any other add on sessions during your baby’s first year), you get weekend priority booking! This means you’re guaranteed a weekend (if you want one). We typically get your sessions blocked on the calendar right around the time you’re picking up your newborn collection from the studio. Being a First Year Collection member means that you won’t ever forget to schedule your next session, because we stay on top of that for you!
The Sitting Milestone Session
Your baby’s first year goes by SO fast, and you will be incredibly busy with so many things. Many moms are getting ready to return to work right around the sitting milestone, and completely forget to schedule that session due to how busy things are. I’ve lost count of how many clients told me that they deeply regret not capturing the sitting milestone and there was no reason other than, “I was so busy with life that I forgot until it was too late.”
The sitting milestone session takes place between 6-8 months of age. The timing is your preference! Some parents want it as close to the 6 month mark as possible, while others prefer to wait until baby is a bit older. My #1 recommendation is to schedule around the 7 month mark. This is typically the sweet spot for babies being able to sit unassisted for a second or even longer, while still not yet being mobile and fully crawling.
At this stage, your baby LOVES being held by you and thinks you’re the greatest thing ever at this stage. They’re also ridiculously adorable and this is the prime age for grabbing their feet and chewing on their toes, which make for the most precious photos.
If your baby has older siblings, they’ll be participating too! Unlike newborn sessions, they are welcome to stay for the entire session as the typical time is 45-60 minutes max for milestone sessions. If you have a helper you can bring with you to keep an eye on your big kid(s) when not being photographed, we welcome and encourage that!
During this session, we’ll be photographing your baby alone, baby with sibling(s), the whole family together, baby with each parent, and baby with just their parents and no sibling. We’ll also photograph a few solo images of just your big kid(s) too if time allows. Remember: you will have a very varied proof gallery to choose from, and it’s your decision on what to keep. There’s no such thing as too many photos to choose from! Your baby will wear up to 2 outfits for their sitting milestone. One outfit for the family photo portion, and one for their solo images by themselves. Some families elect to keep things simple and only do one outfit. The choice is yours! This family chose to do 2 outfits for their baby, and mama brought along her own dress for this session. Side note: I provide all my clients styling assistance if you want help with it. I am more than happy to look over outfits that you have put together and give you specific insights and recommendations. Some clients mix and match things from their own home and studio wardrobe as well. Whatever you need: I am here to help make your experience as low stress as possible, and dare I say…. fun!
The First Birthday Session
This session follows the same timeline as the sitting milestone in terms of variety and takes place in the studio as well. If you need a recap of that: we’ll be photographing your baby alone, baby with sibling(s), the whole family together, baby with each parent, and baby with just their parents and no sibling. We’ll also photograph a few solo images of just your big kid(s) too if time allows.
This session will also include up to 2 outfits for your baby: an outfit for family photos and solo portraits, and an outfit for their birthday treat! Many families opt to keep it simple and dress baby in a diaper cover or pants. The studio wardrobe has a few neutral diaper covers available to borrow for this purpose if you don’t feel like going out to buy one!
Your baby’s First Birthday session will be finished off with some hilarious moments during the cake smash (if you opt to have one!)! The whole family participates in the cake smash, not just your baby.
We will provide you a super easy guide to ordering the perfect smash cake. Our guide is specific to Publix cakes, but the design tips apply to anywhere if you choose to go a more custom route.
Not a fan of cake, or don’t want to do an entire cake? Maybe you’re dealing with food allergies. There are vegan options available in the Atlanta area for egg and/or dairy free options, and we’ve had families opt to do fresh fruit with dairy free whipped cream, a plate of sugar free whipped cream, a plate of donuts, a small cupcake, and even pumpkin pie for an October baby. We just ask that whatever you choose to give your baby be something that will not stain/damage our antique studio high chairs.
Mama dressed herself from her closet for baby’s First Birthday session session, and they opted to do just ONE outfit for their baby boy since he wasn’t a huge fan of outfit changes at this age!
Perk #5: this is probably the most favorite perk of our clients that enroll in the First Year Collection. The First Birthday Video is an exclusive perk for FYC members. I will be filming on a separate camera body during your baby’s First Birthday session throughout, and when your final gallery is delivered, you’ll receive a 3-5 minute long video set to licensed music to keep and watch repeatedly as your baby grows up and isn’t a baby anymore. I can’t keep them little, but I can freeze time and create a video that will become one of your most treasured possessions - a time capsule of when your baby was one year old that captures their personality, their funny expressions, love for their family, excitement for life, and adorable icing covered fingers and face.
Perk #6: FIRST access before all other clients to our special studio events during the year…. the biggest of which is Santa! This event sells out in minutes every single year, but First Year Collection members never have to sweat it since they get to book first. You can see these little guys aren’t so little anymore! Our Santa event is NOT open to the public. If you stumbled across this post and you have never worked with me in the past for a full portrait session (maternity, newborn, milestone, or family) you will not be able to book a Santa session with me as I limit event eligibility to my existing client database.
Our First Year Collection members have first access to booking for special events. Currently (subject to change) we offer our Santa sessions in November the weekend preceding Veteran’s Day (booking opens around Labor Day), The Motherhood Experience sessions during the month of March (booking opens mid January), and Modern Heirloom Portraits during select dates in July/August right around back to school time (booking opens in June).
There are a few more perks as well, and we’d love to share them with you! You can contact the studio by clicking here to let us know that you’re interested in enrolling in the First Year Collection, and we’ll give you a call to answer all your questions, followed by sending over our .pdf that outlines every single detail.
Lily Sophia Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, and family photography in Atlanta, Georgia and surrounding areas.