Family photoshoot, Keynsham
A baby’s first year has this funny way of feeling like both a lifetime and the blink of an eye. I was reminded of that recently when I returned to photograph a family in Keynsham, a year after I’d done their newborn session. Little Ava had just turned one, and her parents wanted to mark the milestone with some special photos.
The first year is such a whirlwind of change, and it felt like such a privilege to be invited back to capture this next chapter. We began at home, where Ava was happily surrounded by brand new birthday toys, the perfect distraction while she got used to me and the camera. Those simple little moments - sitting on the floor, playing, showing off toys, they are often the ones that bring out the biggest smiles.
After some time indoors, we stepped outside to enjoy the sunshine and wandered along a nearby footpath. The light was just right: sunlight filtering through the trees, golden tones wrapping everything in a soft glow. Combined with the colours of the season and the obvious love between Ava and her parents, it made some wonderful pictures.
She may not have fully understood what the day was all about, but these photographs will always hold the story. A reminder of just how much she was cherished in that fleeting first year.
Sessions like this aren’t only about marking milestones, but about preserving the essence of a family as it grows together. One day Ava’s family will look back at these photos and remember exactly how this moment in time felt.
