Hunter 1 Year Old - Brisbane Baby Photographer

It was a beautiful summer morning, a fresh breeze still in the air as this beautiful family joined me at the Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens for a photo shoot to celebrate their little boy Hunter turning one year old.

Big sister Novelle, who I met as a newborn herself, played with her Dad as her Mum and I said our hellos.

Despite having had four sessions together now, Novelle was still a bit shy around me at first. We headed into the gardens, Hunter in the stroller looking around at all the greenery, Novelle and her Dad following behind us checking out the water dragons and kangaroo statues in the gardens.

Our first stop was under a leafy archway for the first family photos. Hunter brought his smiles out pretty quickly but Novelle wasnt too sure just yet. We moved to the lakeside and Novelle was very pleased to be the tallest in this family photo, getting to stand on the pillar behind her parents.

Next we stopped at the jetty, one of my favourite spots to photograph in the gardens, morning or afternoon. The kids enjoyed looking for turtles and eels and birds on and under the water. The sun was twinkling through the willow tree leaves as the summer breeze shushed around us.

A butterfly swooped past giving Novelle a little fright but a great game of "Is there a fly on Mummy's nose?" got all her giggles coming out and some stunning smiles too.

Hunter was so happy being lifted above his Dads head, his squeaks and giggles lasting only a couple of lifts before his face changed to let us know he had had enough.

It was starting to warm up and Hunter was getting hot and hungry, so we took a short break for a snack in the shade to see if that would help us get the last few photos we were chasing for the day. But it wasnt quite meant to be.

Hunter just wanted to snuggle in to his Mum and every time we tried to put him down for a photo with his sister, sitting on his bottom or laying in her arms, he burst in to tears again and only settled when nestled back on mums shoulder.

Sometimes this is the case for young children, only one will be interested in having photos at a time and we struggle to get both children happy and co-operating at the same time for a sibling photo. But thats part of childhood and family chaos, its real life. Real life isn't always "picture perfect" which is why I like to capture candid moments as well as formal portraits at a family session. Those moments are just as memorable as the perfect ones.

It was bittersweet saying our goodbyes after capturing this family's growth over the past 3 years. Seeing Novelle grow from a tiny newborn baby with beautiful hair into the bright, sparkly young girl she is now, and capturing the past year of her little brothers milestones has been a complete joy.

Hunter is a happy, sweet little boy, fascinated by everything and loved so dearly by his family. Happy Birthday Hunter, the first of many, many more to come.