Baby milestone and first birthday portraits
Baby milestone sessions are designed for the stage that follows the newborn weeks, when your baby holds their own head up, reaches for what they want, and looks directly back at the camera. Milestone portraits are well suited to babies who can sit independently, who are beginning to show their growing personalities, or who are preparing to celebrate their first birthday.
Milestone sessions start at $599. The first birthday portrait experience is $799, because a celebration session involves decor and preparation that a standard milestone session does not require. A cake smash is booked as the first birthday portrait experience.
Every session takes place at the private studio in Roseville, by appointment. Families come to the studio from Roseville, Sacramento, the Bay Area, and the rest of Northern California.
A sitter session is a milestone session
The sitting stage is the one most parents ask for by name, and it is often listed elsewhere as a separate service. At Natalie Vell Studio it is not separate. A sitter portrait is one kind of milestone session, booked in the same way and priced in the same way. Whether your baby has recently started sitting without support or is already pulling up on the furniture, you are reserving the same session, and the photographs are built around the stage your baby has reached.
How the session is run
Babies do not take direction, so Natalie guides you and works around your baby. The light, the background, and the setup are prepared before you arrive, and from there the session follows your child rather than a plan on paper. You will spend part of the time just outside the frame, making the sounds that bring out the expression Natalie is waiting for.
Because the studio is private, the temperature, the lighting, the backgrounds, and the pace are all controlled, and no one passes through the background. Wardrobe changes happen in the studio rather than in a public restroom.
The first birthday portrait experience
A first birthday session is planned rather than simply scheduled. Colors and decor are agreed on ahead of time, the set is built for your child, and the studio takes care of the cleanup afterward rather than leaving it to you. That preparation is the reason the first birthday experience is $799 rather than the $599 at which a milestone session starts.
If you would like a cake smash, this is the session you are booking. The cake is part of the first birthday portrait experience rather than an addition to it, and the specific details are confirmed when you book.
Retouching
Retouching is meant to polish a photograph without erasing the person in it. With a baby, that means the soft folds, the fine hair standing on end, and the shine on a chin remain exactly where they are. What you receive is a cleaner version of your child rather than a smoothed one.
Planning your session
Most of the planning takes place in a short conversation before your session date, and it covers:
- the stage your baby has reached, and the time of day that fits comfortably with naps and feedings
- what your baby will wear, and what you will wear if you are in the frame as well
- who else joins the session, whether that is one parent, a sibling, or both
- colors and decor, if you are booking the first birthday portrait experience
Anything further, including the practical details of the day, is confirmed when the session is booked.
Frequently asked questions
Milestone sessions are most often reserved when a baby can sit without being propped, and again in the weeks before the first birthday. If you are unsure, share how old your baby is and what your baby is able to do independently right now, and Natalie will let you know what makes sense.
No. A sitter portrait is one kind of milestone session. It is booked in the same way and starts at the same $599.
Yes. A cake smash is booked as the first birthday portrait experience, which is $799. The higher price covers the decor and the preparation that a celebration session requires.
More preparation goes into it before and after you arrive. Colors and decor are chosen in advance, a set is built for your child, and all of it is taken apart and cleaned afterward. A milestone session starts at $599, and the first birthday experience is $799.
That is normal at this age, and the session is planned around it. The session pauses so you can feed, change, or hold your baby, and it continues once your baby is ready. Nothing about the session depends on your baby performing on cue.
Yes. When you book, let the studio know who would like to be in the frame. Every session is fully guided, so posture, hand placement, chin, and expression are directed for everyone being photographed. No experience in front of a camera is needed.