Koolina baby photographer | All the feels for her first birthday

Family love

So. much. love. I heard it in her voice when she first described her family. She had been searching for an Koolina baby photographer to capture a special first birthday. At the time, I was on Big Island and she was on Oahu so we had to settle for a phone call. Really, that’s all you need. You can pick up a lot of nuance in a voice. If you listen closely you can really discover what’s important to someone and what worries them. Understanding people is what photography is all about – finding and discovering connections within a family and showing them what that love looks like through images. It’s my favorite thing about being a family photographer, but also the most challenging.

A very happy birthday

We planned the session on Sophie’s actual first birthday so they could always remember that particular day. They didn’t want props or cake smashes, they simply wanted to focus on enjoying a beautiful morning together. Our original plan was to start with photos at home – catching Sophie’s excited squeals as she awoke and stuffing chubby fistfuls of Cheerios into her mouth. A little flooding turned their home into a temporary construction zone so we re-regrouped and met at nearby Paradise Cove instead. It would be Sophie’s very first trip to the beach. And what a perfect first introduction. The cove was calm and sunny, more like a glorified bathtub than an ocean. Sophie was happy to dig her toes in the sand and they explored the beach together for the first time.

click play to watch their family film

And now for the photos by Koolina baby photographer –

To capture a bit of the every day, we left the beach for home. We finished the session lounging in the backyard with favorite books and toys. It was a wonderful way to celebrate a first birthday.

Kapolei baby photographer update

Sophie is no longer a baby. This was the very first film I ever made for a family and I loved it so much that I started offering them alongside family photos. I’ve been able to photograph this family make a film for them four times since – once at Nuuanu Valley Park, once at Kahana Bay and twice for mini sessions. I can’t wait to see them again!

Do you need an Kapolei baby photographer for an important milestone?

Let’s spend a fun morning together and capture it all – a family video and still photos. You can’t really get enough of those chubby fingers and sweet voice, can you? Contact me now if you’re interested in your own family photo session.