In the spring of 2022...

Denisse had reached out to me to have a maternity session. At this point, I had very little experience with maternity shoots, but I wanted to get into that field and offered her a discounted price to match my experience. I pitched having the session at Cape Henlopen State Park, and I am so happy they agreed to make the drive down from Wilmington for it because I just love the way these photos came out.

Denisse made sure that her husband Noe and her son Mateo were all matching, and it made the session super cute. I love the way that Mateo looks up to his mom, and although he was very young, it's clear that he was excited to have a younger brother.

Since Cape Henlopen is such a large park, we were able to take full advantage of many of its locations. We started at the playground area, where there are some open fields and wooded areas. We then made our way to the beach as the sun started to set, which made for a beautiful golden glow.

I asked if she had a name for her new son, and she told me his name will be Matias.

Recently, Denisse reached back out...

She wanted to schedule a session for Matias' first birthday! She wanted to incorporate a cake smash, which is always super fun, and there was no way I was going to miss this opportunity to work with Denisse and her family, so we set up a session at Brandywine Creek State Park.

I had actually never shot at Brandywine Creek prior to this session, but it had been on my bucket list for a long time. I figured since they lived up-state it would be a great opportunity to try something new. I knew we needed a location with a lot of variety in a very small area, and the Hawk Watch parking lot did the trick - every single photo we took for Matias' first birthday was within 100 yards of the parking lot.

We started in the meadow, and the sun was giving a perfect glow that really enhanced the beauty of the landscape. Matias was full of so much energy! Anyone that has done photography with young children knows it's not always easy, but Matias was a natural in front of the camera.

Denisse was super prepared for the photoshoot and brought multiple outfits for Matias. I will always promote outfit changes in my sessions because it can provide so much variety and really get you the best bang for your buck. P.S. I don't charge anything for outfit changes - feel free to bring like 15 different styles if you want lol.

We then made our way to a small tree on the other side of the parking lot where Matias was having a fun time playing with the grass and rocks (maybe a little bit too much fun with those rocks though, since he tried to eat one haha). And after that, we took some more photos at the wall, then made our way back to the parking lot to get ready for the cake smash.

Surprisingly, it took some convincing to get Matias to smash the cake. Maybe he just didn't want to ruin the good work the baker did. But eventually, he got a taste of the frosting and started to dig in. The Cookie Monster cake theme was adorable, and the blue frosting went so well with Matias' blue jean overalls too!

Not only did Denisse and Noe bring multiple outfits for Matias, but they also brought a cake, balloons, and some other props to differentiate the photos and make the most of their session. I'm honored that they wanted me to take Matias' photos, and I'm thankful for how prepared they were. It's a photographer's dream to have clients that are this excited about their session, so while this story is about Denisse's family and Matias' first birthday, it is also a message to prospective clients that your session is as much as you make it to be! Bring outfit changes, bring props, bring friends and family - I want you to get the most of your session just like Denisse and Noe did.