Tuesday, May 20, 2014

{First Birthday} Photo Shoot

This is this first post in a mini-mini-series chronicling Myles' 1st Birthday! 
I started planning his first birthday when he was about 9 months old. I was so excited, I couldn't wait to pick a theme and start pinning ideas. Being a thrifty momma, it's always best to have time on my side. The more time I have to plan and buy, the more chances I have to get deals. So for me, three months was the perfect amount of time to bring my ideas and plans to fruition on a budget. 
First things first: the theme. Since Myles wasn't really into any characters yet, I crossed all of those options off of my list right away. He didn't have too many other interests yet either, so it was a pretty narrow field to choose from. Of course, his number one favorite was balls, so I thought about a sports theme. I also tossed around the idea of pirates, but ultimately, I decided to go with a water theme. His birthday is in the hottest month of the year and he was showing definite signs of being a water baby (like his momma). He loved his swimming class and playing in his kiddie pool. He was also a big fan of fish. The plastic fish in the pictures below was his first favorite bath toy for months. When he was still a tiny babe, that little fish made him laugh so hard in the tub. He even had a fish as his first pet. So something based around water was the obvious option. As we began finalizing all of the details, the theme became more specifically 'Under the Sea'. I can't wait to share with you all of the fun ideas we came up with, but we will start with his invitation and photo shoot .

I knew I wanted to create the invitations online. It is so much easier that way; type it once and have as many printed as you need. Plus, you can get them just how you like (mostly). I used Snapfish, and picked out a pre-made template. It wasn't perfect, but I liked it well enough. I was getting down to the wire with time, so I just went with one that I liked the best out of the top ones I picked out. I also knew that I wanted to make one that was mostly pictures. Since we have a lot of family and friends that live out of town and wouldn't be able to make it to his party, I wanted to have the invitation double as his first year pictures. It was half as less work for me and everyone was able to get some updated pictures of him even if they wouldn't be able to come to the party. 

I didn't have much time between deciding to do the pictures and leaving for California, so the whole set up and actual shoot was a bit rushed. I also just used my moms point and shoot camera, so they aren't the best quality. Plus, it was super hard to get him to stay still long enough to get anything good. He had fun though and we got enough decent shots to make up the invitation. Also this is the only real beach (off of a river) that we have in our area, so we had to make due!


This is my favorite of all the pictures. We have it as an 8x10 in Myles' playroom.

Then the shirt came off:

And he's done:


I didn't think to screenshot the invite or take a picture of the real thing, so this is a picture from the computer screen. Bad quality, but you get the idea.


Don't forget to come back and check out how we celebrated his birthday!

14 comments :

  1. So handsome!!! Love the invites- super cute!

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  2. SUCH A SMART THEME! The pictures came out amazing, I cant tell that the so-called quality isn’t the best, I’m too focused on that adorable smirk! I cant wait to see how it all came together, you are a master
    anticipation setter.

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  3. Thanks! He is such a ham sometimes! It was really hard to get these pictures because all he wanted to do was play and get dirty (of course)! I can't believe we even managed to get the ones we did!

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  4. Yea that theme was super fun and so easy.. well not easy to do everything, but easy to come up with the ideas. Well I guess the quality of the pics weren't too bad, but I didn't get ones that I wanted because he wouldn't stop moving! Duh, right!?! He kept trying to get in the water and I didn't want him to get too wet and that water is gross there. It's at a nasty lake and so that was the best we could do. I wish I could have had a better scenery, but he was a trooper and we at least got a couple good ones! Hopefully I will get to the rest before he turns two!!!!!

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  5. This is just adorable. I didn't have anything planned for my daughter's first birthday because my parents were out of town, and I figured we'd do something when they got back, but that day I got super emotional about celebrating a year of having her in my life and I had to throw something together and have a skype party with my Mom and Dad.
    I got here via the Countdown In Style linkup. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

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  6. awwww his so cute, loved how the shirt just came off lol. Love the way his holding the ball, thanks for linking up with us at the countdown in style x

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  7. April @ 100lbcountdownMay 25, 2014 at 3:24 PM

    I don't know why, but pictures of feet in sand look so tranquil and/or playful. They seem to be able to emote a lot without saying anything. I don't know what I'll do for Butterfly's birthday, Julia. I don't do much for the little one's birthdays... cake, family and friends. I love the card, even though it wasn't your perfect card. I love that it had all the pictures, those are the best! Thanks for sharing with Countdown in Style!

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  8. He is SO CUTE! I love the feet in the sand! Happy Birthday little man. They are perfect!

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  9. Awe that is so sweet! I know the first birthday is more about celebrating being with them for a year and making it through :) because they certainly won't remember. But I love having the memories that I can show him one day! I'm glad you ended up doing a little something. It is really special and will be a nice memory!

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  10. Yea it took a lot to get him to stay out of the sand and water and eventually his shirt got dirty so I just took it off and went with it! I love little baby bodies anyway!

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  11. I love the feet-sand picture too. It is my favorite because his little toes are so cute! It was definitely one I knew I wanted to take and his feet were perfectly in the sand!

    When they are so young it's nice to keep it simple. I did a big party because we just moved across the country and it would be the only time all the family would be together and see him for a while. Plus I like doing DIY party stuff. Well when I am not being rushed I like it! It starts to get crazy towards the end! I'm happy with how the card turned out in the end even though it wasn't want I totally wanted.

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  12. Awe thanks! He is actually already nearing his 2nd birthday! I am just that behind on posts lol! And well time is scarce around here with a busy toddler! Thanks for stopping by and leaving such a sweet comment!

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  13. Brittnei WashingtonMay 27, 2014 at 4:01 PM

    He is sooo cute! It's amazing how different they look as the months go by. We never did a photo shoot but this looks like a nice idea if we ever do. :)

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  14. It was pretty easy because we just used thing we already had and my mom actually found that rocking chair on the side of the road for free. That's where the inspiration came from. I loved the weathered look. It reminded me of an old beach house rocking chair. So we just used that with a fishing net we already had! It was fun but not so easy to get him to do what we wanted!

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