This brave, sweet family braved a VERY cold February day during an arctic blast to do some adorable first birthday photos for their little boy!

There's no doubt about it - there is something very special about photos in the snow. It's fresh, clean, and adds a special bright vibrance to your photos! I will never stop loving and begging my clients to take photos in the snow!!!

Celebrating Braxton's birthday was so, so sweet. He's just a year younger, almost to the day, than my own daughter (who was swinging at the nearby playground with daddy while we did these photos!). He was a TROOPER! It was single digits during this session. While we got this done fast, I was SO impressed with his stamina - a true Colorado kid! He wasn't very smiley that day, quite stoic, and that's okay - kids are unpredictable, and it can be frustrating when they won't smile or act happy/peppy for a session. As always, I encourage you to just go with the flow! You'll treasure these photos one day whether your little ones smile or not (and occasionally they are great fodder for teasing, didn't your parents ever do that to you? ;) ).

Braxton's mom and dad did pretty amazing, too. ;) They came in with a plan, they knew their son and what he could handle, and mom ROCKED those beautiful prop birthday packages, am I right??? Special touches like this can make your session that much better, and more unique - wonderful for special occasions like a birthday session!

And that sunset! That winter golden glow added just the perfect special touch to this session. There's a reason that I prefer to shoot during the 2-hour window before sunset. So many great things to keep in mind when planning YOUR next session, too!

If you're ready to plan your own dreamy, wintry session (or any other season!) click here to get started!