What’s better than a lifestyle session? A lifestyle cake smash, followed by a sink bath and a crib full of balloons, topped off with some family photos at Flat Fork Creek Park, that’s what! This session is filled to the brim with goodness, so get ready to scroll!!

Dawn and I connected back in October of last year. We were trying to coordinate a holiday session, but the timing didn’t end up working out and we put things on hold. Fast forward a few months and Dawn reached out to schedule this lifestyle session for Zach’s one year photos… complete with a blue-frosted cupcake smash. We all know how much I adore lifestyle sessions and shooting in client’s homes, so when I showed up and Dawn and Chris gave me free range to direct where and how things would be shot, I was just smitten with them. Their home is absolutely beautiful and there were a ton of options as the light was streaming in the windows from the west. We set up Zach’s cupcake on the counter and I asked them if it would be alright to get onto their island in order to get up close and personal during the cake smash.

It’s a special thing to invite a stranger into your home. It’s another level of special to let this stranger climb up on your kitchen island, barefoot to get right into the middle of what’s happening. Dawn and Chris couldn’t have been more accommodating or laid back about it all. Have I mentioned, I’m 7.5 months pregnant? I zipped right up there and boy am I glad they were so on board with my crazy ideas. I absolutely love the way these turned out. And sometimes, you just have to be there to know the full story. In the background on the mantel is a string of photos documenting Zach’s first year of life – one for every month. It’s the perfect little memory for them as they come back to these images again and again as he grows.

We followed up the (cup)cake smash with a sink back (MY FAVORITE!) during which Dawn was caught red-handed (or should I say blue-mouthed?) at having snuck some icing and Chris ended up covered in it. All three of them laughed and splashed and it was a perfect family moment in their still-new house and home here in Indiana. This session was inspired by this one year session and we had time to play in the nursery with a crib filled with balloons. From there, we ventured over to Flat Fork Creek Park to wrap up our evening together. Lifestyle galleries are always a bit larger (okay, huge) due to the way they’re shot and this session is no exception to that. I cannot wait to deliver the full collection to this family, but in the meantime, I leave you with all of this! Enjoy!

He gave us fair warning that our time was running out. 😉

And with that, Zach decided he was officially done, but that didn’t stop us from sneaking in a few parent shots while he snuggled in my quilts at my feet. 😍

casey and her camera is an Indianapolis lifestyle photographer specializing in family and lifestyle photography for Indianapolis, Indiana and the surrounding areas.