Eugene, Oregon baby photographer: Zalia is ONE!

It was wonderful to see Mia, Brent, and their daughter Zalia again last month! I have gotten to know this family a little bit over the last year or so through my work as a Eugene, Oregon photographer, doing a maternity session for Mia when she was pregnant, and Zalia’s newborn photos when she arrived. Be sure to check out the photos from Mia’s session and Zalia’s session if you missed them! 

I remembered Zalia being absolutely beautiful as a newborn, with fair skin and a head of dark hair. She was the one I did the Snow White setup with when she was a baby. It was the perfect them for her. Miss Zalia is still a gorgeous little gal, and (if such a thing is possible) has gotten even more adorable over the last year!

We were going to do a cake smash as part of this baby photography session, but we were also combining those photos with milestone pictures of Zalia and her parents, so we did that portion first. It’s always best to do cake smash photography as the last part of a session, before the frosting takes over! We got some great shots of Zalia and her mom and dad. Zalia was so happy and smiley for me! She had a great time crawling around on my bed, exploring the props in my studio, and cuddling with her parents. 

Mia is Korean, so she also brought a traditional Korean dress for Zalia to wear. I was just dying from the cuteness of it all! Such a pretty dress, and so different from what I’m used to seeing. I loved that Mia brought that to incorporate. It’s so fun to include personal items connected with a baby’s family or heritage, and I always enjoy when parents decide to bring things like that to their little one’s photo session. 

One reason I always save the cake smash for last (apart from the obvious considerations of crumbs and frosting), is that not all kiddos like it. You never know what their reaction is going to be until you get them in front of that decadent mound of pastry and icing. Some kids get really into it, and others decide it’s way too much sugar and stickiness. It’s not uncommon for there to be some tears during cake smash photography. Luckily for all of us though, Zalia loved her cake! It was so cute to watch her as she tested it delicately, decided it was really good stuff, and dug right in! It wasn’t long before she had frosting all over her face and hands, and it was clear that she was enjoying every bite. 

It was such a blast to have this sweet baby girl and her family in my photography studio! This was such a fun birthday photography session and I’m so glad I got to do it for them. I hope I will continue to see Zalia for photos many times in the future. Happy first birthday, Zalia!