Eugene, Oregon children's photographer: Harbor is FIVE!

I can’t believe my niece is five years old! Seems like yesterday I was doing her newborn pictures. How does time go by so fast? I’ve done a baby and child photography milestone session with her every year near her birthday and it is always so much fun! She is the cutest thing ever, and just gets more adorable each year if that’s possible.

This year Harbor got the best birthday present ever. My sister and her husband decided to surprise her on the morning of her birthday by taking her to Disneyland! Every 5-year-old’s dream come true, right? Since my brother-in-law is a pilot, Harbor is used to the travel life, so getting on a plane to a new place didn’t even seem out of the ordinary to her.

Harbor’s birthday is at the beginning of January, so they managed to get their surprise birthday trip in before all the shutdowns and social distancing measures of COVID-19. I’m so glad, because Harbor had an awesome time and her mom and dad have been planning this for a long time!

One of the reasons they were able to keep it a secret for so long is because Harbor isn’t reading yet. So during our birthday photography session in mid-December we could even have her hold a sign saying exactly what her birthday surprise was—and she still didn’t have a clue.

My cute little niece is totally obsessed with princesses, so we did a setup to reflect that—and incorporate the Disneyland theme. She wore the cutest birthday girl dress (Minnie Mouse theme, of course), and we hung her other princess gowns up in the studio to create a fun backdrop.

For the rest of our milestone photography session we used a basic pink background and dressed Harbor up in a pink princess dress and sparkly star crown. We did a few poses, but I also just had her dance and twirl and do all the things that little girls love to do (especially when they’re wearing a flowy princess dress!) There’s no need to force poses, and I love photographing the true personalities of my clients. Capturing candid, true-to-life shots like this is totally possible in the studio—as a baby and child photographer I’ve learned that it’s all about helping kiddos feel comfortable and working with their natural love of play and zest for life.

I absolutely loved photographing my sweet niece and am so glad I could be part of capturing those memories of the best birthday surprise ever! Happy birthday, Harbor!

Thank you so much for visiting my website! I am an award-winning Eugene, Oregon photographer specializing in newborn, maternity, family, and baby and child photography. If you’re interested in booking a session, please feel free to contact me! I would love to chat with you about session options and answer any questions you might have. Portrait photography is my passion and I love using my skills and experience to capture amazing memories for families throughout Oregon.