Noah's 18-Month Photos

Rather than head to Picture People for Noah's 18-month pictures, I set up a mini studio in our downstairs bedroom, complete with a backdrop stand and white seamless paper. 

I purchased both the paper and stand from Amazon, and with Brian's help, I was able to assemble the backdrop in less than 10 minutes.

That was the easy part.

The hard part?

Actually, taking pictures of our 18-month-old.  Smile.

I naively thought shooting Noah's 18-month pictures would be fairly effortless.

Boy was I wrong!

Brian, my trusty assistant, would set Noah down on the paper and even before we could begin coaxing him to look at us and smile, he was up and running.

Running behind the backdrop.

Running into the bathroom.  

Running over to the pile of toys that I accidentally left out in the room.

When it became clear that the shoot was not going to play out the way I had envisioned it in my mind, I thought, Why fight it?  Go with it.  Shoot Noah playing with his toys.

Now, technically, this is not a toy; it's a decorative bicycle I bought years ago at Pier One.  But Noah has a thing for bikes right now and he really wanted to ride it, that is until he realized that the wheels didn't move.  Then, he quickly ditched it and moved on to his Fisher-Price puppy.

This shot and the one that follows are probably my two favorite.  Noah is such a happy toddler (most of the time) and these photos capture that joy. 

They also capture the scrapes on his legs from playing outside; his mouthful of teeth which we brush every night; and the drool on his chin--clearly more teeth are coming in.   


From one Fisher-Price toy to the next.  Here, Noah pushes his cement truck around on the white paper.

Noah: Hmmm...I wonder if I can ride this truck like the bicycle?

The answer: Yes and no.  Sitting on the truck worked well, but riding it proved to be more difficult.

From there, it was off to play with a third Fisher-Price toy, the puppy playhouse.  (Perhaps, Fisher-Price should be sponsoring this blog post.  Smile.) 

The stuffed dog laying next to the house is quite special; it was a gift from Noah's birth mother and lately, Noah has grown quite attached to it.

One day, when Noah was going down for a nap, I set him down in his crib and he said, "Woof, woof."  I assumed he was just making the sound for a dog, so I said, "Yes, dogs say woof, woof!"  He shook his head back and forth, pointed at the stuffed dog and repeated, "woof, woof."  When I gave him the stuffed dog, he smiled and hugged it tight to his chest.  
  

And last, but not least, here's a shot of Noah, sans toys.

He's such a handsome boy, I tell ya.   

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with these shots, but I know there's room for improvement. 

I can't wait to capture more images of Noah in the future...in my studio!  Big smile.  

P.S. A {huge} thanks to Brian who ran after Noah (several times!), coaxed him back on to the paper (over and over again), straightened his shirt, and combed his hair.  You're hired!