Celebrating Birthdays With Mini Anna Photography

It’s my birthday – Or was at the end of March - and now I want to share some birthday cheer with you! And some big birthday energy!

Birthdays are one of my favorite things to celebrate with my family, and with my clients - because…well life is too short! We only have so many birthdays to spoil our loved ones and celebrate our milestones and how far we’ve come. 

We often don’t take time to slow down and recognize how special another year is! But they are truly worth celebrating - I promise!

It’s another 365 days!
Another trip around the sun. 

…and that’s a big deal!

Often as we pass by our younger milestones (up to age 21)  we stop celebrating our birthdays, or sometimes they come with feelings of sadness, disappointment, loss… but I encourage you to reframe them and celebrate them. Not just for your kids - but for you too! 

With age comes wisdom, confidence, and contentment. You have so much you can give to those around you - and documenting your beautiful smile is just one of them!

As I was reflecting on this last year, I started thinking about all the creative and unique ways that I’ve been able to document and celebrate birthdays with my clients over the years - and am sharing them here with you! In hopes that it will inspire and encourage you to celebrate your birthday with photos too!

If you’re looking for a way to celebrate your birthday, your partner’s birthday, your child’s or pet’s birthday… I’ve got you covered!!

Here are 8 ways to celebrate birthdays with Mini Anna Photography:

1. Cake smash

Cake smash sessions are the cutest way to celebrate your baby’s first trip around the sun! What can be cuter than your little one enjoying a delicious mini cake made just for them - and making a grand ole-mess, digging their hands and fingers into the frosting and cake! While looking adorable, of course! Cake smash sessions are best done in studio but we can also set it up at their birthday party.

2. Simple Birthday Portrait or Milk Bath Session

Birthday portraits don’t have to include cakes. Bring your little one in for a first birthday (or other birthdays) session in studio - we have plenty of other props and activities to celebrate the occasions: balloons, bubbles, toys, games, etc. Or it can also be a simple portrait of their adorable face and fun personalities!

3. Kids Birthday parties

Birthday are often one of the most important highlights of your kid’s year. They are usually so excited to play with their family and friends, have delicious cake, and get presents! Sometimes family and friends from out of town even come to join the festivities! Birthdays are one of the rare times when all the important people in your (or your kid’s) life come together. You don’t want to miss documenting rare and special occasions like this! I offer birthday coverage for your party, which includes documenting the party (guests and decor), capturing special moments that happened during the party, casual family portraits, casual portraits with extended family and friends, etc. I would be happy to tailor the coverage based on your needs.

4. Doljabi

Dol or doljanchi is a Korean 1st birthday tradition with a ceremony to bless the child with a fruitful future. Seeing your baby wearing a hanbok will melt your heart and I promise that you would want to document this moment the best that you can. My suggestion is to get a beautiful studio portrait of your baby in a hanbok and get a professional photographer (🙋🏻‍♀️) to document the ceremony and celebration with family. This is a huge milestone that you won’t want to miss.

5. Adult bday party for YOU!

Your kids are not the only ones who can celebrate their special days. You can too. And yes - birthday photos are for you too! Capture your adult birthday party and maybe even a casual photo booth or offer casual family portraits as a party favor to your guests.

6. Adult portrait or bday party for YOUR PARENTS/ GRANDPARENTS!

Your parents have celebrated and made you feel special on your birthday for all your life. Now it’s time for you to celebrate their special days and capture their special moments with grand kids, extended family, and friends. Moments of grandparents with their grandkids are so fleeting and so significant in their lives. My grandparents lived far away and only visited occasionally. A lot of the memories I have of them are thanks to photos that were taken and kept for decades. I would be honored to document these memories for your family.

7. Family Portrait with birthday kid

You can get family portraits done with the birthday boy or birthday girl to document this moment. They are only this age once, right? Let’s freeze this memory and make it fun for the whole family.

8. Headshots to celebrate you!

The last but by no means least, is a headshots session to celebrate you! This is perfect to do just before your birthday so you can post or share this photo on your birthday - whether you are a small business owner, or just want professional, fun or classy headshots, this is the session for you. Who doesn’t want a little content for their social media, or branding photo headshots?

There’s no wrong way to celebrate your birthday, especially if you choose to document it with any of these lovely photoshoot ideas!

I’m Anna, with Mini Anna Photography - and I specialize in studio and outdoor photography for families, newborns, pets, business owners, and more! I have my own studio in Sausalito, CA and photograph families all throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Marin County. 

If you’d like to stay up with my adventures - and even see my birthday portrait on my Instagram - follow me on Instagram @minianna.photo

Learn more about what I do at miniannaphotography.com - or snag your session there too!