Ben was quite the gentleman as you can see and as is evidenced by the fact that he keeps his bow tie on even at bath time – well a gentleman should always be dressed to impress!

It was an honour to have him to come to visit my studio in Crawley Down along with his mum and dad to celebrate his first birthday.  We started off with a clean shoot to capture him looking at his best (before things get sticky!) although he was very keen to explore the studio so we did have to try quite hard to provide enough distraction to hold him still for a moment.  At my studio, anything goes – nursery rhymes, singing silly songs, dancing, squeaky toys asqueaking – whatever it takes to get the shot, we will do it!

Then it was time to get the cake out. Now Ben was not quite so sure about getting involved with such a sweet confection (although it did look lovely – I’d have dug in if requested to!).  That’s pretty normal with babies to be honest, we just apply a little patience and gentle encouragement and they can generally be persuaded to get stuck in after a while. I also have a stock of miniature wooden spoons that they can use to hit the cake or dig about with if they prefer to keep their hands clean – that can be a really helpful trick.  After a while, he got the hang of it and got good and messy.

That meant it was the perfect time to get out my vintage tin tub full up with warm and bubbly water to have a good clean up and a splash around.  I just love that he kept his bow tie on – makes the pictures even more perfect in my eyes.  Accessories are always welcome in my studio!