Sometimes I have a complete vision for a session before I ever start putting it together.
This was not one of those times.
The “Gone Fishin’” set started with a tiny crocheted fishing hat and slowly turned into one of those projects where every finished piece gave me another idea for what I could add next.
It Started With the Hat
The first thing I made for the session was the little fishing hat.
I knew I wanted the session to have an outdoorsy, old-fashioned fishing feel, and crocheting the hat gave me a starting point for everything else. Once it was finished, I could start picturing what I wanted the rest of the scene to look like.
And that's when my ideas got a little more ambitious.
At one point, I was convinced I was going to build an actual wooden raft for the session.
Yes. An actual raft.
I started thinking through how I could build one, what it would look like, and how I wanted to style everything around it. Eventually, though, I landed on something that gave me the same feel without requiring me to become a boat builder for a 9-month milestone session: a galvanized steel tub.
Building the Rest of the Set
Once I had the tub, the rest of the scene started coming together.
I still wanted that little boat-like feel, so I made a mast using two pieces cut from a sapling in my yard. I tied them together with fabric I found at Walmart to create a simple sail, then started layering in the fishing details—the net, fishing elements, and all the little pieces that made the setup feel complete.
None of it was particularly complicated on its own. It was really a matter of taking the picture I had forming in my head and figuring out how to create it with what I could find, make, or repurpose.
And somewhere between crocheting a tiny fishing hat, contemplating building an entire wooden raft, cutting down a sapling in my backyard, and tying up a makeshift sail, the “Gone Fishin’” set officially came to life.
Taking “Gone Fishin’” to the Lake
Once all the pieces were finally together, it was time to take the set out to the lake—and the location could not have worked better. Between the water, the sand, and the shoreline, everything came together exactly how I had pictured it.
Little man was perfectly happy exploring the sand and taking everything in... until it was time to put him inside his “boat.”
He was not a fan. 😂
Thankfully, milestone sessions are all about working with the little person in front of you. We gave him breaks, let him enjoy the sand, and worked around what he was comfortable with while still getting some seriously adorable shots.
Then we decided to bring the steel tub right down into the water.
And apparently, after I abandoned my original plan to build an actual wooden raft, I still managed to make something seaworthy—because the tub immediately started trying to float away. 😂 Dad kept a hand securely on it the entire time while I grabbed the shots, and honestly, seeing the little “boat” sitting out on the lake made the whole setup.
After crocheting the hat, almost convincing myself to build a raft, making a mast from a sapling in my yard, and piecing the entire set together, getting to finally photograph it in the location I'd imagined was such a fun payoff.
And even if our tiny fisherman wasn't quite as excited about his boat as the rest of us were, the final images made every bit of it worth it.
From a Tiny Hat to a Finished Gallery
This session is such a perfect example of why I love getting creative with milestone sessions. What started with crocheting one tiny fishing hat somehow turned into contemplating building a raft, cutting down a sapling, making a sail, filling a steel tub with fishing gear, and eventually discovering that said steel tub could actually float. 😂
But that's part of the fun.
I love taking an idea—whether it's something a family brings to me or something that starts forming in my own head—and figuring out how to turn it into something we can actually photograph. It doesn't have to be elaborate or perfect. Sometimes it's the handmade, slightly ridiculous, pieced-together details that end up making a session feel the most special.
And at the end of all of it, we have photographs of this little guy at nine months old: playing in the sand, hanging out by the lake with his big sister, and reluctantly captaining his very first boat. 🎣
Those are the parts that make all the planning, crafting, and behind-the-scenes chaos worth it.
Have an idea for a milestone session that feels a little different? Send it my way. I’m always up for seeing where an idea takes us—although I make no promises that I won't consider building a raft for it first. 😉
