The holiday season has been full of treats and prizes at natnanton.com! With amazing swag like the $50 LUSH gift card, the premium tickets to Cirque du Soleil and the most recent, Images by Bethany prize pack, Santa was getting a little worried about job security.

I can’t wait to announce the next giveaway! But for now, I reveal the winner of some serious loot: a family portrait session with Images by Bethany and an 8×10 print for FREE!

I was nervous at the idea of having a portrait session in a studio with my two-year old. What if she refuses to cooperate? What if she has a meltdown? I imagined the worst-case scenario: we leave our session with snapshots of a mother and daughter doing the ugly cry.

OK I’m being a bit dramatic. But I never would’ve thought that having my toddler in an unfamiliar room for an hour (equal to 12 hours in toddler time) with a stranger, would result in something so perfect.

Below, I share a few photos from my session with Images by Bethany, as well as tips for photoshoots with toddlers. You’ll find this useful in case you win my Images of Bethany giveaway (details at the end of this post).

How To Keep Your Toddler Happy During Photoshoots

1. Follow your photographer’s lead: Bethany provided us with pre-shoot guidelines that really helped us prepare for the day; she handled the tougher toddler moments with grace; and she walked us through the entire process. Seeing that she is a professional at photographing kids and a mother herself, it’s no surprise that following her lead had such beautiful results.