Mateo’s 1st Birthday

For a family documentary assignment, I had the honour of photographing Mateo’s 1st birthday party this past weekend. In his family’s culture, it is celebrated with a Dol. A Dol or doljanchi, is a Korean ceremony used to celebrate a first birthday and bring a prosperous future to the baby.

As part of the tradition, a doljabi occurs. This is where various objects are placed in front of the child and whichever object the child picks represents their possible future. Mateo ended up picking a microphone suggesting he’ll be a future entertainer. Although the paintbrush seemed to be his favourite to play with.

Mateo also had a chance to have eat his first birthday cake which I was able to capture.

As much as I love documentary style photography, it was quite a challenge to get those perfect shots in a non-perfect setting. Not having control over the subjects and lighting brings a new level of difficulty. I would definitely do this again though as I feel that the challenge is worth it if it means getting those special candid moments.

Thank you to Mateo’s family for welcoming me into their home and allowing me to document this special experience.