This was such a fun session. I love outdoor maternity sessions. It’s an opportunity for such a relaxed, fun time. We had absolutely perfect weather! And as I mentioned before, meeting this beautiful couple’s two furry children was a delight.
Thank you, P Family, for choosing me as your baby’s first photographer. I can’t wait to meet the little one very soon!!
My first baby just turned eight years old. Before long, he’ll be 18. Each year seems to go faster than the last.
I’ve been bouncing around ideas and plans for his Eight Year Portraits in my head for weeks. I’ve changed the location at least four times. I’ve bought and returned a few outfits, even shoes. I strategically timed his recent haircut. I’ve watched the weather forecast and marked appointed times on my calendar. And still, something just wasn’t clicking for me. I was thinking like a photographer, not like a mom. And goodness knows, I have no shortage of portraits of my kids. I wanted these to be different.
I realized that I didn’t want these to be planned portraits. I didn’t want new clothes, perfect hair, or a carefully chosen setting … though all of those things are just wonderful for a portrait. I wanted these images to be all about Matthew. I wanted to tell the story of who Matthew is at eight years old. His joys, his home, his heart.
Thus, I have three sessions in mind, each to capture images for an album all about Matthew at age 8. Today was the first, in his room, wearing his favorite jeans and t-shirt, with bare feet, of course! I asked him what two things in his room he loved the most, and he answered his bear, Ojo, and his Star Wars book. He’s a bookworm.
This first image is my favorite and it brings tears to my eyes. It is the first photograph I captured today, before Matthew even realized I had camera in hand. I love that he is still young enough to love his teddy bear. He had just jumped on the bed, and grabbed Ojo for a quick hug. A single moment in his year of being eight, totally unposed, totally unplanned. Totally Matthew. Oh, how I love this child!
Meet the C Family. We totally lucked out on the weather for this session! It fell right in the middle of that gorgeous weather front that moved through Atlanta recently, giving us just a whisper of Spring’s warmth. These three kids are close in age spread to my own, so working with them was like reliving a not-so-distant memory of my children. I find it so heartwarming to see how older siblings look after “their” baby. These two big sisters were so proud of their little brother. You can see it in their eyes.
In every session presentation I prepare for a client, I pick about 6 to 10 of my favorite images from the session and mark them as the Artist’s Faves. I started doing this a couple of years ago, because I so often got a call or email from a client after seeing their presentation asking me to help them choose. As I pick my choices from the session, I don’t always choose the one with the biggest smile or the perfect little pose, although I do love those images. Instead, I pick the ones that I feel really express my voice as a photographer, the ones that I would hang on my own studio gallery wall.
Well, in this session, I couldn’t pick my favorites. Mr. B was just the perfect little subject. (You might recognize the scenery from his mommy’s maternity session, and I met B for the first time when he was just a newborn.) On first pass, I had 95% of the photographs marked as my favorite. Not very helpful in narrowing down decisions for a client, is it? Well, sorry W Family! You’ll just have to cope with too many choices this time!!
B’s Mommy also told me she loved the Vintage look I shared recently on the blog, so we set out to capture some images that would suit that processing style well. With his hoodie and curious expression, I think we succeeded.
Keep smiling, beautiful boy! I’ll see you in a few months! You’ll be sitting up, giggling, and maybe even mobile by then. We’ll have a blast!
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