Shannon Holden Photography

This handsome young man has changed so much since our last session! It hasn’t been long at all, but the baby I met then has all but vanished, and a little boy has taken his place. He has discovered the joy of mobility, so we spent a lot of our sesssion chasing him around the park. That is peferectly fine with me – my photography is all about capturing who he is at this age, and seeing his interest in the ducks and geese, and the families and dogs visiting the park … I can’t think of a better way to spend an evening! I have a whole new appreciation for this stage of toddlerhood, as my own daughter is going to be three years old soon, and the toddler in her is now disappearing. There is nothing like the innocence and curiosity of toddlerhood. I will forever cherish the chance to meet these little people eager to discover their world. If only we adults could approach each day with such fresh enthusiasm!

Aren’t his eyes gorgeous??

When was the last time you stopped to contemplate a blade of grass? I think we need more moments like that.

Miss M is a new client, and isn’t she precious?! In keeping with her family’s heritage and tradition, we met for her portrait session just before her first birthday, despite a chill in the air. At least we lucked out and the rain stayed away! This darling girl was so fascinated with the ducks and the geese at the park where we met, so I have lots of photographs of her pointing at those fascinating creatures! I was thrilled to get a few of her sweet smile, too, especially since her parents told me she is often a very curious and serious young lady. I was also thrilled to see her special outfit, also in keeping with her heritage. The design and fabric of it was breathtaking!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!

I will soon have a new canvas over my fireplace, and thought I’d share. The Fall color is just starting to emerge in Atlanta. With our drought, we probably won’t have the vibrance we see some years, but a few spots around town are getting very colorful.

Yesterday, I created my own children’s holiday portraits. I’m not sharing many here because they will be on my holiday card, and I don’t want to spoil the surprise. But this one I just had to share. This will be a 24×30 Gallery Wrapped Canvas sitting on my mantel very soon. I’ve had a large canvas there for about a year, an image of my kids on the beach. I love the shot so much, but the light blue colors of the sky and the sea just don’t work well in my living room. The rich jewel tones of autumn are a much better match for the decor. I can’t wait to see the new canvas there. Merry Christmas to me!

A couple of months ago, a client told me during her session a funny story. She had a good friend call her up and tell her she’d been searching for a photographer for her two boys and had found one whose website she liked. She said to my client, “Have you ever heard of Shannon Holden?” Well, as a matter of fact, yes! She told her friend that we had a session scheduled in a matter of days!

I was excited for the chance to meet my client’s friend this past week. We had another laugh at the coincidence of it all. Her two boys were SO cute! SO, SO CUTE! Just like my sons, you can tell they have a lot of love for each other, even though I’m sure they have a moment of rivalry once or twice a day. For instance, the little guy got a bit envious of his big brother’s red jacket. You know how little brothers want to be just like big brother. They gray hoodie in his size wasn’t good enough … he wanted the red hoodie just like his idol.

But the real highlight of the session for me was our method of enticing a smile from the younger one. I often sing songs to get toddlers smiling. The Wheels on the Bus or If You’re Happy and You Know It are usually my most successful numbers. This guy was not cracking. No smile. So I asked Mom if he had a favorite song. She said, with a laugh, that he loved the Indiana Jones theme song. So sure enough, Mom, Big Brother, and I broke into song together … “Dun, da dun dunnnn, Dun da dunnnnn, Dun da dun dunnnnn, Dun da dun dun dun!” Worked like a charm. He started giggling and there was that fantastic smile!! Turns out the Star Wars theme works pretty well, too, after a few stanzas of Indiana get boring.

Baby Brother #3 will be here any day! So I promised Mom I would get these portraits ready for her to view as quickly as possible. Us moms of three know how busy she is about to get! Baby Brother will be so blessed to join this beautiful family. He has two fantastic playmates waiting for him!