Meet Will! Will just turned one and I could have eaten him right then and there! He reminded me of my middle boy at this age- just happy, happy, happy! His session was full of smiles and laughter. As I looked through the portraits, I was hard pressed to find one that he wasn't grinning from ear to ear. Just made me smile watching his happiness! And Will has a lot to smile about...he is baby #4 in his family...the only boy in a house full of girls...adorable girls that love their baby brother. I loved this first portrait with Will and his sister Julia- Julia being the helpful big sister assigned to play Patty Cakes with Will...she look her job seriously and with great success as Will giggled despite the death grip she had on his wriggly wrists! I'm a sucker for little baby hands and feet so the second portrait grabbed my attention right away... look how his baby hands are positioned so perfectly...it makes all the little chub and dimples look so yummy! And all those little baby teeth...just a great portrait altogether. But hands down the third portrait is by far my favorite! It grabs me as a photographer AND a mother. As a photographer, I immediately am drawn to the sparkle in Will's eyes...the profile of those unmistakable eye lashes...the placement of the mom's hands so her wedding ring is a key element in the portrait. But as a mother, I love the smile...of the MOTHER. The mom was not prepared to be in any portraits...all you moms know getting out of the house with even one clean, fed kid is enough to ask, makeup is a luxury no one has time for! But this portrait was at the end of the session when Will's patience with us had come to an end. I asked his mom to play with him in hopes of stealing a few more sincere expressions. This was the last snap of the camera...I am so glad we persevered! I almost cropped in so nothing but the mom's hand was showing, but as I did I noticed the smile on the mom's face. It evoked vivid memories of the emotions I feel when my children smile at me. I can remember as a new mom when my little ones first started smiling, the intense feeling that overcame me whenever my baby smiled. I remember thinking, "Wow, this is a feeling I have never felt before!" It didn't matter how tired I was, how frustrated I was, how overwhelmed I was, as soon as that smile was flashed, a wave of happiness overcame me. I won't be surprised if the mom asks to be cropped out altogether in this portrait, but I had to include her for this blog entry. To the moms with new babies, this feeling never goes away. My three year old can lay down on the Walmart floor and pitch the biggest fit of his life, but when I am buckling him in his car seat, all the world sings as he flashes his smile....My four year can explode in a tirade of anger as he melts down over being beat at Mario Carts on the Wii, but when he finally calms down through tear stained cheeks and smiles at my silly antics, I totally forget about the earlier incident...My six year old can sass me as I lecture her for some six-year-old-offense (ohhh, that can really get at me!) and yet one sincere smile and I have forgotten the pre-teenage attitude she so perfectly exhibited. Yes, the feeling you get as your child smiles never lessens, never dulls. And so as a mom, I love that third portrait...Will is precious, his smile is perfect, his eyes sparkle, but the mom's smile is what I love most...reminds me of why we deal with all the chaos, all the sleeplessness, all the WORK of motherhood...because nothing, and I mean NOTHING can replace the feeling of watching your child smile! It is contagious!
y appeared a couple approached us and explained that they had little ones at home this age and asked if they could help amuse Maddie. Oh my gracious, it worked! Maddie was OVER my crazy tricks and not amused despite her mom's persistent attempts. But THIS was a new face...actually TWO new faces and there it was, that smile! That grin! That interest in her eyes again! So we got it, magical light, magical expression all thanks to the magical strangers! Thank you Random Strangers!!! I will certainly pay it forward!!!
other! Yes, dedicated because she has four fun, rambuctious boys but also dedicated because we had to WORK to get this session planned. It actually was planned for LAST year, and I'll bet we had to reschedule 5 times because of weather...once we even went on location only for it to start raining as soon as we stepped out of the car. So, when we had a pretty day at last, we all celebrated! Having two boys of my own comes in handy with sessions like this because I had some tricks up my sleeve to help make them giggle...I mean, who would think that the word 'Underwear' could invoke such sincere belly laughs! I struggled picking which portraits to upload to the blog because we got such a variation of expressions and settings. I settled on these because they all were taken in the setting that I think ALL the boys felt most comfortable: an open field with lots of wide open area to run! The first portrait is of the baby...one tough cookie for being the youngest in this crowd, but his expression here is so innocent and sincere...doesn't it look like he is looking right through the camera?! Then the second portrait screams boy, boy, boy, and well, boy! They were tired by this point but as soon as I let them run loose, the smiles started flowing. There is a special relationship that develops between brothers and this portrait really captures that...afterall, it takes work to continue to hold hands when you are given the 1-2-3 go! Lastly, this could be my favorite portrait. I love, love, love when a portrait shows sincere emotion...when you can look at it and almost hear the sounds that were going on. This was taken right before the dad swung his son around and around in circles. Looking at this portrait you can almost hear the dad saying, "You ready? Now, 1-2-3!" And the anticipation on the son's face is priceless! There just really isn't much that can top your dad's one-on-one attention if even for a few moments! It reminds me as a parent of three children how important it is to take the time to spend one on one time with each child...it doesn't require much, just a momentary squeeze, or a playful tickle or an impromptu swing. If it is likely to invoke an expression of such innocent joy and anticipation in my child's face, it will be worth the extra effort. And next time thanks to this portrait, I'll pause a second longer to really appreciate that glimpse of raw emotion in my little one's eyes!
