Ellowyn

I don't do a ton of photographing little kids, one on one, very often. I do, obviously, if I'm doing the rest of their family, but, not just for them. So when Cliff and Jennifer asked if I would do Ellowyn's 1 year old photographs, I was excited, and a bit nervous, I'm not gonna lie! HAHA!! I love photographing kids just playing around and being themselves, and just getting candid shots of them.

We had spoken previously about what they were wanting, and where they wanted them done, and we were off and running! When I met them that morning, Ellowyn was shy and quiet. She was attached to mommy like white on rice. We tried everything we could think of to get her to loosen up, but she was having none of it. She just stared at me like I was an alien or something. I would see her smile, and starting to have fun with her sisters, and then as soon as my camera came up, she scowled at me. HAHA!

I loved that you can see mama's hand in the background. No matter how old we are, we always have a hold of mommy's hand.

There is one thing that my friend Scott has taught me about photographing children. He taught me to just let them, be them! It's pointless to try to pose them, or make them smile, or any of those things. You can try to dress them up, and get their hair done perfectly, but you know as soon as you get there, they are going to roll around in the grass, get dirty and completely trash the hour long hair job you just did. So, just let them, be them. Parents usually like the posed, perfect pictures, but more times than not, they usually fall in love with the photos you happened to get while the kids were just playing and being goofy, because you captured them!

So, in remembering that little, important, lesson that Scott has always told me more times than I can count, I just relaxed, and told the family it's totally ok, and just took photos of whatever she was doing. One of my favorites shots is the one of her feet. Her dad told me that she doesn't wear shoes very often, so she probably doesn't like her shoes on. Once they took them off, I watched her cute toes curl, and rub all over the grass. Have I mentioned that I love little baby and toddler hands and feet? She just sat down and rubbed her feet together and on the grass. I layed down quietly on the grass, behind a rock, and just took pictures of her adorable little feet in action.

After that, her sister went inside and got a few things that usually make her happy. I think Ellowyn was catching on to this game, and was not giving in. Her sister brought out her baby doll. This made her light up! Until I got my camera out, that is. HAHA! But, still, pretty darn cute.

Then, her sister gave her a toy cell phone, and everyone pretended to be talking to her, behind me. I don't recommend giving a child a cell phone to hold while taking photo's, let me say that first. Unless you don't mind having a giant black brick in a beautiful shot of your family. But since this wasn't going as planned, and it wasn't for a whole family shot, I thought, "Eh, go for it!" What I got, was a lot of adorbs.

Not totally in focus, but still cute! And LOOK! A smile! Savor it.....HA!

Her sister gave her her favorite thing......her blankee. Instantly, Ellowyn sank into her mothers lap, completely relaxed and snuggled up to her blanket. I guess she bites her blanket, for soothing. My kids rub their blankets, and rub them all over their faces. So, that shot is my next favorite shot, the one of her with her blanket.

I love this one!

She's not totally walking yet, but towards the end of the session, she had a hold of her big sisters hand, and just runnin all over that front yard!

 I love love LOVE kids. They are fun to photograph. I love just running around them, and trying to capture their imagination. It's exhausting, and a great workout, but completely worth it. Their photos always make you wonder what they are thinking about, and who they are pretending to be, when that shot was taken. I love showing a parent a shot, and just hearing them laughing out loud, and saying, "That's them! You got them!"

I had so much fun with this sweet family, and this adorable little girl. I loved just getting to know her, her favorite things, and her adorable, quirky personality. I loved watching her siblings, and parents just love on her. You can see, right away, that she is just a joy, and so loved by all of her family. Thanks Merrills, for letting me photograph your sweet girl.