I’m not gonna lie. It’s tricky photographing children. You have to be sneaky, manipulative. Downright conniving to get a good shot! Or maybe you just have to be patient and wait until they finally settle into their environment and don’t. quite. know. you’re around. Snap!

My very good friend Amber met me at City Centre with her two lovely daughters that I’ve literally watched grow in front of my eyes. Heck, Amber used to let me practice photographing K all the time before I started this crazy business! She trusted me THEN. So, we converged at City Centre, and Amber thought it was impossible to get a good shot because K and T were being. . .typical young children!!! Why can’t they just settle down for one photo?? NOOOO!!! That’s what makes child photography fun:) You never know what to expect, and if you roll with the punches, you are bound to capture some beauties.

 Here are some unplanned shots:

Remember what I said about being tricky? Candy was the bribe for this setup! Worked like a charm!

Before I snapped this one, I asked T to put her arms around K. . . she had her in a choke hold! Gotta love sisters!

Little Miss Gracey was a joy to photograph! She’s 2 and her grandmother Nancy, dubbed Lolli by Gracey (and grandpa’s name is Pop!), wanted me to photograph her and make a book about being 2. She stole the show as we all watched her “barbeque” and “cook” in her play kitchen, read to us from one of her many books, play with her princesses and castle, look at herself in the mirror, twirl and dance in her precious pink/purple tutu, play the piano, and last but not least–pose on my vintage suitcase.

I’ve known Nancy for a while. She’s so easy to talk to, very classy, and extremely down-to-earth. And what do you know? Her son Brad and daughter-in-law Melissa are the same way! Oh, and of course, Gracey was a delight. She never had a single meltdown and remained calm and compliant for the entire session!!! Amazing! Okay, Lolli (sorry if I spelled your name wrong!), Mom and Dad, here’s a sneak peek. The slideshow/gallery will be ready by the end of the week:

I started out photographing children. This family was one of my first clients. I photographed their beautiful little boys–Will and Sam–when Will was about 2 1/2 and Sam was 4 months old. Now, Will is 6 1/2 and Sam is almost 4! Unbelievable! So, needless to say, when mom Maureen called me to photograph baby Alice, I was very honored to do so. It is uncanny how much she looks like her brothers. I even included some pics of Sam when he was her age, just to show how similar they look!

Watching Alice was like traveling back 4 1/2 years ago when my older daughter was a baby. Alice loves the pacifier, and so did my daughter. I loved listening to her make cooing sounds as she sucked on the paci to calm down. Strange how little things like that bring back huge memories. Alice made me very nostalgic for the days when I was in awe of this little person I brought into the world. Maureen was right when she said she wanted to capture Alice at this age because it is so fleeting.

Here’s Alice’s brother Sam when he was almost exactly her age. See what I mean about the resemblance:

This was my favorite pic of Sam. He’s still a cutie pie with curly blonde hair. I’m hoping Maureen will let me photograph him and big brother Will soon (hint, hint):

Children are unpredictable, honest, and down-right exhilarating to photograph! Enter these two sweethearts: Taylor (almost 5–don’t you dare just say she’s 4!) and Ellis (almost 2). They are super special to me because I have literally watched them grow. They both go to the same school as my two daughters, are the exact same ages as mine, and attend the same classes!! I was thrilled when their mom, Mandy, asked me to photograph them. I have admired Mandy and dad Zack from afar ever since we went to Taylor’s 4th birthday party. It was probably the coolest kiddo birthday party EVER. All the kids dressed up in fairy tale costumes, met a real live Cinderella who put make-up on them, read to them, danced with them. The kids were awestruck! As if that party doesn’t prove it, Mandy and Zack are simply fantastic parents who like to have fun with their girls. They helped me a lot during this session, making the girls laugh and have a good time without really realizing I was there for some SERIOUS business. Ha! Oh, and grandma Mimi was also on hand and helped out so much with carrying all our gear. Here’s a tiny sneak peek: