I met this little girl for the first time last year for her birthday photos. She was very shy for our session last year. We met again during my Holiday Minis last fall. So when we got together again to celebrate her turning four years old, she was comfortable enough around me to come out of her shell! She is curious and adventurous and loves her stuffed animal friends.
Her lamb, Pete, made an appearance during her birthday photos last year, and his presence is a tradition. Pete brought a friend with him this year. Cheetah stole her little heart and also stole the show a bit. Sorry Pete. If your little ones loves a stuffed animal or has a blanket or pacifier that they just don't want to let go of during their photo session, it is okay. Let them have it. Those images are usually some of my favorites.
I've only done one session at Denman Estates since I discovered this park last year. I was so excited this family chose to have her portraits taken here this year. Though its a popular spot for photography (you'll see at least two other photographers any time you visit), it's pretty easy to find your own spot. From the estate's home, to the meditation garden, the Korean pagoda, and the trails around the estate, there's a lot of beautiful areas to take photos. You can get a lot of variety out of your images in a short amount of time.
So many of her images remind me of Alice in Wonderland. She looks as though she's off on some grand adventure and exploring the world around her. From the gate (which she was fascinated by) to the ducks, she loved looking at it all. And that's exactly what I want you kid to do during a session. It's more than just 30 minutes of take pictures, it's creating memories.
At the end of our session, she put her mask back on so we could take a few photos of her in it. These images will be ones you look back on and remember "that was a crazy year" and you'll tell your kids, who may be too young to remember it all, about all the things you did differently, the sacrifices you made, the things you realized were important and those that you let go. We're living in historical times, so why not take a snapshot of it to look back on in the future?
I also applaud her parents who came to the session wearing their masks, and wore them the whole time. Because they normalize wearing a mask, their little girl wanted to wear hers. She wanted to be like her parents. She didn't mind one bit when they told her it was time to put her mask back on. The photo of her with her eyes all big was her reaction when we told her to open her eyes cause that's all we could see.
Her eyes are pretty amazing, too. You'll see a close up of her above, and when I said "you have such big eyes" she made them even bigger! And she has eyelashes to die for. Am I right? So jealous.
Looking forward to her 5th birthday photos next year! But first, Holiday photos this fall :)
Is your child experiencing a milestone this year? Celebrate with a Children's Portrait Session.