I’ve been taking Grayson’s photos for literally his entire life, since the exact moment he was born, and I always look forward to their annual photo sessions. It almost didn’t happen this year because Margaret didn’t get on my Fall schedule in time, but I had a cancellation for this past weekend and when I posted the open spot on my booking calendar, she jumped at the chance. I’m so glad she did because I just adore these kids.
You guys know that toddlers and preschoolers are my favorite age to photograph. I love everything about them, and especially their wonder with the world around them and their straight up inability to be anything but 100% authentic. They are always amazing, and adorable and full of life. They are not, however, usually cooperative. And that is completely OK with me. I try to alleviate parents fears about little ones “mis-behaving” and let them know that I do not expect, nor need, cooperation. My goal is to capture them being themselves, and exploring the world around them. To get family shots, sometimes that takes a ton of shots just to get one good one. Siblings shots are also challenging, so I guide them to play games together in order to get them in the same frame, having fun.
But I swear, Alys and Grayson just don’t require any of that. For the second year in a row, 10 seconds into shooting, they give me a beautiful, adorable hug where no one seems to be choking anyone (seriously…95% of the time when I ask siblings to hug, someone gets choked.) They would even stand in the pretty light for me so I could get portraits in the exact spot that I wanted. I feel like these two maybe should go into modeling. Like for real. I know I could just photograph them all day long.