Mommy & Me Session

The lighting was perfect. The sun was setting behind the trees of Arbor Hills Nature Preserve, giving the whole scene a beautiful glowy, dreamy feel. Their outfits were ideal – light and airy colors, tulle skirts in just the right shade of blush, coordinated shoes…everything down to the painted toenails! I set up Kayla in the exact right spot where the light fell on her magically, accented the highlights in her hair, and smoothed out any imaginary smile wrinkles around her eyes. I brought Charlotte a short way away, squatted down with her, and set the scene. “Charlie, there’s your mom, see her? I want you to run up to her, wrap her up in a HUGE hug, and let her give you kisses! All the kisses! Are you ready?? This is going to be so much fun!” She was ready! She was poised for action, literally!

I got ready, she was set, and we go-ed! Charlotte took off toward her mother’s arms, her own arms spread wide as she anticipated that special hug that only her mommy could give. She tackled Kayla, collapsed in her embrace for approximately 0.38 seconds, got up, and took off skipping back toward me. (Charlie, what are you doing?) She kept skipping away. (Charlie, this isn’t what we discussed! You got no kisses!) She reached me, and I’m pretty sure I actually heard her singing “Tra-la-la” as she passed me and headed for the open field behind us. (Charlie, hang on, sugar britches!) Her mom and I both had to jump up and chase her down before we were finally able to corral her! Of course, in the endearing way that only children can get away with, Charlie refused to go anywhere near her mom for the next 10 minutes, completely defeating the purpose of a Mommy & Me session! We were able to get some adorable pictures of her by herself, and when she eventually decided to be snuggly with Kayla again, I got some great shots of them walking together!

Working with kids is so much fun, because it’s never boring! Any family session with children (or pets, for that matter!) requires a good amount of flexibility, which helps the session flow more smoothly, and lets everyone have more fun! When I shoot a session, it’s my goal to make sure everyone has fun. Everyone! I want you to have a blast at your session, because I feel like when you love the process of taking pictures, you’ll love your pictures even more! What’s the point of having gorgeous portraits hanging on your wall, if all you think when you see them is “I hated taking these, I felt awkward and weird.” Wouldn’t you rather think, “These are fabulous! I laughed so much and had such an enjoyable time with Abbie! Plus, I look soooo good!!”

Kayla and Charlie, you two were the absolute sweetest mother-daughter team I’ve had the pleasure of working with! Your big smiles as you giggled your way through our session made me grin the whole time I was editing your pictures! Honestly, my cheeks were killing me halfway through editing your session, because of all the smiling I was doing! To be fair, I was also smiling because of your gorgeous pictures, but your sunny personalities brightened my week! I loved doing your family session last fall, but there is something so special about capturing the magic between a mother and her only child. I can’t wait to keep working with y’all as Charlotte gets bigger and grows more beautiful! Thank you for helping me achieve this gorgeous session and for blessing me with so many incredible images!