Let. Them. Be. Little.

That’s my mantra when it comes to photographing children. Some will stare right into your camera so hard that you can see their soul, and others will show you their spirit whilst running wild and free. This sesh was the latter … and it was magical.

When we met up, this sweet little thing was already D.O.N.E.

The weather had turned on us, as it so frequently does in Iowa … but with two weather-related reschedules under our belts, we went for it anyway. Then it happened … I made the mistake of showing this sweet little girl a beautiful red bird … in an effort to engage her … only for it to fly away. Can you guess what we did the the remaining 1.5 hours of our session?! Yep … you guessed it … we spent the ENTIRE evening looking for AND talking about said birdy. 🙂 I can still hear her adorable little voice, “Where did the red birdy go? Birdy!”

Immediately after she showed everyone her belly button, she let us know she was ready to find that bird again. Through various methods of distraction, a new frock, and some encouragement to run wild and be free … she forgot about that sweet bird … and this happened. She gave me 10 minutes … maybe 15 … then she was ready to move on. True story.

And then, at the end of the night … we made our way back to the”potty house.” She spied it early on, and insisted she wanted to go in the potty house … sooo, we did (I’m sure many of you can relate to the need to explore any/all bathrooms whilst out & about)… and of course I photographed that. Real life, friends … real life. 🙂

 And for those of you who made it this far, thank you. 🙂 As a reward, if you’re looking to schedule a fall portrait session with me — September – November — shoot me an email & mention “Red Birdy” for $25 off your session fee (deposit due at booking, not valid on mini/simple sessions). There are only 8 fall portrait session spots available, so don’t wait!! 😀

Cheers!

-Jaime