I had the best time with these kids, they were so helpful; wanting to hold my reflector and pose for me. They were talkative, and so funny. I could have stayed and taken their photos for hours, and seriously look how adorable they are with their mamma – those outfits are PERFECT. I love it when kids are so cooperative, kind to me and each other and such great listeners. It makes the session so much more fun and we capture their personalities. I also know that not every session works out this way, and I totally get it. Sometimes it’s hard to even get your kids to wear what you want and get them TO the pictures, having them cooperate at the pictures is a lot to ask.  So, let me take some of the pressure off.

I won’t MAKE them do what I want and I won’t force them to smile – I mean, it doesn’t really work very well anyways. I will try lots of different approaches to get them to cooperate, of course, I am always trying to capture them naturally and I WANT everyone to be happy. But if not, maybe one day you’ll look back on their grumpy face and remember how challenging this day was for you, and them. Maybe you’ll be past this stage and onto a better one, maybe you’ll be at a new stage that is worse and you’ll cherish this moment from the past. Whatever it is, let me capture them as they are now, in this stage of their life and yours.

Last night I had a heart-to-heart with my 19 year old son, of course in the middle of the night because that’s the most logical time to have these conversations. 😉 I always thought the teenage years were rough, and THEY ARE, but young adults – who think they are adults already – are maybe just as hard. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to LISTEN to him, it’s something I’ve learned to do in the last few years and something that I’m not great at doing naturally. I’ve also learned tolerance, patience, to breathe deep and unconditional love. Being his mamma is the hardest and most rewarding job I’ve ever done and I think most mamma’s would agree with me.

I don’t know her well, but this mamma right here is doing an amazing job with her beautiful babies. I can tell how much she loves them and how much they love her. It was a pleasure to work with them and see how much they truly care for each other. Thank you Lori for letting me capture you beautiful family.