As I sit here at my computer at 9:30pm listening to my youngest son screaming in his room I knew I just had to post this photo from today. I know it’s probably not the one Mom wants hanging up on the wall but I love it for its honesty because when you photograph a two year old, they’re not always interested in being in the photo.
A session with a two year old can sound something like this:
“Come on sweetie, sit with Mom and Dad for a picture!”
“Oh look, your sister is doing it so well!”
“Why don’t you tickle Dad?!”
“Remember the ice cream Mommy promised you?”
“Get in the damn picture!”
Okay that last one I made up but I know the parents are thinking it. Why? Because I just had our family photos taken with my 18 month old son and after planning your outfits and location and getting the family ready you just really want everything to go perfectly well. But two year olds have a mind of their own and this is exactly the time when they realize this. They’re defiant and stubborn sometimes but once you have them on your side they’re fun, joy and giggles. You just need to be patient to get to the fun, joy and giggles, ha ha. So if you have a session with me and your child is two, I fully expect them not to cooperate – to do whatever they want – in fact, if they did everything I asked them to I’d probably think there was something wrong with them! This photo was taken at the beginning of our session. By the end I had a whole bunch of smiling photos from her…you know, after I promised to take her to Disneyland 😉