I’ve been photographing a lot of toddlers lately and absolutely love it – they are some of my favorite subjects! For one thing I get a great (and a much-needed!) workout chasing after them:)  But also because they are still young enough not to have any pre-conceived notions of what to do in front of the camera (older kids sometimes tend to have very ‘cheesy’ smiles and it can take a while to get them to stop doing that and be themselves!) it is much easier to get natural shots that I am known for.

So while in the beginning parents may worry about their kids not ‘cooperating’ with me, I quickly re-assure them that I never expect (nor do I want) kids who are perfectly obedient and just sit and look at the camera.  My photography style is photojournalistic, fun and relaxed so I let kids be what they are – kids!   I do have a plan for what images I want to capture during each session but I also let my subjects be themselves and go with the flow – I got some of my favorite images this way.   And my clients get the benefit of professional photographs that are candid and natural.

This was the case with this family of three that I met for their first family session one fall afternoon in Weehawken, New Jersey.  Little Siena (LOVE her name!) was as cute as could be and true to her age she was always on the run, ready to explore new and exciting places.   Her parents were a bit worried about her not cooperating and about 20 minutes into the session they even asked me if we should cut the session short.  I quickly re-assured that that we were OK and would be able to get amazing family images, which we did!

During our pre-session consultation this Mom told me that she really wanted to get images of her with Siena – because, since she is always the one taking pictures, she is rarely in any of them… a very familiar problem I must say:)  I absolutely loved photographing them together – they had a blast playing and goofing around and looking at the images I captured really warms my heart and makes me so happy.  And it was great seeing all three of them – these parents enjoying spending time with their little girl.

Siena warmed up to me so quickly and was running between her Mom and me giving us hugs!   That’s another reason why I love toddler sessions – I get to play and hang out with toddlers for an hour or two without having to take care of one long term:)  – while I loved the toddler phase, the ‘big girls’ phase that Mia and Alexa are in is my favorite and is by far easier than the toddler phase.

On the way home from the session  I kept looking through the images on my camera and could not stop smiling.  Little Siena is such a darling (as you can see for yourselves!) and I captured so many great moment that I know this family will treasure forever!