Boys, Boys & More Boys

I often go through periods where I work with more boys than girls and vice versa. Lately the boy to girl ratio has been tipped strongly to the boy side! Meet Jack & Carson, whose mama I work in trade with... hair cuts for Asher & me in exchange for biannual photo shoots! We got together a couple weeks ago on a warm Saturday morning at Cornwall Park to do the boys' annual spring photos. I'd totally forgotten the spray park would be in full swing on such a nice day, so it was a challenge to keep 4 year old Jack interested in anything but his desire to get really, really wet! Looking for sticks, pine cones and rocks to throw in the creek seemed to do the trick for long enough, but we had to work fast. Good thing these boys are so photogenic : )

I can *always* count on Jack to give me a cute plumber butt shot : ) After I had sufficient shots of Jack, I let him go off to play in the water while I took Carson to the side for a little one on one time. He was interested in the dandelions for about two minutes until he noticed the all the kids running around in the spray park.

Once he noticed he made sure I knew what he wanted to do so I took him to join his big brother for some wet fun in the sun!
Meanwhile Jack was having a blast tearing it up in the spray... and little Carson got in on the act eventually!

Boys Love Bugs.... And Me : )

The caretakers at Woodstock Farm were just finishing mowing the lawn when Guyan & Owen and their parents Melinda & Sean showed up for their shoot. The lawn mower must have scared all the creepy crawly critters out of hiding because we'd only barely said hello when the boys discovered the grass was crawling with tomato bugs! Yes, you read right... tomato bugs! I thought I'd heard wrong too but Melinda assured me that while every other kid knows them as "potato" bugs, to Guyan and Owen, they're tomato bugs and who am I to argue with that? : ) We had fun counting as many as we could find, looking for the biggest one and letting them tickle our hands with their many tiny feet.

Guyan

OwenGuyan liked the idea of including a tomato bug in their family photo but we talked him into letting Mr. Bug go back to his own bug family : )I was completely cracking up when I took this shot because it's the first of its kind for me! Guyan wasn't feeling much like having his photo taken so his family set him straight : )I've learned that letting kids get a little silly with the camera for a few minutes really helps to get things back on track : )

Someday I will be at Woodstock when the lighting is perfect for this shot. In the meantime, I'll keep trying anyway because it's such a beautiful scene!Still looking for bugs!Of course I always get some shots of Mom & Dad together too...Now that's a kiss! Nice work Sean!After we ventured up the hill from the beach, I noticed Owen was feeling a little shy toward me. He whispered something in his mama's ear and she told him he could tell me what he wanted to say... After a little more deliberation, he whispered in my ear "I had a lot of fun with you at the beach!" which of course melted my heart and I had to give him a big hug : )I love the barn at Woodstock Farm for a backdrop.. its lines & textures really add a timeless dimension to the photos. (Three guesses as to what Guyan is holding in his hand!) It was already a great day after shooting with clients old and new, but when I got home I received the following message from Melinda about our time together... such kind words from my clients always make my day : )

Thank you so much for a great afternoon! I think Guyan and Owen secretly love you...Guyan was talking about how much fun he had today... And you are the first "stranger" in a loooong time that Owen didn't grunt at, and take at least 30 minutes to warm up to. I was shocked!

We had a blast, and can't wait to see the pictures.

Melinda