Maddie - Children Lifestyle Photography

I've already posted twice with little teasers from my session with Maddie and her family. I can't help it; I'm in LOVE with her session.

Maddie's parents are two of Matt and my high school friends; one of the 4 couples who began dating as sophomores and are now married [we are another one of the 4!] I have photographed Maddie twice before this shoot, so it's especially fun for me to watch her change from one session to the next.

It's understandable that parents and even photographers go into a shoot with hopes that everything will go smoothly, and the model will be in perfect spirits, all smiles and happiness. However, real life often has other plans. Children aren't always happy, and they don't always have pretty smiles on their faces. They don't keep their clothes clean, and they like to put things like rocks and sand into their mouth. While their parents, mothers especially, might fear for a disaster shoot, I know better. Real life makes for real photos. True, real, raw moments are [in my humble opinion] SO much better than posed, cheesy ones.

Maddie's shoot was full of real moments. A hungry girl, a snack break, a few melt-downs, a head-bonk on metal playground equipment, a few handfuls of sand and a rock into the mouth, and a couple tears happened over the course of our shoot. But also, smiles, giggles, chubby cheeks, pink ruffles, dancing and cupcakes happened. Family love happened. Real life happened.

I'm so thankful that I was able to shoot this session of Maddie, for her 1st birthday. It proved to me and to Jill that even when you fear all of your shots will be disastrous, the opposite is true. Great moments happen when you least expect them.

Enjoy the unexpected moments from Maddie's 1 year shoot.

The last part of our shoot consisted of a beautiful, GIANT cupcake that Jill made. The idea was to have Maddie dig into it, and get those cute pictures of Maddie, with cake all over her face.

That isn't exactly how things went. They went more like this:

First, she was all smiles, dancing to the South Park rendition of "Poker Face" from her daddy's phone.

Then, the lumpy grass got the best of her and she lost her footing.


But, she was all smiles a few seconds later. However, that cupcake foreshadows the drama about to ensue.


Jill was holding the plate with the cupcake, trying to get Maddie to dig in. Instead, Maddie wanted to hold the plate, maybe even on her own. A tug-of-war followed, with Maddie going hysterical in 2 seconds flat. This photo [the photo I picked for my Sweet Shot Tuesday submission] depicts Maddie's intense frustration and Jill's humorous confusion at her daughter's fit.

This is one of my all time favorite photos.


The aftermath of the Tug-of-War went something like this.

Here's to imperfect days, perfect giggles, and REAL LIFE.

-L