Braylon - Brainerd, MN and Crosby, MN Child and Family Photography

We had to reschedule Braylon's 8 month photos two different times due to cold and rainy weather. We hoped that the third time would be the charm. We met on an overcast, decent day, but woah - was the grass ever soaked. After days of solid rain, it was just oozing water. Braylon wasn't acting like his normal smiley, energetic self, Jenni said. Instead, he was inquisitive; taking in the surroundings and deciding if he liked the soggy grass or not. 

This session didn't hold as many smiles as we'd hoped and Braylon was not interested in the camera. Instead, he did his own thing and I observed. 

You know what I think about this session? I absolutely love it. It's not orchestrated. It's not contrived. It's not posed, fake, or cookie-cutter. It's real, it's raw and it's 100% Braylon, at this time in his life. I have been meaning to write a post or two about my feelings about portrait photography and what my definition of lifestyle photography is. I haven't gotten around to it yet but for now, this session embodies what it means to be a lifestyle session, to me. I was there, photographing what was happening in front of me. That's the goal, to capture what would be happening, even if I weren't there. The goal is to convey the essence of the person I'm photographing. While Braylon is happy, smiley and goes 100 miles an hour at home, he wasn't like this at the session. I still believe though, that the essence of the Kannel family shows through in these photos. The patient, loving and gentle touches that Jenni and Casey give Braylon. The relaxed way they love each other. The joy that is around when the three of them are together. It's there. I can feel it. Can you?

The photo below is among my top 5 favorite father-son photographs. 

Sometimes, all a little boy wants is some puffs.