Child Emotions - Nothing Held Back

When I show up to photograph children, I never know what I'm going to be given in terms of cooperation, mood, attention level, and personality. Sometimes, I get nothing but curious looks and the straightest of all faces and other times, I get the goofiest fake smile ever.

At a recent session, the little boy who's 4 year old photos I was capturing was giving me the fakiest smiles. Then, I started to ask him about his favorite foods. Of course, the answer was "Pizza!" and that turned into some giggles and into what I started calling the "pizza smile." These 4 photos show why I love photographing kids, and why I love the lifestyle photography. These photos would not be acceptable in studio photography and would be considered mistakes by some. To me, these are real life. These photos embody this boy better than any others could! And they really make me laugh.