I love photographing kids. I love capturing their personalities. I love their energy, but mostly I love their spontaneity. What better kid possesses all these qualities than my niece, Madyson. As I have previously stated…she is a free-spirit. She runs, she laughs and she always intrigues me when I photograph her. When my friend Anna and I recently talked about doing some photos for holiday cards, we discussed outfits and ideas on where to shoot. Alot of clients assume you need to go to a location, like the beach or a park in order to get some great photos. Although I love shooting at different locations, I also love shooting at a client’s home. I wanted to share how fabulous a shoot can turn out, without clients being inconvenienced with travel & outfit changes in the car. With Anna’s crazy hectic schedule, it just made sense to do the shoot at her home. Below is the first part of my Holiday Shoot with Madyson. We did both a casual outfit (below) and then she scooted inside to change into a fancy dress (will post those later in the week).

On my recent trip to Ohio, I found the coolest hat and scarf with the most awesome colors. I knew Madyson would love it, as she prefers to getting clothes, purses and shoes as opposed to getting toys. I persuaded her into modeling the new hat and scarf for me and she instantly became a “fashion diva”…

I tend to shoot a lot of close-ups with photographing kids. I think their faces are so angelic at these early ages. They have this look beaming with happiness. I love capturing that.

I think the next two photos are so funny. Notice “the look” Madyson gives me in the second photo, she is hilarious.

In this photo, I immediately noticed that Madyson’s lips have an amazing resemblance to Shiloh Jolie-Pitt (Brad & Angelina’s little girl). You can google search Shiloh, if you’ve not seen her on the front of a thousand magazines…ha.ha.

For some reason, Madyson loved standing in front of this tree, climbing on it and running around it. She would only stay still for a minute and then she was off running again.

I try to shoot kids from all angles, not just front and center. Although I love the straight on shots full of expression, I’m also a fan of variety. I try to get a combination of profile shots, also shots when they look away or even when they look down. Subtle looks not directed at me make for some nice images.

In this last photo, I desaturated the colors to give a more muted tone to it. Just for something a little different and to emphasis the drop in temperature we are experiencing. A little chilly, burrrrrr…

Have a blessed day~cass!