Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.
- Heraclitus
This session with the charming and adorable Ruby was certainly playtime for both her and I! She was so genuinely enthusiastic, and ready to smile and model her costumes…a real natural in front of the camera.
We met in West Roseville at one of the nature preserves. I used to live in that neighborhood, and this preserve was a refuge, with it's wide open grasslands and oak trees, when I needed to immerse myself in some nature. It was great to revisit this lovely place for Ruby's session.
It was a million degrees that day. Well ok, not a MILLION, but it was hot. While all of us adults really would rather have just sat down and drank lemonade, the heat did not deter Ruby’s excitement for a minute! She did get a frozen yogurt treat when it was all over.
Ruby's favorite Disney Princess is Merida from "Brave". She's bummed out that all her mates would rather play "Frozen" these days. This part of the session was the most fun as Ruby makes a most perfect Merida.
Photographing children evokes a special kind of creativity. It requires one to step out of adult seriousness in order to connect with the child. This is great fun and refreashing! As a custom photographer I take a great amount of care when working with children to really understand their personality...what makes them who they are. How might they and their parents want to remember them at this moment in time?
I often see a people invest in customized baby portraits and a high school senior portraits with not much in between. The time between these milestone sessions should not be neglected. School age children (preschool and up) hit milestones that are worthy of commemoration in art too!
There is so much richness in personality within a school age child that is equally special and deserves equal billing. They have their special favorite toys, imaginary worlds, and unique way of engaging with the world.
If not every year, then I recommend doing a customized portrait session at least every two years. You will thank yourself for it later, and so will your child when they are able to look back at a lifetime of art that REALLY captures who there were at that time, and not just ordinary school head shots that were made in an assembly line.
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