This is an absolutely beautiful family. We had a lot of fun at Kensington Metropark, which is where I’m sure to be shooting a lot this summer. It’s awesome there! This was the nicest family, and I loved that they booked this session as a gift to the grandparents for their 40th Anniversary. They have some really handsome grandsons to be proud of… and SOOOOO well behaved too! With so many gorgeous people there were TONS of great pics, but here are a few of my favorites. Congratulations! Enjoy your sneak peek.

 Okay, so I have this shot without the dads, but I thought it was so funny to see them running on the edge of the picture. I told the dads to set the kids loose from the top of the hill and have them race to me, while sending the youngest out for a head start. I love the “boy” aspect of this shot. There’s so much energy and determination in them!

 I guess I should have been a little worried when I saw that their dads turned it into a game play…

Today was what I call a “round” day. There were a lot of things going on, so I was busy, but they were all great things that made me happy. This song came to mind when I was deciding what to listen to while I edit pictures of 4 super cute little boys from today’s shoot. I could listen to/watch this 100 times.

Is it the weather? I’m just completely giddy these days. I’ve been to Ann Arbor a lot lately, for sessions as well as scouting for great locations for future sessions. Of course I take my favorite little models with me (if anyone wonders why I have 500 times more pictures of Aspen and Sam than I do of Alex, it’s because I take off on a whim a lot while he’s at school).

Yesterday my friend and fellow photog spent the morning scouting locations with our kids. We’re both completely obsessed with photography, and our kids keep each other company while we gab. It’s also nice to have an extra model around.

It’s a good thing I got this out of my system, because my schedule is officially packed between now and the end of May. So stay tuned for more pictures of kids that don’t belong to me .

  Isn’t this kid dreamy? Jean and I joke about our kids being better behaved for another photographer since they’re sick of us following them around with cameras. I can’t wait to see the ones she got of my kids because she’s a great photographer!

And here are my little ones. There are tons of them because like I said, I was there a few times in a row.

I never really think about how tricky this job can be, because for me it is honestly so fun. But the more I hear people say “I don’t know how you do it!”, the more I realize that to them I must seem crazy to love doing this… kind of how I think my husband is crazy because he loves and understands computers.

Well I’m about to show you what most child photographers won’t show you. These are all the “variables” I deal with during a shoot. And I’m posting them completely uncropped and unedited (I use CS3 to bring out the depth and color you see in my finished pictures). These are the pictures that don’t make it to my blog, and these are the reasons…

 model is distracted by something and won’t look at me

 model is… well I’m not sure what that is

 model decides she’s unhappy with her wardrobe selection… models are such divas

 while I’m focusing on one model, the other model tries to steal the spotlight back… models love attention

 ? model needs a toothpick? and another little model runs in the way

 model decides to be cute for ONE shot, before I’m finished setting my ISO, shutter speed and aperture… resulting in motion blur on her happy little, perfect expression

 model gets sassy

 model gets goofy

 harsh sunlight spoils a perfect shot… notice the dark shadows all over his face

So there you have it. The secret world of child photography. And yet I can’t get enough of it!