I’ve been photographing this kiddo since she was 5!

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Now she’s 12.

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Which is impossibly hard to believe.

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Because if she’s 7 years older that means I am too!

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But WOW has she been a joy to watch grow up!

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She likes to read so we rented some items from Finch Vintage Rentals and set her all up – then I asked her how SHE likes to read and that’s what she did! It kills my knees just looking at her! I guess that DOES mean I’m older! HA!

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She also loves basketball.

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Letting your kid, ESPECIALLY an older kid, help plan their session makes for a really fun session! When they’re into it – it can be amazing!

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These next photos make me really proud.

So much of my life is chasing toddlers around or acting like a monkey to get babies to smile. If photographers are totally honest – the ones that work with kids – most of us shoot and pray because sometimes you’re working with really cranky kids or babies that are in the midst of their stranger anxiety stage. It can be HARD to get creative when you’re just hoping for an in-focus smile for mom! But Carsyn is old enough that she was able to hold still and let me get close to her and well,  between her red hair, her freckles, her amazing lips and eyes I am just smitten with these images. She’s gorgeous and I really hope she knows that deep down where it counts!

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She is REALLY proud of her science fair win!

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And she LOVES her “you’re killin’ me smalls” shirt! LOVE that movie!

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I mean – this kid. So gorgeous. She is NOT a huge fan of getting her photo taken. Even though we’ve been doing it at least once a year for 7 years. And her amazing mom is my studio manager! But I can make her laugh. And I think she might have had a little fun! Just a little, but I’ll take it! Letting her make some choices in what we did made ALL the difference and I encourage all parents to try this if planning a birthday session for their child. That child could be 2 or 12. Doesn’t matter. All kids have opinions. They have favorite things. They will LOVE putting images on the walls of their bedrooms with things they love in them. The photos THEY love might be different from the ones YOU love. I’d love to photograph for both of you!

We have a mailing list for ALL past client’s kid’s birthdays. We send out a fun birthday card the month of their birthday with a discount for a birthday session like this one. If you’ve never received a birthday card in the mail for your child let us know and we will add you to the list! This is such a fun way for you to watch your children grow!