Some of my mini session clients this year will recognize this momma, because Beth Ann was my helper that Saturday with getting little ones to laugh and holding my reflector and making sure hair was looking good (she's a hair stylist, so this one was only natural for her!) We went back to that location for her own family's session, and it was perfect timing because little Olivia was just around 18 months old then and was due for another photoshoot. :)
Sweet Olivia just wasn't feeling pictures that afternoon, so we pulled out some extra silly tricks to get those adorable smiles of hers. After trying a few things to cheer her up and nothing seemed to work, somehow we started throwing soybeans back and forth, and that was what did it! haha I assured Beth Ann at the end of their session that we got some good pictures, but I knew it had felt a little crazy for them. When she saw the pictures later, she was happily surprised! All this to say, for the other moms and dads who leave their session wondering if we got anything, I promise-- what you feel when we're throwing soybeans back and forth while you're trying to remember to smile, and what I see as I take the pictures, are two different things. You probably feel a bit crazy, but the pictures show parents who aren't afraid to be silly if it makes their little ones happy, and a family who loves each other, even when the smiles don't come easy. (But somehow, the smiles always seem to come!)
