A Toddler Shoot

Kind of like a Turkey shoot but not really. I had the opportunity to finally use some of my indoor portrait lighting this weekend with a sweet little girl named Josie. She's 17 months old and full of energy.

This was a test shot but I enjoyed the candidness of it.



This was in my homemade portrait area that I set up and after a lot of exploring by little Miss Josie, she finally sat down for an "official portrait".



It was a blessing when she finally sat down for one but after that quick minute and a half, she was off again. This time, she found the control box and figured out how to turn the lights on and off with it. It's amazing to watch how children learn. I had to get a shot of her exploring this new toy. Too bad my camera couldn't record her little "uh ohs" every time she turned them off.



Josie was such a busy little girl but her mom had an idea for getting her over to the backdrop by giving her a book that she liked. She turned it to a page, turned her face towards me when I called her name and I snapped as quick as I could. I knew she wouldn't be there long. This was the result of that pose. I loved the innocence in her face in this one.



After another brief posed option, she was off again and running. This one was taken while she was down on the floor with the control box again. She thought it was funny that she could control the lights herself.



Finally came the time for an outfit change. She was still perky and playful so we took advantage of it while we could. At this point, we had been going for about an hour or more. She had a little Winnie the Pooh on her dress and I remembered that I had a Winnie the Pooh that was about the same size as her from when my children were little. It worked great as a prop for this shot.



In between another outfit change, her mother had put on some cute children's music that Josie loves to dance to. I got the pleasure of seeing her dance much like my children used to do when they were that little. I snapped this one during that experience.



By the time we got to the ladybug costume shot the little one was quite worn out, as were her mother, grandma and I. Her mother tried hard to convince Miss Josie how cute the costume would be if she kept the hood on. Here is what happens when you take photos for three hours and expect a seventeen month old to keep going.



So after nearly four hours including lunch and play time, we were able to capture some wonderful shots of this beautiful little lady. I had a great time as always and look forward to the next time we can do this again. Recording children as they grow is always such a fulfilling experience.

Thanks Debbie, Grace and especially Miss Josie for another opportunity to take these photos for you.