The ideal way to photograph a kid

This week you’ve seen some samples of engagement sessions I did in Seattle. I love going to Seattle because usually it means I get to see my dear friends Angie and Sam. Angie was the only babysitter we would tolerate as kids, and my sister Emily and I pretty much idolized her. It’s so wonderful to have people in your life who watched you grow up and really know who you are.

This is Angie and Sam’s son, Manny. He is the sweetest kid – a definite product of his laid-back parents and the fact that he has twin sisters who just turned one this week. While I was staying at Sam and Angie’s house, they each took a twin upstairs to put them down for a nap, and I snuck the camera out and played with Manny for a little while.

It was such a refreshing break from what I do a lot with kids – both mom and I are usually directing them, they get overwhelmed and the whole situation is crazy. But Manny and I didn’t talk, I just kept my distance and he charmed me on his own terms. I adore these photos becuase of his whole vibe and how he came up with 100% of this stuff on his own.

Manny does this cute thing where instead of sucking his thumb, he sucks on his two middle fingers. It’s adorable. I photographed Manny in the front room of Angie and Sam’s cool Queen Anne house – one whole wall is basically a transluscent reflector wall, which basically means it’s the kind of space that photographers dream about.

This is Manny with his dad, Sam. They are so sweet together – Sam is a really great dad to all three of their kids.

Thanks, Sam and Angie, for being such great friends and for making kids that are so fun to photograph! I can’t wait to photograph your whole clan one of these days!