Jake & Laurissa

My family from Pennsylvania came out for a visit this week. They're staying with my mother but they made sure to contact me for portraits while in town. I, of course, happily obliged. I love it when my family asks me for my photography services. I'm always flattered when someone contacts me for their professional portraits anyway. Family makes it all the sweeter!  It not only makes me feel special that they value my work, but it makes it personal, for both of us. 

Meet Jake and Laurissa, my two little cousins. Laurissa is a whole lot like my own daughter. She loves Taylor Swift, giggles infectiously, and adored being in front of my camera. Nyla and Laurissa are like two peas in a pod. It's almost scary how close their mannerisms are!  Jake. Well, Jake is shy. So shy he doesn't like to talk to anyone minus a few people in his inner circle. But, I love that about him! 

Though both munchkins are my cousins, we've only seen each other on a handful of occasions.  Spending the last 15 years as a military family has been a fantastic experience for myself and kiddos, however, it does have its drawbacks. This happens to be one of them. Because I haven't a permanent fixture in Jake's life, it was hard for me to get him to look at me let alone get a smile from him. But I understood and accepted this from him. He's shy. And we can't all be busy social butterflies now can we?

I may have bribed him with the promise of an ice cream cone. I'll never tell!! (Besides, I can take my cousins out for ice cream, right?!) By the end of the session, I think we had an understanding and he really came out of his shell for me. 

I like for kids to be themselves. It enables me to capture who they are. I almost always declare "Goofy Time" so they can be silly and make faces. 

Jake covering Laurissa's mouth during "goofy time."

True. Mom and Dad probably won't purchase the silly faced images. That's A-Okay. Allowing the kiddos to be themselves means they are comfortable with me pointing my camera at them. It means they can relax and I can make that amazing photo for their family to hang proudly in their home.