Shy Little Eve.
Okay, I can't even tell you how sweet Eve was; a delightful little girl who turned two the day after our photo shoot. She was precious and adorable and just as sweet as could be.
For almost 2 hours. She so did NOT want to have her picture taken. This next picture was her favorite stance - head down, chin tucked in, looking at her little Disney characters, wishing upon a star that I would go away. For a long, long time.
Now I will say this. I am actually very good with kids. Other peoples' kids, that is. {Mine, not so much.} I can be fun and silly and goofy and can make them laugh. Usually within minutes.
But Shy Little Eve. No matter what I tried, it simply did not work. I took comfort in the fact that the night before I had stumbled upon an article about how to photograph children that don't want their pictures to be taken. It was written by a long-time professional children's photographer. Well done. Lots of great tips. And none of his ideas worked. {Which actually made me feel really good because the reality is, had I read the article after this shoot I would have thought to myself, what if I would have tried this, or that and I would have second guessed myself.}
So here's how I'm going to break my own rules for this post. I'm going to give you a few pictures of Shy Little Eve.
And then I'm going to give you a few pictures of Happy Little Eve, the last 15 minutes of the photo shoot. This was, hands down, the hardest shoot ever but I really did love it. It was a challenge and the cool thing was that I kept trying and eventually got what we wanted. It just took some extra time but it was so worth it.
So here's Shy Little Eve... {You know what I absolutely love about these shy, sad pictures? They tell a story, too. They give a glimpse into Eve's little personality at two. They tell a two-hour tale of her warming up to a complete stranger.} And I have to say, I love the glassy-eyed look. Tears and a runny nose and it was cold, albeit sunny, so the cheeks were red. It all tells a story.
And here's Happy Little Eve... the farm cheered her right up, but then who wouldn't get excited about peeking into barns and through fences.
And painfully shy.
Sweet little thing took one look at me and turned to her Mama and clung for dear life.
Sweet little thing took one look at me and turned to her Mama and clung for dear life.
Now I will say this. I am actually very good with kids. Other peoples' kids, that is. {Mine, not so much.} I can be fun and silly and goofy and can make them laugh. Usually within minutes.
But Shy Little Eve. No matter what I tried, it simply did not work. I took comfort in the fact that the night before I had stumbled upon an article about how to photograph children that don't want their pictures to be taken. It was written by a long-time professional children's photographer. Well done. Lots of great tips. And none of his ideas worked. {Which actually made me feel really good because the reality is, had I read the article after this shoot I would have thought to myself, what if I would have tried this, or that and I would have second guessed myself.}
So here's how I'm going to break my own rules for this post. I'm going to give you a few pictures of Shy Little Eve.
And then I'm going to give you a few pictures of Happy Little Eve, the last 15 minutes of the photo shoot. This was, hands down, the hardest shoot ever but I really did love it. It was a challenge and the cool thing was that I kept trying and eventually got what we wanted. It just took some extra time but it was so worth it.
So here's Shy Little Eve... {You know what I absolutely love about these shy, sad pictures? They tell a story, too. They give a glimpse into Eve's little personality at two. They tell a two-hour tale of her warming up to a complete stranger.} And I have to say, I love the glassy-eyed look. Tears and a runny nose and it was cold, albeit sunny, so the cheeks were red. It all tells a story.
And here's Happy Little Eve... the farm cheered her right up, but then who wouldn't get excited about peeking into barns and through fences.
What a delightful sweetheart and what a joy to capture her at two.
You're a great Mama, Gin.
Enjoy sweet two-year-old Eve because they do grow up oh-so-quickly.
And this final picture is just an extra bonus because I just love myself a good white chicken and red barn smushed into one picture.
