I took these pictures on Molly’s first birthday, but it’s been so long since I’ve actually had a chance to work on them I’m expecting an invitation to her second any day now. Sorry guys.

Like I said the other day, I’m finally getting a chance to work on the backlog. I noticed something again during my shoot with Molly – having worked at a family studio for 40 hours a week for 6 years straight really comes in handy. This is especially true in those moments when you have to quickly capture the attention of a baby.

Often, to my own personal embarrassment, I would have to put things on my head, burst into a silly song, roll my tongue, puff my cheeks and cross my eyes while shooting kids (well, sometimes even when shooting adults, but that’s another story). Occasionally, that would scare a child, so I learned the hard way to get a feel for each personality before ranting like a looonatic. Some children just prefer a soft smile – they may just be afraid of the camera, so I’d take it down for a few seconds to make eye contact. Apparently my bulbous round melon is quite amusing as well.

So as I shot these pictures of Little Miss Molly I was reminded not only of long forgotten skills – I also recalled how fast a baby can move, how they put everything in their mouths and the excitement and bewilderment that creeps across their face when they see the flash fire. It brings a question, with a finger pointed… “dat?”

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