Po & Chap
It was time for a sister shoot! I just thought it was hard photographing one…shooting the both of them just about sent me over the edge.
As you may know, I’m a spur of the moment type of gal, so despite all the things I “needed” to get done this day, I chose to take pics of my beautiful girls. I guess the stars aligned just right. The weather was nice, it was a good hair day for Posey, and they were both in great moods. Of course, as soon as we arrived to the location, which was just down the road from our house, Posey got stung by a wasp. It was pretty much down hill from there. She cried & whined most of the shoot. Chapel was great, except this was her first full on experience with tall grass. She was amazed, so she spent 100% of her time trying to get her hands on it.
All this being said, it’s good for me to do these shoots to remember why I stopped shooting kids a long time ago. I’m just not good at it! I prefer subjects who listen to me and obey 
I so respect child photographers! The shoot was somewhat salvaged by me bribing Posey with frozen yogurt. I could hear the words coming out of my mouth, and I realized I was one of those parents that always annoyed me while I shot their kid….threatening, bribing, begging. I was pittiful! In fact, Posey’s teacher later told me that Posey came to school and said, “My mommy took my picture. I was scared. She was acting crazy.” HA!! Busted!
I’m sure I’ll keep photographing them, even though I promise myself next time I’m going to hire someone else to do it…..did I mention how much I adore these girls?? I’m so thankful that God has given us these two(polar opposite) gems to care for. Amazing.
Tent & Quilt by: Zozo Buy Baby
EAT. HER. UP!
This may look like Po is having a blast, but you are actually witnessing her in a full on tantrum!
Your girls are adorable! I totally agree about photographing children – total nightmare! I have 2 beautiful little girls too, and while they are super cute and fun to photograph when I don’t have an agenda, the minute I do have one, it’s over. But don’t give up on photographing them – those are the photos you’ll cherish for years to come, even the ones where they are crying!
You did a great job! I know I shouldn’t, but I love the tantrum ones:) And the one of them on the tree is gorgeous! I’ve been there with the fussing at my kids during a shoot with my 3 boys! Bout drove me nuts, but I have shots I’ll cherish forever. The more I do it with my own, the more I learn their limits and when it’s time to stop and just get candids of them running around. I hated it the first few times, but now it’s not so bad. Have fun documenting your PRECIOUS GIRLS!
True beauty.
LOVE that teepee!!!
Your girls are so gorgeous and so lucky to have a mama who has the skills (and the patience) to capture these stunning photos! And, aaah, all the wonderful and cute props you can use in sessions with girls (love the teepee – may have to splurge on one now!) – I have two little boys myself and am pretty much giving up on photographing them (and, whatever others may say, but I find boys so different to photograph than girls!) – it’s too stressful to photograph my own children (I’ve had other photogs do family sessions for me in the past LOL)
But, as a children’s/family photographer I’ve seen it all
The thing that keeps me sane and happy during kids photo shoots is to remember to “play” and not pose – and, boy, kids love to play! Coming to a shot involving kids with a preset agenda or “shots” list can really set one up for failure, so I found that when I engage the kids and let them be who they are – that’s when they are great to photograph (and even graciously agree to pose with parents for a few family shots in between bouts of fun 
.
Precious darlings! Beautiful photography!
OK…I am so grateful to you for posting this. Everytime…and I do mean EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I take my boys out for a shoot, I wonder what kind of insanity took hold of me. I thought maybe I was just a doggone awful photographer because I couldn’t really work with the people I love the most…but maybe, I’m just a normal, adult people photographer who just struggles with the randomness of kids. I’ll love you forever for this revelation.
As for the shots you got of your girls…they are gorgeous, tantrum and all! Good job, mamma!
I love this. It describes my shoot with my two and four year old perfectly. The only thing that was left out in your story that would be in mine would be my yelling. We all hate each other by the of a photo shoot. Yet I still have all the patience in the world with other children. And Posey’s hair is GORGEOUS!!!!
Kelly this shoot is amazing. I love the settings, and the processing, and the model is stunning. Great job.
Confused.
Where are the tent and quilt from? That link just redirects to your blog.
These are so sweet and lovely. I think the greatest thing about being a photographer is being able to photograph your own children (I just don’t do it enough). Your little ones are cute as can be (even in a full on fit- LOL). What a blessing!
they are adorable! I shot my neighbors 2 year old this weekend and came to the same conclusion..children are not not going to be my thing. Would be an all day event, took most of the night to capture what I did get. You’re daughters are beautiful and you did a great job capturing the moment.
Thank you so much for posting this. I, too, am struggling with children/family photography and am debating on cutting that out of my offered services. I love children, but get more frustrated during shoots because they are not cooperating and end up crying the whole time. I don’t have the gift and would rather leave it to thr pros, but with me still trying to build up my business (and help pay for my upcoming wedding) I am still doing them almost every weekend for income purposes. I’d much rather focus on weddings, engagements, maternity, and senior portraits than have my weekends full of family sessions. One day I will make that step in my preferred direction of photograpy. Ha! But I absolutely love your photos and think you did a stellar job regardless! And I absolutely LOVE your bags! had to throw that in there!
I love, love the last sequence! happily stumbled across your backyard today on young house love and marvel at your adoption story! what a divine miracle that brought your road to intersect with candice, the full beauty of this blooming in your little girl!
Omigoodness – you so remind me of myself. I think I am actually kind of okay with clients’ kids, but my poor daughter is psychologically traumatised by how mean I can be to her on shoots. And I get so distressed when parents of kids on my shoots act like that, but then I yell at my daughter and tell her she won’t have a birthday party if she doesn’t let the wolf sniff her – I am crazy and scary too. Luckily, my clients don’t see that side, but there is no way either of my kids will ever want to be models given how I treat them when they are in front of the camera. So happy to hear I am not alone. That said, despite all your dramas that day, the pics are lovely and capture happy times and sweet ages! xxx