Boys Will Be Boys!

Ah, glorious Fall Saturdays ...



I had a session scheduled for November 1, which happened to be Dia De Los Muertos, at gorgeous Cheekwood Botanical Garden in Nashville. It was an incredible morning, because the gardens were looking fantastic, thanks to Mother Nature's decision to finally let the leaves start to change color ... Cheekwood was a mix of greens, browns, reds and yellows. It's really a treasure, and I'm pleased that we chose it for the session.

Brittany has a large brood -- three boys, from middle school to age 2, and a beautiful dog, Lexie. We bundled out of the car in the parking lot, and the race was on -- Jackson, Anderson and Charlie were a mass of boyish energy, and it was all I could do to keep up with them. We had a wonderful time, and I think the photos show it.

Funny thing -- I kept worrying about the boys getting dirty. It's not easy to Photoshop away dirt and grass stains, and in my eager, naive way, I thought I could keep the boys clean. It didn't work very well, as it seems that boys are genetically attracted to dirt ... or at least to the chance to get dirty by jumping over rocks, fountains, benches, even blades of grass.

But we all came through unscathed, and now the hard part -- picking my favorites from the session -- begins. I just hope Lexie approves. :)

pure energy ...

The session with Matthew, Joey and Aaron was a lot of fun for one reason: Three brothers. Any time you get three boys together, there's a bit more energy in the air. I told their dad I wanted to get them in a natural state. "Tackling each other," he quickly replied, "would be about right." Because I value most mothers' opinions about grass stains, I left that alternative unexplored.



The leaves have left most trees by this point, which means that any interaction with them comes from the grab-a-big-handful-and-throw-'em-up-in-the-air option. And I get the impression that that's a little more fun than, you know, just looking at them on the trees.




As a photographer, I've got a unique view — I get to watch families interact and (hopefully) I can get that "perfect shot" by letting them behave normally around each other ... "No posing" is a rule of mine, and so far it's worked well.

With this family, it was obvious very quickly that they love and care for each other. It was my pleasure to work with them.