I often get questions or comments from parents who would love to have their child’s portrait session but are afraid because “they are at that age…” the age of stranger-anxiety or clingyness, or just not being such a “good listener.”

I say forget all that.

This session started out with a warning from the mom “she’s a little clingy”  and these are the first few shots in my camera:

Because I’m a mother of three teenage children, I feel like I’ve experienced every age and stage (except the college years and I’ll soon be doing that!)  and I don’t give up that easily!

Yes, it was pretty early to be up and out, and yes it was extremely windy and colder than expected.  But give it a little time, don’t push it – and let the children just be…children. With new places to explore – pretty flowers, fun stairs and trees to climb on and around, and a real caboose (!) soon took away stranger anxiety and portrait time became fun time with that lady who just is following us around with a camera…

Here are some of the shots from later in the session: