Tracy Carolyn Photography

Nothing gets people into photography as quickly as a new baby.  For Ryan, this was especially true.  He’s got a new zeal for taking photos that I never saw before.  I can see why – Camille’s chubby cheeks just make you want to take her photo.  She’s 4 months old now, and Rebecca and Ryan seem to be loving the whole parenting thing.  Such a cute family :)

Kids don’t know how to take great photos.  They don’t have to – all they do is show up, be themselves and someone takes an adorable photo.  It’s that simple.

But at some age, we all decide we need to be in control of how we look in photos.  We decide we have a “good” and “bad” side, that our hair must look a certain way, that certain angles make us look chubby.  So when a camera comes out, we start acting…weird.  We use our phony “camera smiles” that we’d never use in real life.  We wear clothes we’d never wear.  We sit in poses we’d never be able to get into without serious guidance.  And the result?  Well, it’s usually less than adorable.  Has anyone ever told you your “camera smile” makes you look really happy?  Highly unlikely.

So I invite you to revert to being a child for your next portrait session.  Give up the illusion that you can control what you look like in your photos, and just look like you.  Just have fun, laugh, and show your real smile.  Allow yourself to be photographed as you are, rather than trying to create a fictitious “perfect” version of yourself.  There’s no need – you look better as you than you might think.  When you get the photos back I guarantee you will get a much better result.

Thatcher likes bugs.  And sticks.  Particularly throwing them into the river.  He also likes to play in the fountains at the garden center, and pick the veggies from his home garden.  In short, he likes what most 3-year-old boys like: getting dirty.

We went for a walk on Thatcher’s favorite bike trail, stopped at the garden center to play (and allow Stacey and Patrick to shop for some plants), and went home to play in the garden.  It was good to see this little one again.  I only wish it hadn’t been such a humid and miserably hot day – it made me grateful I’ll be missing the summer in St. Louis.  I’ll take the dry Colorado air over humid St. Louis in August any day :)

Jenna’s recipe for brownies goes something like this: mix 2 parts Froot Loops, 1 part lemon, and 3 parts chicken, and bake about 15 seconds.  Serve with imaginary tea.  I wouldn’t suggest trying that at home unless you have the proper princess attire.  It just won’t be quite the same.

After a short round of croquet, we broke the rules and did not wait 30 minutes after eating said brownies to go swimming in the backyard.  Jenna’s pink goggles are completely adorable, and must keep her from seeing anything while she’s wearing them.  They do go well with her little pink bathing suit, though.  A warning to parents in the future – be careful what you teach your kiddos during portraits.  Janie thought it was cute to show Jenna to attack John with the hose for photos.  It became a little less cute a few minutes later when it became all Jenna wanted to do.  We may have created a monster.  Oh well, at least she’s an adorable one :)

Jackson Keane Smith will be arriving shortly.  Older siblings Emma and Will should have a new baby brother in just a few more weeks.  So to document their family before their newest member arrives, we did some family photos at Tyler and Angela’s house.  The last time I shot there was for Angela and Tyler’s wedding last May. Back then they had a number of engagement photos hanging on the walls – this time they had added loads of their wedding images.  It’s always a little thrill to see photos I’ve taken hanging on the walls.  I hope the next time I visit some of these will be hanging up! :)  Best of luck to them with their new arrival!