mr j makes me smile

first, i have to brag on a client, who has become a great friend. she owns a preschool and i started taking their portraits last year. last month, she had her husband build an old-fashioned swing for their fall portraits! are you kidding me? that is the coolest thing ever! she emailed me last week and said that they were glad i was part of their family. and honestly, that comment made my day. because that is what i want to be--part of your family, so to speak. i love all of my clients, but it makes my day to become friends with you, to get to know you and your kids better. and to watch your children grow up, and be able to capture that for you. i don't ever want to be just "the photographer." and, in the past year, i've become friends with this particular client, whom i never even knew until the first time i met her, just before i photographed her girls. now, i totally adore her and her girls (and her husband is nice too--after all, he built a swing and i am so grateful for that).

now, i do meet lots and lots of kids. and i fall in love with all of the kids i photographed. each child has something special in him or her, and i love to discover that. and there are some who make one smile just hearing their names mentioned. mr j is one of them. i seriously grin whenever i take his portraits. he's just one of those kids with an infectious grin and giggle. and you just want to smuggle him home with you and keep him. of course, i think his mom might not like that. but i also think she knows. she knows how irresistible her little man is. sigh. and if this first picture doesn't make you smile, then something is wrong with your smiler! :) :)