Marshall turns 5 | Birthday Session

This winter will be my first as a full time photographer and I expected the beginning of 2019 to go rather slow for me. With the lackluster weather here in Indiana, I didn’t expect to get many calls for photos. Luckily for me, I was wrong about this “slow” season and have been keeping busy with lots and lots of birthday sessions in my studio. Where it’s warm. And cozy. And mother nature can’t harm us! Some with cakes to smash, some without—either way, they’ve all been a great time!

Marshall has been my “client” since before I had clients. His mother, Karie, is someone I used to work with; a former co-worker turned life long friend. When I first started learning how to work my Nikon and needed pretty faces to practice on, Karie was always willing to lend me her little man to photograph. We’ve made it a point to do a yearly birthday shoot, a tradition we started when he was three. This year he turned five: a little taller, stronger, smarter, but just as ornery and adorable as the first time I met him! I love this little man’s spunk. He is a spirited little fellow with just enough sass to make him one of my favorites.

Each year Karie has Marshall bring whatever he loves at the time to his session so I can photograph him with his favorite things at that time. A simple idea, but one that I’ve grown to love more each year. What a great way to remember who he is & what he’s most interested in at every age of his life! Three year old Marshall was all about Paw Patrol, while four year old Marshall was in love with trains. This year to my delight, five year old Marshall decided it’s dinosaurs and Godzilla that he loves the most. He brought along several “dino” themed toys and this year he even brought costumes. What fun! I love how Karie allows him to be little. She is never worried about getting the perfectly posed photo with the perfect smile. She’d rather have him dress in his favorite Godzilla costume, in his element, having a blast—because that’s her son!

And wouldn’t you know the best photos from his session are the ones where we let him take control and have a little fun. I always say, the best smiles are the real ones. You better believe every adorable grin on his face was authentic, and contagious too. I know this because by the end of this session my cheeks hurt from the permanent cheesy grin I had plastered on my face the entire time we were shooting. I don’t think the smiles coming from me were quite as charming as Marshall’s but I can say they were just as genuine. So real in fact, I wasn’t only beaming on the outside but on the inside too. This session came with all the feels I needed to warm my heart and brighten my week, and for that I am thankful. I can’t wait to see what age 6 will bring!