Pictures from Easter

WARNING:  I took a lot of pictures of the kids this weekend, so this will be a long post.
We had an Easter egg hunt and cook-out at my parents house yesterday.  The food was great and the kids had a wonderful time, but the best part was having family together. 

Ross and Joseph waited patiently as we counted down “10…9…8…” to “GO!”

I thought Rayna would be too little to enjoy it, but she LOVED it!  Can you see her facial expression?!?!

 Ross and Joseph were playing on the bridge that connects my parent’s house and my grandparent’s house.  My dad built it when I was little where I could drive my go-cart across.  It always gives me a warm-and-fuzzy feeling when I see Ross or Rayna playing on it like I use to.

Doesn’t this sum-up three-year old little boys?   It’s all about being outside looking for snakes, bugs and poop.  (Ross’ words, not mine.) 

For this next image, I used a prop in a photograph.  I am in big trouble. 

For as long as I remember, I have always stayed FAR, FAR away from props.   Some people may prefer their children being photographed in fancy clothing, standing in a white room beside a big window, holding a bunny, reading a book and sitting on a wooden horse at the same time.  I am not one of those parents, nor photographers.  I LOVE photographing kids and families outdoors where natural light can be used AND everyone is relaxed and having fun.  To me, the best expressions are always the ones where the kids are being themselves and not posing against a backdrop. 

I took this picture of Rayna (sitting inside her Easter basket) yesterday. 

Yes, the basket is technically a ‘prop’, but here’s the picture leading up to Rayna sitting in the basket laughing…

Matthew was swinging Rayna in her Easter basket.   After about a hundred “MOE!” (adult-interpretation: ‘MORE’), he sat her down and she enjoyed her new little seat.

One final though about props:  Not all props are bad.  Before doing a little boy’s session last year, I saw a snapshot his mom had on her myspace account.  It was of Gage sitting in his living room on his oversized, red chair.  Even though I knew our session would be outside, I immediately emailed his mom to see if she would mind bringing the red chair to our session.  The photos of Gage chilling out on his red chair in the middle of a grassy field were some of my favorites from that day.   Bottom line, some props can be totally cute.  Just make sure they keep the focus on the child and allow the subject to have fun and look natural.

Joseph: Ross’ cousin, best friend and worst enemy…all in one!

Since we didn’t do a lot of ‘hiding’ eggs for Ross, Joseph and Rayna, our older nephew, Austen, wanted a few eggs that would be more of a challenge to find.  Matthew was ON IT.  Well, acutally he was IT IN.  He’s the only person adult I know who would climb a tree to hide eggs.
….and my dad is the only person who would think to use this method to get them down…

He GOT it! 

Jimmie and Michelle wanted a new family photo with Kenslee included.  It took all of 40 seconds (and Ross doing a crazy dance move to make Kenslee smile) to get their family picture updated.  (I can’t promise 40 seconds for every family, but it IS easier and more fun than what you may expect!)

Leaving you with the cheesest smile at Mall of Georgia.  Ross and Joseph woke up early to find over 3,000 eggs for all of the kids! 
(The End.)