Back in May, Clay told me that he wanted to have pictures made for Ashlyn's birthday in July. Any guy that gives a girl pictures for her birthday is a KEEPER in my opinion! :D They were an absolute blast to work with. We had so much fun shooting, and I loved editing the pictures to match my end goals. I absolutely loved this shoot! Thanks so much, Clay and Ashlyn, for asking me to do pictures for you guys! :)

Because... who doesn't love the Titanic?!

I opened my car door, stepped out into the muggy air, and was immediately surrounded with five kids. Before I could get out a word, I was asked, "What's your name?" The kids geeked out when they realized their sister and I had the same name. Immediately they loved me! I got to know everyone's name (though I still messed up several times!), and Heather and Chloe took my hands and refused to let go. We skipped (carefully. $$$ camera gear holding up by a mere strap around my body.) We were silly. We were just kids. And that's all it took for these sweet kiddos to love me and want to take awesome pictures. As we moved from one location to the next, they begged to ride in my car. I was officially "cool."

Taking kids' pictures can't be about being perfect. It's about being real. It's about letting the kid's personality shine through. It's about letting them be who they really are and getting to capture that beauty.

Thanks so much, Isbell's, for letting me capture you all! I had a blast.