Ava

I did a photo shoot last week for my cousin, Kelle, while I was in Alabama visiting the family. I've photographed Kelle's daughter, Ava, ever since she was a baby. She'll be two years old in August, and is rapidly growing up into quite a young lady.

For this shoot, we went to Kelle's in-laws' farm, where there was no shortage of props: hay bales, old logs, weathered barns, and an old Chevy truck overrun with flowering blackberry bushes.

It takes a lot of patience to photograph children, and patience is not a particularly good trait of mine! For the first half hour, Ava cried (her grandmother came along, and Ava wanted to be held by her). After sequestering grandma on a porch away from the area where we were shooting, Ava cried even louder. I thought, "the perfect setting, great weather, and now I'm not going to get the photographs that I'd anticipated." But, Ava surprised me; she calmed down, posed beautifully, and made me realize that occasionally it just takes a little time for everything to fall into place.

I hope you'll agree that these photographs were worth waiting for.

See you next time, Ava!