You know the phrase “A cobbler’s children have no shoes”?  Well, a photographer’s child has no pictures.

I used to be so efficient at capturing my son’s childhood, and I try really hard to keep up the momentum. But recently, things have  been so busy with business and a very involved home remodel that I have rarely thought of getting out the camera to take some updated picture of my little boy. Today he got a haircut and I teased it up into a mohawk. He was playing under our new patio where the light was falling gently across his face. Being a natural light photographer, I am constantly assessing lighting conditions and looking at them as if I were viewing them through a lens. I fell in love with the setting even though it was a dusty work environment. With some careful positioning (making sure not to get dusty tarps and brooms in the background) I snapped these images of him taking rocks out of his bucket. I love these because he’s doing what he naturally does best: exploring his world. Oftentimes these are profoundly better than posed portraits. Don’t get me wrong, formal portraits definitely have their place, but these candid moments speak to my heart.