My Daily Dose of Exercise

Look at that face.  Lilah is such an angel.  You'd never know that she is THE FASTEST CHILD ALIVE!  Wow.  I though I was the fastest child alive when I was 22 months old...but this little ball of fun put me to shame.
If there is one market I have cornered, its the "Girls I went to college with and their kids" market.  This shoot marks the third I've done with girls I went to college with and their kids.  This time it was Hannah and Lilah, and Hannah's sister Heidi (who I did not go to college with) and her one year old daughter, Peyton.  The moment the four-some arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport, the girls were off like a shot!  Lilah acting as the mentor for Peyton, and the both of them leaving vapor trails behind them.  Not even the high tech camera, the green ball, or my winning smile was enough to keep them in one place for long.  No biggie...I only need a second.  I took 300 photos in an hour and a half!! 200 of which were tiny blurs in green dresses.  Odds were high that I had some good shots.

It doesn't happen often, but I actually surprised myself with the number of decent images I captured.  The sun was KILLER bright, so seeing my LCD screen was tough...couldn't tell if my shutter was set right, or of the aperture was open enough.  The girls were so fast I wasn't even sure I was in focus half the time!  It wasn't until about 9:00 Sunday night that I realized Hannah and Heidi could actually be pleased with what I had done!  Again, the secret is to only take pictures of wicked cute kids!  You'll never go wrong.
When I said the sun was killer, I meant it.  I am still working without a non-built-in flash.  The flash that comes with the camera is great for everyday stuff, but not super when professional-style photos.  I've got to be sensitive to where the sun is and make sure those little eyes aren't looking directly...kiddos don't know how not to squint.

This cutie is the aforementioned, Peyton.  Who couldn't stand to be away from her cousin for very long.  She was a tough nut to crack.  Very aware of the camera and where I was, I only caught her smiling a handful of times.  This is one of those times, but it was so worth it.  She was such a good natured girl.  Took her a while (and about 50 Goldfish, a bottle, and numerous toys) to warm up...but once she did she was a pleasure!  As a mom or a dad, you REALLY just want your kid to sit there, smile pretty, and then have a few good shots you can frame later on.  ALL of these shots were candid, VERY candid.  With two mobile, strong willed little girls, they have to be candid.  I am the proud dad of such a mobile strong willed girl.  Getting them to sit still is like running up-hill, in quicksand, with a 50 pound sack of potatoes strapped to your back, while trying to pat your head and rub your belly at the same time.  Tried it this morning...it sounds harder then it is.  Even still, I've learned to just let them do what they are gonna do.  The pictures will always be adorable.

Well, Lilah did slow down...about 90 minutes into the shoot.  Hannah scooped her up and she had a little down time.  The legs may have been a little tired, but look at those eyes...plotting her next incident of cuteness.  I did a little figuring in my head...I estimate I ran a mile and a half around that park.  The mom's apologized profusely for their highly active little ones...I wouldn't have had it any other way.

---Jason