Awhile back I posted my photography link on an Autism Facebook wall to try to spread the word that I am fortunate to have the background working with children with special needs and also can now say I am a photographer:)  The mother of this family found me from that post on an Autism wall and saved it as a bookmark on her computer as her previous photo sessions had not been successful with their little boy.  I let them choose a location that they were comfortable with and their little boy would feel comfortable with.  We met at a beautiful park in Prior Lake, MN.  When I first met B, he was shy, didn’t want to talk but when talking about his favorite characters I got a few little smiles.  We started the session with family photos, as that usually allows the children to feel comfortable with mom and dad and to warm up to me a little bit.  As time went on we needed lots of movement breaks and we played flying airplanes a little as well as throwing some leaves around to get in some movement.  With children who need to move more, I will often use laying on their belly position as it provides them more input and keeps them calmer for some more posed photos with siblings or individual.  I used a rocking chair for individual photos to provide some movement for B and gave him plenty of time to move in-between photos.  Instead of telling the children to look at me I usually say that my camera is a monkey or animal and have them look for the animal.  B did amazing as did his sister who you can tell has a heart of gold for her brother.  The siblings would get the giggles together and make silly faces at each other and you could tell love each other so much. I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to meet this family.

To the Family…you have a beautiful family inside and out and I am thankful for the opportunity to hopefully have helped ease your stress level for the photo session.  I hope that I was able to  capture some pictures demonstrating the tremendous joy your family has for one another.

This session was extra special in many ways.  This family did a photo session with me this spring and I have an extra special place in my heart for children with special needs and their  family.  What these families and children have to navigate through in life is so many mountains that I could write a blog post separately on that itself.  During this session the parents wanted to give the children’s grandparents time to be in photos with their children who they help and spend so much time with.  Will is 5 and has Autism, Nick is 4 and has Spina Bifida and Emma is 2 and is a very busy two-year old.  All together these children are filled with love and keep their parents and grandparents busy and on their toes but put extra special smiles on their faces when they achieve so many things.  As a photographer I hope to achieve my goal to make it fun and stress free for the families and children involved in the photo session but also want to try to capture the pure joy the children bring to their grandparents.  When I asked to take photos of just the grandparents together their were tears in their eyes.  I often find that the parents or grandparents have not taken photos together since their wedding….I love to try to add this into my sessions if I can.  I hope you enjoy.