growing up: alex at 6!

This is Alex, our sweet niece who is somehow already six and a half years old! I moved to town just weeks before she was born and have always been so grateful that we have had the chance to watch her grow. When people ask me how I got into photography, I cannot tell the story without mentioning Alex. Taking pictures of her was really my first try at this whole thing. When she was little(r), I was always sticking my camera in her face, always following her around trying to capture every expression and detail. Most of the time she'd oblige me but always made it clear that taking pictures wasn't really her favorite thing in the same way that it happened to be mine. Sometime last spring, she said the most surprising thing to me. "You never take my pictures anymore!"



Due to some unexpected but very happy events in our life over the summer, we did not get to do our session until this past September. My favorite thing about it is that Alex planned the entire thing! She chose the place (the gardens), the outfit (a slightly too small pink dress with purple crocs), fixed her hair, set up every pose and location as well as expression. It was her custom photo shoot from start to finish! I cannot believe that she kept the whole thing a secret from her parents from May until late this fall. She worked with her Mimi and made a beautiful scrapbook as a Christmas gift for them. Here are a few shots from our time together!