Child Portraits | Sarah Kane Photography

There are some people who are just naturally very comfortable in front of a camera, I am not one of those people, but I am learning. This past Saturday I photographed someone who is meant to be in front of the camera and get this he's only 6-years-old! I was warned, as most parents do, that Cason had a lot of energy and at times was "listening challenged". The apologies were rolling in before we even met up. I thought I knew exactly what to expect, Cason would be like the 98% of kids I photograph (along with my own kids) and I was fully prepared with my bag of tricks. I saw Cason running up the hill toward me and I had my telephoto lens out, locked and loaded. Cason started up the hill running full tilt and just as he got to the camera he stopped dead in his tracks and struck a pose. "Oh cool", I thought. At least I'd get one picture of him standing still looking at the camera. Before I could finish my thought he was off and running towards the sheep. I took off after him and was ready for my workout (good thing I had my fast shoes on). Cason stopped at the fence and was watching the sheep. I asked him to look at the camera and what happened next was nothing less than a miracle, he looked straight at the camera and smiled (you won't see that picture here though because the light wasn't very good). Surely this must be a fluke I thought. Two smiles in the first 5 minutes? I kept pushing to see how long I could ride it out and with each stop I was blown away! Cason was a true professional. He did exactly what I asked every single time! He was so good. In fact, it took me awhile to realize that I was no longer running the show. Cason was taking me to the most perfect locations (lighting and all) and immediately getting into a pose. I seriously gave this child minimal directions. The entire shoot went on effortlessly and at no point did Cason act unprofessionally or lose his cool (I know. Right? He's only six)!

I had so many pictures of Cason it was time to add the baby. I knew things were going too swimmingly and now's when it was about to get down and dirty. Well, it did get a little dirty seeing as Landen insisted on eating as much grass and clovers as he could get his little hands on, but I was proven wrong again! Cason's little brother Landen loved the camera too and on this day history was made!

Cason and I exchanged information and I will definitely be contacting him in the future if I ever need a child model ;)