Jasper | 6 Months

This is how most of Jasper's six month photo session went...I am completely guilty of going against all the advice that I give to my clients with kids.  I should have known that he would cry through most of it, but at the time, I thought he was just cranky.  Not until we got home did I realize I was the one at fault.  Why did I not follow my own advice?  I think I was in all mom mode instead of photographer mode.  But, I learned my lesson, and hopefully I'll be able to stress the importance a little more to my clients because now it comes from personal experience.1) With small children, especially babies, stay at home for your session.  They are most comfortable there.  It is already stressfull enough for them to have a camera in their face; they do not have to be even more stressed by being in a new place.  This also keeps parents calmer because they are at home where everything  that baby needs is right there.  I have had a mini session with Jasper every month, and every single one I did at home until this one.  I wanted to go somewhere different - silly me.2) Schedule your session for the time of day when your baby is happiest.  Jasper is a complete morning person, which is normally when we do our photo sessions, but since we were going to another location, I wanted Trevor to go along to help me.  So we waited until he got home from work.  Big mistake!I got the lighting and location that I wanted for his six month pictures, but I didn't get quite get the smiley baby that I wanted.  Lesson learned. This is the monkey that he got on vacation.  I love including a special toy or blanket in pictures because in five, ten, or twenty years down the road we will look at these images and be taken right back to the time when Jasper loved his sock monkey.  It helps bring back great memories.He is always moving his arms like this! He is always reaching for my camera now. I love this image with and without the fly...poor baby was getting tortured for all of the 15 minutes that we took pictures. I love this set of images...First Image, "This looks interesting."Second Image, "Mom, can I try it?"Third Image, "Mmmm."Fourth Image, "Yuck!"He is such a boy!  Puts everything in his mouth and hits everything else!