Kindergarten Mini Sessions | 9.6.13 {Kingsport TN Children Photography}

I still have a hard time believing that I have a kindergartener ... I mean how did the past 5 years go by that fast??  I wanted to document this milestone in my little guy's life ... freeze time for a moment before he entered the big world of elementary school.  The two of us went out one afternoon back in the summer to get some shots of just him, and to be honest I wasn't overly pleased with what I captured.  The first place we went ... the place I had been DYING to take him ... the place I just KNEW would be awesome ... wasn't.  I didn't get the images with the awesome red barn in the background I had envisioned, and frankly,  I was frustrated.  I reluctantly loaded up the old school desk I have been holding onto for years for this very event and decided to head somewhere different.  Without a plan we ended up at the local park.  I grabbed the suitcases to get some poses that would illustrate the start of his educational "journey".  They were ok, but still not my favorites.  Before we left we got to talking (I don't even remember now about what) ... but whatever it was, it was funny.  We laughed ... laughed until we cried.  The images I got during that 3 minutes were some of my favorites EVER taken of my first born.  I look at these images and I can HEAR his infectious giggle.  

As much as I LOVE the last several images above, I couldn't get a few other ideas out of my head.  After a month of school, and a haircut, we went to the school itself for another round of Kindergarten pics.  For this session we invited Shepherd's two best friends.  The three of them were in the same 4yr old preschool class AND are all in the same Kindergarten class this year!

There are no words to say how much I ADORE C's beautiful blonde curls.  The way they catch the light, and then her big bright eyes on top of that ... a photographer's dream.  Her mom, Carey, got her tickled while we were taking pictures of her in the cap and gown ... and well ... it was nearly impossible to eliminate any of those images.  Miss A is always a pleasure to photograph.  She has such a sweet natural smile and loves to pose.  I am so thankful for the friendship that she and Shepherd have ... watching the two of them grow over the last 3 years has been awesome.