The face says it all.  Forget fancy backdrops.  Throw out the idea that the perfect image is shiny and bright and that the subject must be dolled up.  Instead I want you to stop for a second and think about some of the things that make you smile.  Tell me.  What do you see? Do you see your family in a huddled mess all curled up together in your bed?  Do you see your 2 year old smiling back at you from her carseat?  You may even see yourself at the end of the day, no makeup, just you, a ratty t-shirt, yoga pants, and your kids playing with their airplanes in the middle of the kitchen floor.  You know why all of those instances bring a smile to your face? Because they are real.  They are raw and they are true.

When I photograph children as part of The Face of Childhood series parents always ask what the kids should wear.  My response is the always same. “What do they normally wear?…Then they should wear that.”

Bring me all of the Laura Ingalls braids, the braces, the crooked smiles, the freckles, the big doe eyes, and all of the honest to God beauty that radiates from that perfect little being.  Because these are the moments that you are going to wish for more of….and these are the moments that are going to make you smile.