I love 3-year-olds.  This is perhaps my favorite age to photograph…there’s something about children on the cusp between the toddler years and the preschool ones that fascinates me.  You can still see a little bit of the baby that they were, but you also get a glimpse of the big kid that they are becoming.  So, when Amy asked if I would photograph Ben for his third birthday portraits, I was tickled!

We met out at Fort Barrancas (noticing a theme here?  I’ve been doing lots of sessions out here lately and it’s wonderful for children, because there are so many places to explore!).  We started out on the main path and played for a while. 

Then, we headed into the fort itself.  Now, the fort itself is kind of iffy for pictures for children this age.  Sometimes, they want to sit and pose.  Sometimes, the fact that it’s a bit dark in there scares children a little.  And then, sometimes, there are kids who love the long cement hallways and run through them as fast as their little legs will carry them, which is a little difficult to capture with a camera – the light is beautiful inside the fort, but it doesn’t really lend itself to action photography.  Ben fell in the latter group (so does my 3-year-old) ! But, walking out of the fort is always a good place to photograph…here’s Ben, waving back at Mama & big brother… 

Once we finished in the fort, Ben said he was ready to go home, but I really wanted to show him the “climbing tree”.  We got back to the main entrance and Amy & I tried to convince him that the tree would be fun.  Here he is, standing at the fork in the path, trying to decide if the tree sounds like it would be worth the walk in the heat…

Well, we convinced him to see the tree, but he was done with my camera

Luckily, for me, he found a spot in the tree that he just loved…and then magic happened…

Enjoy your sneak peeks, Amy.  Thanks for letting me spend the morning with you and Ben (and Sam, too)!