A photo shoot by an SLR beginner

L's in dance. Just in case I haven't mentioned that enough.

Her recital is tomorrow and the little girls are adorable in the way they have really no idea what they're doing. But whatever it is they're supposed to be doing takes a back seat to just being cute at this age. In a couple of years, it won't be quite so cute.

Annnyway...

The dance studio had professional pictures taken a few weeks ago. They brought in a professional photographer and a white backdrop. We showed up and a nice lady led the girls to the back studio while we were informed we MUST stay in the front foyer. A little later, the girls were brought back, we changed them from ballet costume to tap costume and the nice lady whisked them away again. Soon after that, the girls were brought back and we were given a paper with instructions on viewing the pictures online.

Wow. Easy.

The pictures were finally up a couple of days ago and I have to say, L's pics were awful. There were a ton of them, but not one had a halfway-real smile. They were awkward and just not worth buying and I was incredibly disappointed. So I decided we could have a photo session of our own. I took the little bit of knowledge I've learned from my friend Dave Krehl and my other friend Emily and tried it out. With Mr. at Home's digital SLR. With all the buttons and functions that scare me to death. It was do or die time.

This afternoon was the dress rehearsal, so L was dressed and ready and we left early to find a cool spot for some pictures. There's a shopping center on the way with a neat fountain and we stopped to play. We got a lot of pictures, a lot of attention, and a request to take a picture of a mother and daughter shopping trip. At least they were fooled into thinking I knew what I was doing.

Here are my favorite shots from today's photo session.

I love how she's holding her pinky up in this shot.On her toes, mid-skip. She looks like she's having so much fun.

She came running up and stood right in front of the camera so I snapped this beautiful close-up.

Aren't those better than any stiff, awkward, posed shots taken by a complete stranger?

And since we can't forget big sister, she got to have her own mini-session as well.

She thought it was so cool that I let her walk on the wall.I love, love the water in this shot.Look at that little flip of hair. And those freckles! She's all about the cuteness.

The girls had so much fun taking these pictures. And isn't that what photography is all about?