My child is an early riser; on most days, he wakes us up every morning up with a boisterous announcement that he is out of his bed. No cuddling or snuggling with mama and papa: he’s just up for the day. Thus, when I was asked to do a photo shoot at either 7am or 7pm, I chose dawn, since we’d already be up. I was excited about having pictures taken- it had been far too long, and I prefer more candid photographs to the typical studio pictures in matching outfits. Kati Best** from kandid.ly was set to arrive at 7, so I woke myself slightly before her arrival to brush my teeth and to put on a bra and my “good” pj pants. Of course, on the day of the photo shoot, Ezra slept in. When Kati arrived, my husband and I were in the kitchen making coffee and puttering around, trying to wake up the little guy. I ended up going in to wake him, and Kati followed to catch him as he woke up.
My child has never met a stranger and was very excited to see Kati in his room, taking his picture. We joked that his waking up photo might be the last truly candid one of the day, since he was a beaming cheeseball until he was used to having the photographer around.
Kati meshed seamlessly into our morning routine as we ate breakfast, went to the garden, and read books. What I thought could be a little intimidating, having someone follow you and take your picture, ended up being very natural, and I absolutely love the results. I am sure that I will be looking at these again, teary-eyed, in a month when my husband goes back to school and Ezra goes to school for the first time. The photographs are beautiful, thoughtfully edited, and show our family as it is: goofy, loving, and completely enamored with our little guy. This was a wonderful experience, and I am so glad that we were able to work with Kati and kandid.ly.
Kandid.ly is an amazing service that looks to pair local photographers with families in the area in an effort to help them capture life’s moments while enjoying them too. Their website is easy to navigate and a great way to connect with affordable photography services designed to give you memories of your life, both big and small. Birthday parties, a trip to a local farmer’s market, a picnic in the park or as this series highlights… even documenting life at it’s most basic. Kandid.ly gives you quality prints and a professional experience at a price that will keep you coming back for more.
