Shutter Session: Princess Cristina

I had the honor of photographing a lovely brown-eyed princess this past weekend.  The second she got out of the car, little Cristina was telling me all about her fancy sandals and showing me her pink toe-nail polish.

As the afternoon wore on, she became my own fashion stylist.  I should have known that would happen when her mom called me an hour before the shoot and recommended I run upstairs and throw on a pink shirt.  :o)  Cristina spent the afternoon admiring the roses on my camera strap and telling me how to style my hair (which, by the way, means no ponytails or sunglasses allowed in this royal tot's court!).

The light on Sunday was BEAUTIFUL and worked wonderfully in our photos.  We're going on a ten-day rain streak here, so this was a nice reprieve from the clouds.  What a perfect way to spend the afternoon.... in a gazebo (or rather, Snow White's castle!) with a fairy tale princess.

The park was filled with dandelion puffs.  Literally filled.  I love the above shot, which was actually inspired by the title page photo of Kelle Hampton's beautiful new memoir, Bloom.  If you haven't read it yet, check it out!

Later, Cristina pulled out her guitar from El Salvador to play alongside her brother (shots from his shoot are coming soon!).  I absolutely love everything about the hazy light in this shot, the way her dress flows, the sparkles on her princess tiara...

She is a very independent little girl, and insisted on holding it upside down in her left hand while strumming along.

And finally, one of my absolute favorite shots of her.  I busted out the bubbles, and she and her brother were entranced.  At one point I looked over at her to see this mischievous sparkle in her eyes, a sly smile on her lips, and the bubble container between her teeth.... "It's a trumpet!" she exclaimed!

Such a fun bubble-chasing, princess-smiling kind of day!