Tacos, Enchiladas, Cheeseburgers...

When you shoot with children, there is never any telling what kind of photos you're going to get. Sometimes you have to shoot secretly, because no amount of coaxing, bribing or wrangling will get the child to concede. Sometimes you don't have to do anything, and in fact, you might have more trouble keeping the child out of the lens than in it. And sometimes, you just have to know what phrases to say.

My favorite line from my shoot last week was, "He loves food. We just have to talk about food." So the mantra of the evening was, "Tacos, enchiladas, cheeseburgers, cheesecake..." He may have been the only toddler I've ever worked with who was happier by the end of the photo shoot than the beginning! But, heck, so was I! And hungrier,too!

It's always a joy working with such lovely and adventurous people - this photo shoot was a Mother's Day present for this beautiful mother-to-be (for the second time) and aside from the cute belly bump, with her agility and adventurous nature you wouldn't have believed she was eight months pregnant.

"Do you mind getting your feet wet?" I would ask, "Oh no, not at all."

"Do you want to climb up on that rock?" I said. "Sure!" she responded.

"How about we hike down this steep embankment to the creek below and wade in the mud under a bridge?" "Let's do it!" She replied.

How can you not have fun when you have such amicable subjects as this? And with such good taste in food? It's good to be a photographer.