Lilah isn’t smiling in this picture – and I didn’t capture any of her laughing when I first put her in the grass because I was too busy relishing every minute to bother taking a picture. As much as I love photography, there’s something entirely different about experiencing a moment firsthand than through the viewfinder of a camera. As I write this, she’s sitting on my hip simultaneously chewing on my shirt and talking to me in her own little language. I can’t get over how perpetually happy she is (I am so lucky!).

There is so much technically wrong with this picture I am posting – but the early evening lighting is so beautiful…and the very reason why I enjoy natural light photography over studio any day…taken 5 minutes earlier or 20 minutes later – the lighting would have been entirely different.