One of the joys of having my own photography business is being able to do sessions featuring my own children.  My daughter, Maya (our 5th child,) is my stage child.  She loves to perform in many ways -- singing, dancing, acting -- even in a pageant!  Last August, she joined several young ladies to be part of the Cornish Fair King & Queen Pageant.  It's a lot of fun for her because she gets to dress up, perform, and, best of all, be with the other girls and have fun together!

This was her 2nd year participating and we've found that, part of the challenge, is finding just the right dress.  We liked last year's gown, but wanted something with a bit more flair this year.  In the past, my mother has found many of the dresses that my girls wear for our sessions, so it made sense to keep any eye out while on July vacation in Michigan where she lives.

Sure enough, we found the PERFECT gown!  It was the right color, style, and fit perfectly and for an amazing price!  We were all so excited and, you can bet, my thoughts quickly went to PHOTO SHOOT!  

After the fair, we talked about a good setting for this ensemble and settled on our little down-town area.  I like the lights and "small-town urban" feel, along with the pretty landscaping mixed with the old brick and long sidewalks along the store-fronts.  

We managed to get a perfect night, so she got into the gown and her sister helped her with hair and make-up and we headed out.  But once we got there, I felt a bit under-the-weather and lost my energy and excitement.  Tragedy!  After all the prep, I needed to make this work, but I just wasn't FEELING IT.  Thankfully, Maya is a great model and just seeing her in that setting help trigger my inspiration.  We got some stares and whistles, which made us laugh and things started to fall into place.  The light was glowing beautifully and the colors brought everything to life.  

I still wasn't sure if my vision was fulfilled, until I got home and uploaded my raw files.  Ahhh . . . SO GORGEOUS!  I'm so happy we did this and now have a wonderful keepsake of a very special time in her life.  Here is my Maya, the pageant girl!