I Want Candy

I have been wanting to do a candy photo session for forever. OK, maybe more like a few months. I approached my friend, Shanda, and asked her if her soon to be seven-year-old, Dotty, would be interested in being my muse for this stylized shoot. Dotty was on board. As a 4x boy mom, I knew my sons would LOVE to participate, but I wanted a young girl for this shoot. Dotty was perfect! The fact that she's missing her front teeth, just added to the sweet innocent of childhood.

I envisioned a twirly dress, glitter, and alllllll the candy. Shanda and Dotty had so much fun picking out Dotty's dress for their session, they actually brought 3 different dresses, a happy birthday crown, and lots of girly bracelets and jewelry.

Dotty is the youngest in her family, and also the only girl. During Shanda's pregnancy, she joked that if she had a daughter, she would likely have no hair or have straight hair. To Shanda's chagrin, Dotty had a lot less hair than her older brothers, and it didn't have any of the curl either. So, Shanda curled Dotty's hair in preparation for her photos. Her birthday crown made the outfit and provided a perfect pop of color.

Dotty is a gymnastic and really enjoyed putting on a performance for me before we even got the candy out. She was so comfortable in front of the camera. She has the sweetest personality and really wanted to take great photos. Dotty, like her mom, has the most gorgeous eyes. She definitely gets personality and facial expressions from her dad too.

Once I brought the candy out, Dotty really came alive. She had so many ideas! She had an entire storyline in her mind about trying to steal the candy and being sneaky. I was amazed with her creativity. Her facial expressions had both me and her mom rolling.

Dotty's favorite candy was everything except the jellybeans. She was so sweet though and asked if she could take some candy home for her brothers, since it wasn't fair she got to eat candy while getting her photos taken and they didn't have any. Absolutely, Dot!