Violet's Fairy Garden Photos

Have you ever met a child that is so full of life, adventure, and dreams? I have. Her name is Violet Dorothy, and she is an absolute gem of a human. My favorite part? She's a brand new eight-year-old. Violet is the middle child of Josh and Helen, and she is absolute perfection.

Violet marches to the beat of her own drum. She loves what she loves and refuses to accept what she does not like. And guess what? I kind of love that. She's fiery-tongued yet so sweet at the same time. She is a mover and shaker and she just plain rocks.

When Helen booked this milestone session for Violet--she knew Violet was going to freak out (in a good way). And she did. Little sister, Ruby, was also very, very jealous. This session was all about Violet though. Violet chose the fabric for her skirt that Helen made for her as well as her flower crown. Violet also requested a place with flowers for her photos. I knew of the perfect place--Harvey's Greenhouse in Adel, Iowa. Harvey's is known in the photography community to be very receptive to having photographer's shoot inside of their many greenhouses.

Violet appeared nervous at first, but she quickly warmed up to me. I think having her mom present as both a comforting person and as a hype-woman was helpful though too. Violet had so many great ideas for posing and locations. She was such a delight to work with.

I have never met such a young woman that had such control of her facial expressions. Violet knew when to look at the camera and smile and when to look off into the distance or concentrate on something else. It was so fun to see her personality emerge the more I snapped.

I love when little girls do dance and twirling photos. Violet's tulle dress with pleats had such movement. The sparkles in the dress also caught the light coming in through the green house, that it created such interesting photos. Violet also chose her eye makeup as well as the stick-on jewels under her eyes.

Although I loved all of the color from the blooming flowers in the green house, I found the black and white images to be equally as striking. Violet has such remarkable eyes and facial structure--the black and white photos really showcase her, rather than the greenhouse.

After exploring the greenhouses, we headed to the town square in Adel. Adel is the county seat for Dallas County, and they have a beautiful historic courthouse that they've been renovating. Violet ditched her flower crown for the portion of this session.

Violet continued to provide lots of suggestions on poses and even came up with elaborate stories to go with the poses. I love the next several photos that show her "As a moody teenager. " and "On the phone texting with a boy she likes." This girl and her imagination--I'm telling you now, she is going to go places!

We continued walking the square a bit, but Violet was starting to get hungry. As we wrapped up photos, we grabbed a few more photos at the last minute.

The lighting, the outfit, and the model were absolutely perfect. I had so much fun with Violet and her mom. I remember when Violet was born--so seeing her as a beautiful and confident eight-year-old that is secure with who she is as a person was the feel-good pick-up I needed. I'd also like to give major praise to Josh and Helen for their parenting. Having a free-spirted child that marches to the beat of their own drum isn't always easy. But they have consistently provided not only Violet, but her two siblings, the opportunity to express themselves. Violet is wonderful the way she is and I'm so glad they allow her to be who she is.

“She makes the day brighter. She leaves a little sparkle wherever she goes.” – Kate Spade