Sheri and I met when we were 5 years old. Although I can't remember the moment we met, or even the moment we became best friends, I can recall many memories from my childhood that she's at least some part of. We spent many a Friday night tucked away in one of our bedrooms watching Full House, Family Matters, Perfect Strangers and Step by Step. Saturdays were fun playing basketball with her dad in the driveway and searching the yard for rocks to paint. And Sundays were spent at Church... and sometimes playing "office" at Rick's Carpets (Trade & Wholesale back then, if I remember correctly). I adored her family as they quickly became and extension of my own. And now that we're older, I adore her new little family just as much!
Although I'd briefly met the kids once before, this shoot was the first time I really got to interact with them. I learned quite a bit about each of them. For example, Gabriel opened up to me instantly. Literally, before I had even parked my car, we were chatting like we'd seen each other every day since he was born. It took the girls a little while longer. Maybe 15 minutes or so before Noel starting coming around (and by then, she was MINE!). And finally, Ariel came around, even if it did take a while to get some smiles out of her (I told her the roosters would go away if she smiled... and it worked!)
I definitely got a few good chuckles editing their photos. I aim to have all my shoots play out like a story book, but this one wrote itself. You can tell in their body language and facial expressions, if you view the entire gallery from beginning to end, exactly the moment each of them were okay with my being there. I picked a few of my personal favorites that I feel speak volumes about their personalities to show you here on the blog.
Even though they hadn't yet opened their Pumpkin Tunnels yet, we still had a great time shooting at Nall's Produce! And according to Sheri, Noel and I are now BFF's ;-)
