Last Saturday I had the opportunity to photograph Sanaa’s birthday party at the Detroit Zoo. Sanaa was a bit shy with me at first. When her mom’s friend asked her to lie on her belly so I could get some shots, she immediately obliged, but decided to face the opposite direction!
How cute is that??!?!!
I have to admit, I was a little nervous going into this shoot because it’s been awhile since I’ve worked with kids. Andy, being a daddy, has a distinct advantage here. But I have to say I’m really excited about several of the shots I got that day:
As the guests started to arrive I heard Sanaa’s mom get really excited and grabbed this shot of being reunited with her niece – who was a surprise guest. She was SO happy to see her – the niece lived in New Jersey and I have a feeling it had been many years. The poor niece wasn’t quite sure what all the fuss was about I think! But I love this image of the moment they saw each other:
I’m a sucker for the details, and while this shot isn’t really of anything in particular, I just love the colors.
After Pin the Tail on the Donkey and a pinata game, the kids were given goodie bags to rip apart. Among the treasures were some harmonicas. This shot just cracks me up:
After the party ended, I followed the family for a little bit as they made their way to the polar bear exhibit. It was pretty crowded inside – and it didn’t help that it had started raining and this was the only location with a roof nearby. We got some great shots before the weather got so bad that we had to call it quits.
You can’t really tell at this small size, but in the photo in the right it had started to rain. Dad was hunkering down to get indoors, but Sanaa was just happy to go along for the ride. She finally decided the weirdo with the camera was ok and decided to give me some more smiles.
Many thanks to Sanaa’s mom, Aziza and the rest of the family for inviting me to capture this special day. It was a blast! Sanaa has a little sister on the way that will no doubt be just as adorable as she is. We are looking forward to meeting them again for more pictures.
by Lynn
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