I absolutely could NOT have asked for a more perfect family for New Orleans Family Photography than the Reines. Katie is a fellow photographer over at KVR Photography, and she does such great work! I was so honored that she wanted to do a documentary family session with me. And we had SUCH fun doing it! Her family was sweet, and affectionate, and funny, and zany. And a million other things that just made for a perfect documentary session. These guys totally made me feel like family while I was with them – Katie even brought me lunch after I totally forgot to eat before I left my house!
The morning started with just everyday, normal getting-ready shenanigans. If you’re a parent, you know that getting small children dressed is often the most chaotic part of any day–and it’s one of my favorite things to photograph, because it leads to so many moments between parents and their children. I loved the interaction between these guys while chasing down shirtless toddlers and putting shoes on little feet.
From there, we loaded up to head to the Audubon Zoo – on the way, Katie and Tripp took a moment to pray for no rain after we noticed that clouds were popping up, which I thought was SO sweet! And Tripp was so excited about seeing alligators, man – that kid was pumped. We all had a laugh over the poor alligator-feeder volunteer who looked pretty petrified during the feeding show.
We ducked into the gift shop after that, which made for some pretty funny moments. After some serious deliberation, Tripp decided he wanted an alligator head on a stick (imagine that, right?), and then proceeded to run and stick the toy inside of the viewing window of the alligator tank – I thought that was pretty clever. 😉
One of my favorite funny moments was the moment Dad was shelling out cash for Stevie’s purchase, a squeaky crab. I immediately had the thought that this was just the beginning of Dad shelling out money for his baby girl!
After some more train and carousel fun at the zoo, we headed back to the house for swimming, because holy cow, Tripp was excited about swimming. The family’s pool is a recent addition, and he couldn’t WAIT to get in it and show off his skills. I loved the contrast of Tripp running around like a tiny, excited little maniac while getting ready, while Stevie just crashed on the couch.
Being carried around the zoo is HARD WORK, man.
Also, you know what makes me happy?
Dogs.
You know what makes me even happier?
DOGS IN POOLS CHASING TENNIS BALLS.
That dog was hilarious – she was so happy to be chasing balls into the water, no matter who threw them. Completely inexhaustible, that one.
Okay, enough blabbering from me – here are some of my favorite moments from the day!
Playing with mom’s hair. <3
This is how you climb on a couch, right?
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