A few years ago Claire asked me for something different. She didn’t want a family session. She wanted one portrait of each of her daughters, taken at home, once a year, for as long as they would let her.
So now, once a year, I bring a plain backdrop to their living room and the girls take turns. The only rule is that they choose what they wear. One year that meant a white dress and a handful of dried flowers from the garden. Another year it meant the yellow dress with all the ruffles, so we skipped the backdrop and used the dark hallway with the old painting.
These sittings are quiet. No running around, no silly faces on cue. I ask each girl to sit or stand however feels like her, and then we wait together until she forgets about me. Freckles, a flower pinned into her hair, a shoulder turned toward the light: every year they show me something new.
