Marking Time at the Daddy-Daughter Dance

 

I was thinking about that old TV show, “My Three Sons,” when I took this shot because I felt there was such a contrast between John’s dress shoes and the pretty ballet flats on his daughters’ feet.

 

I met John and the girls downtown before the Daddy-Daughter Dance. They were very sweet to walk me to the train station. Don’t they look fabulous?

 

The point was to get a few pictures of them before the big daddy/daughter datenight. I love taking pictures of people walking because walking shots always tell us subtle clues about personality, scale and relationship. There is a lot going on in the above photograph if you study it.

 

I love how playful this shot is. It shows how John watches his children for cues on living in the moment.

 

Since the girls are twins and therefore are photographed together a LOT, I wanted to make sure each daughter had her own picture of her and dad: A posed one…

 

…and a sweet one.

 

Here’s the other posed one…

 

…and the other sweet one.

 

The girls were working hard at being real models at a real photo shoot because despite the spring dresses, it was very cold that day. I kept reminding them to pretend they weren’t cold! Even so, this is one of my favorite shots — naturally John would wrap the girls in his coat, but I love the fact that it snuggles them together, just like John would do!

 

There is a lot about this shot that I love as well — the curls; the soft light; the completely different looks on the girls’ faces; the contrast of textures in the lace sweater, John’s coat and the buttery soft background; the soft smiles and sparkle of light in the eyes. It’s a fave for sure.

 

She’s so much happier being wrapped up in daddy’s coat.

 

I wanted to capture a sense of elegance because the girls’ dresses are so shimery. I also love the flowers on their wrists.

 

Since we were downtown anyway, and we needed to warm up a bit, why not take a shot inside What’s the Scoop, our favorite downtown hangout? We’ll get ice cream next time, when it won’t matter if we get chocolate on our clothes.

 

I’ve always thought that the colors at the Metuchen train station are great for photos.

 

That’s a great father’s day shot!

 

Trains are a symbol of movement, of passing, of leaving and of coming home. In the shot above, I wanted to capture a sense of stability, a sense that no matter where the girls go as they grow up, they’ll always have the memories of their time with their dad.

 

Then I slowed down the shutter quite a bit hoping to get a shot symbolizing the inevitable passing of time in the stationary family next to a zooming train. It reminds us to take time out, go for a walk, hold hands, cuddle, dance, talk, and to celebrate the fleeting moments of childhood. I was glad to see that it worked!

I also made a sweet slide show for John and the girls. If you’d like to see it, send me an email. I love it!