Boys at play {Bethesda, MD Family Photography}

I started off my Columbus Day this year by dropping my kids off at school, then running over to meet the O family for a few family shots so Dad could get to work.

I then spent the next few hours just following these two brothers around the park.  Little brother is Mr. Personality, and has so many different expressions, I could do a whole storyboard of close-ups of his face!  I love this devilish little grin.

I actually know the O family from a few years ago when Mom and I were in a playgroup together with our older sons (Big Brother here is the same grade as my own little guy).  Sadly, our paths don’t cross as often anymore, but my kids will still benefit from our morning of exploration.  These brothers found a patch of bamboo tucked away in a corner of the park that I’d never even noticed before — and played there for close to an hour with a few sticks of bamboo and some leaves.   Ah, the creativity of childhood.

This shoot was exactly what I like to do — squeeze in a few “formal” family shots (if the kids are up for it) at the beginning, and then be, for the most part, a fly on the wall, documenting the kids at play.

It was great to see the O family again.  Repeat clients are, of course, the lifeline of any photography business (only one reason for my reciprocal referral policy).  Much more than that, though, it just makes me a little giddy getting to watch, in tiny slivers, these little guys grow up.  Thanks so much for sharing your family with me once again, O family!

See more “O” family pictures here, or see the slideshow — including their mini-album! — below.

The O family

The images they chose, and their "mini-album"

- Danie Smallwood, Photography by Danie