Peek – a – boo!

She was the youngest I ever photographed for Shichi Go San sessions.

Her family came to me all the way from the East Coast to photograph their son who was celebrating the 5th year of his life. He had a little sister who was almost 3 years old but not quite . . . just being 2 years and a half years old. A little bit early but go for it to celebrate their third and fifth years of healthy growth all together!

This will be a perfect example to show you what to expect and what kind of images you will get from a Shichi Go San session with such young children.

Peek-a-boo! there you are. The innocent smile is what I am looking for!

The chubby baby cheeks are as soft as mochi (fresh Japanese rice cake) or the little baby hair feather . . .

Do not expect her to be posing with the paper crane . . . she just wanted to share the crane by handing it to me. . .

Her lovely round eyes sparkle with new toys. With the little Japanese handball, I personally love her mom’s hand in the frame holding it for her.

Please expect she might want to take off the Japanese sandals. I do not blame her because the sandals are not the most comfortable shoes to walk around in for such a young child. Yes. She would not let go of the Japanese sword which was actually for her big brother.

I do take family portraits of everyone standing, but please expect more for sitting down. They feel more at ease when their mama and papa’s faces are closer to them.

She was much happier with her own shoes with her hello kitty which had been everywhere with her!

Please expect she wants you to hold her right away. She has been already doing so good putting the kimono on, having her hair done, and being somewhere she never has been before with some strangers like me. She needs comfort.

Look at her happy face . . . I love to capture these kinds of images because I know that she would not let you hold like this at her 5th year or 7th-year Shichi Go San session!

. . . and yes, expect she might want to take off the tabi (Japanese socks) inside. Got to love the little toes showing at the red kimono hem.

Expect some poses with sibling(s) are not so perfect . . . but you can hear their scream with joy and laughter echoing the Japanese room!

and at the end of our session, I am down on the floor too. . .

Another day of my workout session with the little kids and my camera as a dumb bell. I am out of breath but all was worth it. These images were captured and will be cherished among their families and themselves as they get older.

I appreciated their parents who let me be with their children to have alone time in the Japanese room because I realized that they would pay more attention to me without parents being there with them. Thank you for being on the same page as well – be quick, be patient and be flexible throughout the experience! We did it!