2 year pics...take one!

Well, I've put them off as long as I could stand it.  I attempted some pics of Jessica for her 2nd Birthday the other day when we had a lovely sunny afternoon, although cold, no more than 45 degrees, it was gorgeous.  I had been thinking about these for a while & I must admit I was kind of nervous....I grant you I'm kind of a spazz anyway, but I had gotten myself kind of worked up over these.  I was really questioning should I just bite the bullet & get a professional to do them.  That really wasn't a workable idea b/c A) If I took her to one of the studios--Sears, Target, Walmart, or Picture People, it would be an all white background & seriously doubted if she would sit still for them anyway.  B)  My poor husband will tell you I have a love of high-end photography---he's paid for 2 high-end newborn sessions in 2 years...I would have loved to have the pro that did those do Jessie's 2nd birthday pics, but she's booked like a year in advance & to be honest really, really, really expensive.  My idea for doing her pics was to let Jessie pick out her outfit of choice & backlight her with sunset.  A few days ago I let her go into her closet & dresser to pic out her clothing.  She loves the color red so she chose a red sweater first (I'm thinking great, the hardest color to photograph), her favorite pair of star pants, a little purple t-shirt, pink sparkle shoes & when I questioned her on socks, she went right for the frilly purple socks that have been waiting for her all winter--can't wait until it's warmer & she can wear these with a matching dress.  I tried to tempt her with a handmade hair pretty that I made for her, but she wasn't having it, but she did go right for Ella's tutu.  I thought well, there it is, colors that don't match--she's gonna look like a hot mess.  I was originally going to get her balloons also for the pics, but that's just too many steps these days, so we just went for it.  I grabbed her little red rocker that she is crazy about these days & we went outside for a few pics.  I know these are not professional by any means and they may not be technically very good, but the result captured her perfectly in her little mismatched outfit.  MoMo even made a special appearance in these, which is so cute to me.  I'm sure one day she'll ask me why was she wearing such a crazy outfit, but I think it's adorable that she picked this out.  It's a special memory for me anyway.  Here's a sneak peak at what I've edited so far.  Hope you all have a wonderful day, gotta get a few prints for her party on March 3rd, so I better get editing!

To my friends that enjoy photography--backlighting, my opinion, is tough--these were some of the hardest to get color correct on that I've taken.  I probably should have just stuck with lighting situations that I know well, like protected shade, but being the ambitious girl I am couldn't resist the urge to at least try.  I think for someone who has only owned a dslr for around 4 months they're not bad, but I'm going to read more on how to get this effect even better. 

Of the 117 I took this afternoon, this is my fav...I got about 29 or so that are decent

MoMo had moved up into the tree to get her attention....doesn't this outfit just scream childhood

Love, love the light in this one, even got a lens flare--my Jessie girl is so beautiful...just adore her!