I normally wouldn’t be proud to share that I was teaching children the art of sneaky-ness, but in this case, I hold my head high… or spin it as teaching the value of surprise. Yes. That sounds much better. 
Our two young masters in this story of covert artistic operations are the adorable Kate & Allie, whom you might recognize from our portrait session in Arizona earlier this year. They are quite dear to me. As their Father (David)’s birthday drew near, their mother (Mary Beth) requested surprise portraits as a gift. The girls are normally too excited to keep gifts a secret, but after being highly involved in location/theme planning, they took their role VERY seriously. Together, we settled on two locations that would have meaning to David: Harvard (where he works), and Fenway Park.
We started our super secret outing (which they dubbed “super cool school tour”, to those who asked) at Harvard Yard. The girls asked if they could take pictures outside the library, because David frequently reads to them, and I happily obliged. As we approached the library, I had them sit for a few moments to catch their breath, and ended up snapping a few images as their excitement and anticipation came through.
Sweet & Sassy. One guess which is which. 
I love the way these two interact. They really do adore each other.
We took a break between locations to meet David & Mary Beth at the Pediatrician for their check-ups. The cool & casual response they gave when asked how their day was going was classic, though they exploded into giggles the minute we were out of earshot. Our next location was Fenway Park, which they were most excited about. The girls have begun watching the games with their dad on tv, and they were so excited to visit the park. We planned our session while the team was away so we would have ample space to wander. I checked the score of the away game just before capturing the following images. The expressions in the picture on the right were their reaction upon hearing the Sox lost. Precious.
Kate is the sweet little soul. The shyer of the two, she often avoids the camera. However, her thoughtfulness and attention to detail on this day was just darling. She specifically requested that I help her resize an adult sox hat to fit her head, showing as she was becoming a bigger girl, she wanted to share what her parents love.
Allison is the sassy one, and she knows exactly what she wants. Her outfit, her poses, her timing, her intentions… everything was clear. The girl loves to model, to perform, and to be dramatic in every way possible. Mary Beth and I are fairly sure we have a future actress on our hands.
Kate LOVES hotdogs and couldn’t wait to pose under the Fenway Frank stand. They continued to hold hands as we walked away and headed back to the T, and this tender moment ended up being my (and a few vocal tourist’s) favorite image of the evening.
Happy Birthday David! You are on your way to raising a couple of solid Sox supporters, but it’s obvious they are already your most devoted fans.
Cheers,
Briana
