Deborah Lykins Photography

“Happy Accident” is a term that is bandied about our house a lot. It defines those occurrences when a mistake happens (usually while creating some form of art) and it turns out to make the piece even better than planned.

When we arranged this portrait, his mom mentioned that she wanted photographs of her son “just being a little boy and enjoying nature… he is growing up so quickly, so I just want to freeze this time in my mind forever.”

I loved this description and excitedly set to work on our concept.

We met at one of their favorite hiking parks and started the session BUT about 20 minutes into it, as we were walking along the creek bed (one with actual water in it) our little guy climbed up onto a sideways growing tree that hung out over the water. (You know where this is going…) I was moving around taking photos, trying to get a good angle, and when he started to climb off the tree I asked him to wait just a second in order to get one or two last shots. Then, through the viewfinder, I saw his head s-l-o-w-l-y sink out of sight. He was sliding off the tree, down the creek bank and into the water!

Aaak!

His mom and I rushed to get him out of the ankle deep water, no worse for wear but definitely wet. What to do?

Ooops! Sometimes sessions don't go as planned.

Luckily, they live around the block from the park so we headed to their house for dry clothes and to finish the session. At their house I met a couple of very sweet dogs out in their great backyard and we ended up with this fantastic little photo story about a boy and his love for his dogs and nature. (I kept thinking about “Where The Red Fern Grows” while editing this.)

Tis the season… for family portraits that is. As I was waiting for my session to begin this little park filled with portrait photographers. I counted no less than 6 concurrent sessions while photographing this fun group.

This mom is one of the funniest women I know, she kept everyone going and happy by making jokes, quoting silly movie lines (re: the post title) and goofing around. That’s what a photo session should be about… fun, laughter, camaraderie and beautiful light. We had it all this evening.

I was lucky enough to be able to photograph one of my favorite families in Austin at one of my favorite landmarks in Austin. What a Twofer!

Generally, when making portraits, I like to set up situations and then step back and photograph things as they unfold. I love the organic energy that is found in letting people connect with each other and try very hard not to direct too much. These natural interactions really shine in these portraits. There is no lack of energy here! One of the many reasons I love these guys!