At a Fifth Birthday Party

Sunday was my niece's fifth birthday party. She's growing up far too quickly is what I can say there. Well, I decided to take pictures of course and I think I got some good ones but what I learned from the experience was well worth the bending and the squatting and the kneeling. Kids are short!

Jos with Awesome Keyboard Cat my boyfriend and I got for her.

Nothing beats experience! Kids were running around looking cute; doing cute things and being pretty nifty all around. Of course, my main focus was on Jos and her two sisters but I managed to get a few shots of the other kids.

Like this little guy and the pinata which was way way too high for him to reach.

This one is probably one of my favorites; not for any kind of stylistic effects or great framing but for the fact that it has in it my eldest niece the middle niece and their mom all together. Poor Del just wanted a few more whacks at that pinata. I also learned that kids are savages! They completely destroyed that unicorn tearing it literally limb from limb and adorning themselves in the body parts like some kind of horrible Heart of Darkness-Vietnam-Colonel Kurtz-using a head as a soccer ball kind of way.

Scary.

It's hard to capture kids and it's hard to capture all of the moments that happen at a party all at once. You just got to focus on what is presented there and hope that the energy translates. It also pays to squirm your way into the circle of kids while presents are being opened. I regret not taking time to evaluate the setting though and realize just how bright the sun was shining that day or how open the venue was. Most of my shots lack a sense of intimacy because of this. Live and learn.