This is my Julia. She's the reason Amanda McNeal Photography exists.
She's been my muse, guinea pig and inspiration. Our children often have no idea that huge gifts they give us. I firmly believe I would not be doing this without her arrival into this world. With her approaching 11 and all of our extra time we've been given with COVID I decided to give her a full session including wardrobe and props. She picked most of her wardrobe and came up with some of the ideas for shots because this was HER session. A session to show her personality and not just her pretty face in front of the camera. Our girls are more than a pretty face and I want us moms to always remind them of this. I didn't want to create the perfect muted portrait but wanted to show sugar and spice of her. She is sweet and soft but has edge to her. The smile on her face when she saw her final gallery was priceless!
She's 11. She loves volleyball, skateboarding, acting, Roblox, Tiktok dances and learning about history. Unique combo but tweens are that - becoming their own unique person. She enjoys reading but doesn't love it. She has started to show interest in keeping up with fashion trends (just got her first pair of Nike Air - didn't know that was a thing) and she has been setting goals financially. Right now she is saving to buy her own phone. Yep. You want one you're buying it. She is uber responsible and reliable. She likes going to consignment stores to find deals. However as she enters tweenhood I see some fire coming out of her at times and envision her at 16 - I got this right? She can be indecisive but also thinks through her decisions. She is messy at home but neat at school.
Tweens do deserve their own session. They are going into a very confusing time walking a fine line between childhood and teen years. They have developed distinct personalities and have begun exploring their interests. They start having to deal with hormonal changes which goes back to making it a confusing time. They are slowly crossing a threshold into the next chapter of their lives. Let's capture it.
