My little boy turns 5-years-old today! I cannot believe how fast the years have flown by! Every year just keeps getting better and better. I can’t wait to see what this year holds for us!
Most of you know that I’m a full-time photographer. That doesn’t leave me very much time and energy to plan my own family shoots, but I was determined to do something really special this year for him. He is one of the most precious miracles in my life, and I really wanted to do a photo shoot that would capture who he is. He loves the outdoors and is so curious about everything around him. He’s adventurous and very energetic. He loves getting dirty and jumping into lakes. He’s definitely all boy.
So, the fun theme I decided to go with was…Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn!
I envisioned it all in my head. We could use a raft, a cute suspender outfit, a straw hat, and even his new baby turtles. Yeah. Baby turtles. I was so excited to make this shoot happen, even in the middle of my busy season.
Thankfully I was able to enlist the help of my husband and my parents. My dad and hubby put together a raft and made it look as real as they could. You’re going to love it when you see it in the photos! My dad also rigged up a fishing pole and fish. My mom put together the sail. I put together the outfit. My parents live on a lake so we were able to do the photos right in their “backyard”. It was great! We were in shallow water the entire time so my little guy would be safe. My hubby was also standing in the water right out of my camera view.
I am so thrilled with how the photos came out! I love how his joy and curiosity comes out in so many of the images, yet we were also able to capture some somber ones as well. He was such a dream on the shoot. He did absolutely everything we asked him to do. I feel so extremely blessed to be able to call this little boy mine. God has been so good to our family, and we thank him every day for little Michael.
By the way, he named his turtles Betsy Clifford and Clifford Betsy. They like to eat mealworms, dragonflies, and fish.
Purrington Photography 
Absolutely priceless! Way to go, mama!!
What a great photo shoot! The inspiration, the set-up, your own son Michael as the adorable model……….. everything!!!! You will treasure these photos forever!!!!! 😉
Love all of your photography Kristen- These photo”s are a lifetime treasure of your family.
Hi there, I am trying to put together an outfit like this. Do you mind telling me where you found the pants and suspenders? Thanks, Mary
It was so long ago. I think I found the pants on ebay and the suspenders at goodwill. I just cut and sewed them to look more old-fashioned.
Would like to use a picture of yours in my book, Adventures of Columbus Daniel. Is there a charge?
I do offer images for limited use. Please e-mail me at photosbykristen@ymail.com for more info.