Thank you so much for sharing this, Hayden’s dad. It’s not that I don’t trust Jen (because I really, really do) but when she suggested that we try an “urban shoot” for our family next month, I was a smidge apprehensive. Our three kids and a bunch of cement? It just doesn’t sound very photogenic.

But these backdrops look so completely funky and cool for your fun kiddo… now I can’t wait to see what she’ll do with ours!

We met Jen at a parking lot and, after a quick warm-up session against a battered grey fence, we sat out about the back alleys of headshops, beer joints and tattoo parlors, stopping along the way for candid shots as Hayden negotiated pot holes and long spiny weeds to pick up sticks and rocks so he could pelt and prod every wall and fence he encountered along the way to our first location.

He played in parking lots tagged with Graffiti, inspected police barricades and hid in the dark recesses of shady nondescript studios with faint smells of bodily fluids that should go unmentioned. Suffice to say, the area of town isn’t exactly your average environment for the portrait session of a 19 month old. Then again, Hayden isn’t your average 19 month old and Jennifer Weintraub is anyone but your average photographer.

Although Monica, Jen and I were constantly watching out for him the whole time, allowing Hayden to play amongst the debris of his rowdy teenage counterparts (as if he was in his own backyard) was nothing short of genius. Seeing this dank area at 10am through the eyes of a toddler was a remarkable experience.

Sometimes Monica and I get so caught up in the role of parenting that we forget or fail to realize that our little one has something new to teach us almost daily and this session hour session was filled with little lessons…

Hayden is vocal and energetic, he is extremely confident in his abilities (somewhat limited at this stage – but he owns them), he is cautious and even apprehensive when pushed over his boundaries but, when you offer some reassurance – his trust is implicit, he rarely hides who he is, loves to entertain and please and make people laugh, and can make a toy out of anything he can pick up.

Thanks Jennifer!

We are now confident that it isn’t just our bias that tells us how special our son is – whether the shots have the Cana Lilly of the Arboretum or the Graffiti of Deep Ellum in the background – Hayden is beautiful.