I get to travel all over the United States to photograph some of the cutest kids and their moms. It’s always like getting that box of chocolates, I never know who I am going to meet or what their personalities will be like when we start shooting.

Elsie is a sweet, spunky 5 year old who I had the pleasure to photograph during my visit to Annapolis, Maryland this Spring.

She loves fashion and makeup, but she is also obsessed with dinosaurs. She wants to be the fastest and the strongest, so of course you know we brought out her little competitive personality during the photoshoot.

I love that her Mom wanted us to create something different and unique for Elsie. She wanted to show her strength and warrior spirit, because Elsie does not usually identify with traditional princesses. She identifies with super heroes like Batman and Spiderman because they can climb, jump, and fly. She is not a damsel who needs saving, she sees herself as the person who will help others.

So, I thought of a warrior princess character for our Elsie. We began our session by giving her big, fun hair pinned in big fluffy braid, and a gorgeous Tutu dumonde Dress with beautiful gladiator shoes.

She had a little glitter in her eye, and we finished her look with an oversized bow, it was almost as big as her head. She loved it and twirl in front of the mirror, we had to do some behind the scenes shots so she could show her dad and aunt.

She giggled and laughed in between poses and shots, and then would give me her fiercest look as soon as the camera came up. We were going for strength and she definitely delivered. She was so funny I had to share an outtake below!

So, in sticking with our theme we decided to move on to some adorable bubble shorts, with a button down shirt and a sparkly collard. We took her down and made it as big as possible, she has gorgeous hair so it was pretty easy to tease and make it huge. We then made two cute puffs on the top of her head for a touch of playfulness.

For our last look, we decided to create a classic fairytale look reminiscent of Peter pans Wendy. I brought along a gorgeous vintage night gown, and a sweet velveteen rabbit for her to cuddle. She sweetly turned into this innocent little baby girl and the photos are pictures taken from my childhood imagination.

It is amazing when clients vision for their portraits align with my own, and having the freedom to create what I love just allows me to get lost in the moments we are capturing.

I love that Mom wants to make this time special and memorable, and in commissioning her portraits she wants to deliver a message to Elsie. “I love that Elsie is not afraid to be herself in a world full of norms telling her who she must be. I hope she never loses her confidence or individuality and that she continues to choose her own path in life.

Elsie is a beautiful warrior. She tough, genuine, brave, and kind. I hope she uses these super powers to help others and make this world a little bit better.”

Elsie’s mom had this to say about our final portraits, “Although the images (tutu dumonde) are beautiful, what I love most about them is how they capture her personality. Seeing my daughter’s reaction to them also made my heart smile. “

Located in Cypress TX, a suburb of Northwest Houston, , llc is a Houston fine art photographer that specializes in stylized child and women portraits. Maribella Portraits, LLC serves the Houston and surrounding areas including, but not limited to, Cypress, The Heights, The Woodlands, Sugar Land, Spring, Katy, Rice Village, Memorial, Jersey Village, Waller, Hempstead, Magnolia, and Tomball TX. For booking information please contact Maribella Portraits via Facebook at www.facebook.com/maribellaportraits or email maribellaportraits@gmail.com

Little Elsie Faith is determined to make a splash in this world! | Sassy 5 year old’s creative photoshoot is full of attitude and spunk