My Boy is Super

As I’ve mentioned previously, it’s not always easy to get great images of my son, despite the fact that I am a photographer, and–more importantly–in spite of his beauty.

Yup, I said it. He is a beautiful little boy. His face may be scratched up (he’s kind of rough and tumble and has a very, very high tolerance for pain), and there may even be some leftovers from lunch on his chin. But he is a good looking little man with especially beautiful eyes.

Given his autism, his medications and the amount of sleep he got the night before, it’s not always easy to predict which days would be best for a photo shoot. Sometimes he’s spacy, sometimes he’s present. Sometimes he’s just quiet and wants to be held (not so easy at over 50lbs), and sometimes he is wild and happy.

I always feel a little bit anxious when I am preparing to photograph him because of the unpredictability of it all. I need someone–like one of his therapists–to come with us and get him running–which is the easiest way to wake him up and get some big smiles, or to lift him up somewhere where he can’t easily climb down (so that I can quickly grab some static shots of a boy who otherwise literally. doesn’t. stop. moving. EVER. It takes a lot of energy on the part of my assistant, because I will ask that person to do something again and again in order to ensure that I get some good [sharp, well exposed] shots of a boy whose most photogenic facial expressions might show up the moment I put the camera down. And, given that my son is literally running in and out of the sun and shade, I am constantly praying that my camera settings are correct at the moment when he is looking at the camera and/or smiling.

In other words, it ain’t easy.

So when I get great results, I must shout it from the top of the Washington Monument (or the tower-formerly-known-as-the-Sears-Tower-whose-new-name-is-never-to-be-acknowledged-by-true-Chicagoans). You nailed it, my boy. NAILED IT. Mommy thanks you.

Happy Halloween from my Super Boy!