Allison & Timmy (Utah portrait photographer)

I had the opportunity to photograph these beautiful people this week and had a great time. These guys are just too cute! Seriously though, they are simply adorable together. I'm so happy for them!  Here are a few of my favorites from their engagement shoot.

Children at Play

"We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything than when we are playing." 

-Charles Schaefer

I am a big fan of incorporating play into learning for young children.  This concept is often dropped by the wayside in today's schools, and in my research I've found this misconception is actually where we are very wrong in the raising of our children. They need play in order to learn more effectively, use their imaginations, problem solve, play nice with others, etc. In this series I wanted to highlight just the aspect of children playing and completely in their element. I found that during this process it was in the simple images from a child's level that were some of my most successful images. So naturally to get to a child's perspective I grasped onto some of my own childhood memories of what I thought or imagined while playing on the playground: I imagined myself waiting my turn to climb the mountain, crossing the unstable bridge over the bubbling lava, or flying free like the birds with the swings. Allowing myself to let go of the adult perspective was a very gratifying experience and I was too more fully alive.