A smile came across my face as I pondered the difficult little girl in front of me.
She was one of the “clingers” as I call them, not wanting to let go of mommy
for the morning shoot.  She was not the first of these types and she certainly
would not be the last.  I listened as the mother told me of her repeated attempts
to have here “difficult” child photographed at other studio’s for the priceless portrait
she wanted.  I searched the child’s eyes wondering how I could release her of her
fears and insecurities.  In a world where there is so much going on, I realized
that if this was my greatest challenge of the day, I had a pretty easy life. 
After taking a deep breath I got down on the floor and completely ignored the
little girl.  I talked to her mommy in a very slow deliberate manner.
We discussed summers and ponies, swimming and beanie babies, cats and dogs.
After a little while the girl turned and said, “I love Barney.”
It was one of the greatest stories that I ever recorded with my camera.

Sometimes we need to think like a child, not just to photograph children but in
our approach to life.  Children are the most creative people I know, they are
fascinated by all of what life has to offer.  Somewhere, it is as if some gremlin comes
and robs us of that creativity, leaving us in an analytical state of mind that we
endure until our last days when we again begin to realize what it is that life has to offer.