Aidan | 3 Years Old | Parker Colorado Photographer

Have you ever heard the term “cookie cutter life”? I’ve heard it thrown around quite a bit, often in the context of houses or lifestyles that, while pretty, are unoriginal or uninteresting. We imagine a life that is perfect, or perfectly bland. What I want to know is: what even is a cookie cutter life? Is there anyone who actually lives a perfect life? Cookie cutters don’t make things perfect! Even if you use one, sometimes those cookies still don’t turn out the way you would like. Life can be like that too. The best laid plans, right?

This photo shoot encapsulated the idea that life doesn’t always go as planned. It was silly, and messy, and funny, and totally spur of the moment. I went down to Parker to visit a friend and her littles, as well as take three-year pictures for Aidan, whom I have been photographing literally since before he was born. When we headed outside to take pictures, the weather was completely uncooperative. The wind was awful, it was cold and miserable and it was hard to get the little guy out of his coat! We got a few good pictures, though, and went inside to bake some cookies and warm up.

On a whim, I decided to get the camera back out and get some action shots while baking. The results were beautiful, spontaneous, and so, so real. The joy was real, the smiles genuine. There was flour on the floor, sprinkles everywhere, frosting in hair, and possibly more decorations were eaten than actually made it onto the cookies. But the photos captured a moment of fun and showcased these kids’ personalities so much more than any posed photo ever could.

This is the magic of doing a lifestyle session. When a photographer catches real moments like this, it serves as a reminder of what someone was like, what was happening, and frames memories that might otherwise have been lost. While posed photos in a studio are beautiful, life is not that perfect. It is not stamped out of a cookie cutter, if you will. Sometimes you have to learn to put some sprinkles on whatever you got, lick the frosting off your fingers, and enjoy all the little moments and imperfections along the way.