Honorable Mention / 2023 / Portraiture / Children

At Ease with Herself

It was a hot, winter day in southern California. I had been out for several hours, at multiple locations taking photos of a friend's three daughters. All three were beautiful girls. At this location, I asked the eldest daughter to sit on this old, rough picnic table at the edge of a marsh and handed her one of my old straw hats to put on. I turned away after giving her the hat, feeling stupid for asking her to put it on, thinking she would hate it. But, when I turned back, there she sat: zen perfect, so at ease with herself in my old hat and her favorite dress and boots. I was stunned.