Kisses are a better fate than wisdom

Kisses are a better fate than wisdom - e. e. cummings

What with Valentine's Day coming up next week, the challenge over at i heart faces right now is "We ♥ kisses" and in my opinion, there isn't a better theme than that. Anyone who has been following my blog for any length of time has picked up on the fact that I shoot a lot of lip locking, and those of you who have been a client, you are very aware of how much I ask for nuzzles, snuggles and smooches.

So when I tried to think of some favourite kissing images I have taken recently, I considered too many cute couples on their wedding days to be true and wanted to include them all. I mean, what is more perfect for Valentine's Day than two people in love on their wedding day and full of romance, kissing passionately against a dreamy Bermuda backdrop?

Yet through all that agonising over which kissing couple I would submit, I kept coming back to this photograph in my head.



Every once is a while, when I get home from a shoot and am scanning through the thumbnails on the computer, I see an iconic image that jumps out. This was one of those sessions and this image leaped out of the screen. The day had been grey and the light uncooperative, but this moment with a young daddy tenderly kissing his new baby girl was magic in the making. I love the look in his eyes and the arch in his hand as he supports her sweet little head so he can kiss her soft belly.

I actually did this shoot back in October of 2006 when Saria was only 6 weeks old. Indigo had just been born that August so we all bonded over natural birth, doulas and our beautiful babies. They have since had another darling girl called Aneya who I photographed at a similar age this past summer.

I didn't really know much about post processing back when I took this photo, and I believe I have improved so much as a photographer since then, but still, I think it is one of my most beloved images in my portfolio. Of course it helps that Ed is gorgeous and Saria a heavenly cherub, but nevertheless, I feel honoured to have been the freezer of such a frame.

So sorry to all the smoochy love birds out there, but this Valentine's Day, I am dedicating to daddies and their little girls.

Head on over to i heart faces to see the other entries this week and maybe share a kiss of your own.