The Sticky, Messy, Beautiful Truth: A Weekend with the Wild Ones
We spend so much of our lives as parents trying to "clean up" the magic.
We wipe the faces before the photo is taken. We fix the hair. We tell them to sit still, stay dry, and keep their clothes clean. But this weekend, watching my kids and their cousins with Tam Tam and Paw Paw, I realized that the "clean" version isn't the one I want to remember.
I want to remember the sticky. I want to remember the messy. I want to remember the loud.
The Whipped Cream & The Water Hose
There is something sacred about a child who is completely lost in a moment.
This weekend, there were no phones and no electronics. There was just a can of whipped cream, an open mouth, and a level of joy that you can’t manufacture in a studio. There was the chaos of egg dying and the inevitable spray of a water hose.
Looking at these images, I don't see "mess." I see freedom. I see the kind of childhood where you’re allowed to get dirt behind your ears and sugar on your chest. I see the squinted eyes of a boy who is laughing so hard he’s forgotten I’m even holding a camera.
This Isn’t a Photoshoot. It’s a Memory.
When I talk about my "Wild Ones" sessions, this is what I mean.
I don’t want your kids to stand in a line. I don’t want them to "say cheese." I want to come to your backyard, your kitchen, or your favorite creek and just let them be.
I want to capture:
• The dirt-under-the-fingernails kind of play.
• The "big feeling" pouts and the full-belly laughs.
• The messy hair that refuses to stay in a ponytail.
• The way they look at their grandparents when they think no one is watching.
The World Can Wait
We have the rest of their lives to teach them how to be "put together." We have years ahead of us for school uniforms, professional headshots, and polished behavior. But right now? Right now, they are small. They are wild. They feel everything fully.
These are the memories you’ll want to hold onto twenty years from now. Not the one where they sat still for five seconds, but the one where they were covered in whipped cream and pure, unadulterated joy.
Let's Capture Your Wild Ones
If you want to spend 30 minutes letting your kids be exactly who they are—no phones, no pressure, just play—I’m ready for you. Let’s get a little messy and make something beautiful.
LITTLE MATRIARCHS: THE WILD ONES
30 Minute Storytelling Sessions | $50 Creative Fee
Locations: My Studio, Your Home, or the Great Outdoors.
#TheMatriarchEffect #TheWildOnes #LetThemBeLittle #UnpluggedChildhood #DeRidderPhotographer #StorytellingPhotography #RawChildhood #TamTamAndPawPaw
