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He picked up a feather, soft and gray in his small hand, and ran it across his face. A gift from the beach, a small token of gentleness from nature amidst crashing waves and fast, salty winds. A moment of serenity. Feeling the bristles against his skin, tickling his cheeks and nose, soothed him. Calmness came over the shore, a body at rest, the feather floating across the contours of his face like driftwood. Above him a bird glided through the sky, silky smooth and gray like his feather. And then like a burst of wind he was gone.
It takes a certain amount of skill to artfully capture the soul of a child. “Soul” can be a complicated word, but it’s through the 25+ years of professionally working with children that allows Maria Martins to simply bring out the pure identity of the child she photographs. This element of her work is one of the most sacred in her creative process. Being true to who the child is crucial to successful children’s portraiture. This is how the magical moments are revealed.
Fearing that your child won’t cooperate during a photo session with Maria when you’ve invested time and money with her is understandable. But it doesn’t need to hold you back, create more anxiety, or make you feel shame. Your child is inspiring just as they are, no matter what the fears, anxiety, or the ignorance of others have lead you to believe. We are here just to follow him/her. Simply to be there for that moment when their imagination takes off and they catch the wind current that allows them to soar with the birds.
There are no guidlines for how a session should go, there’s nothing your child needs to do. Smiling isn’t even necessary if that’s not who your child is or how they authentically feel that day. The only rubric that exists is for us, the photographer and the parent. We are there to entertain, to give them something to play with, comfort them, let them enjoy, and just be present for those special moments. That is what children’s portraiture is about, capturing the magical moments. We’re just setting the stage for them.
When a child has a special need, casually saying that everything is going to run smoothly and be just fine may cause some parent’s eyes to roll. Ignoring that a child has a particular need that must be met is a serious failure. After working with children who have ASDs (Autism Spectrum Disorders), we believe that each child has that same love, light, and imagination inside of them and it’s our job to create the safe space that fits their unique needs in order for them to share that. A child may not behave, react, or perceive like “everyone else” but those special moments will still be captured. Seeing the beautiful imagination and heart within them occurs when they are themselves, in whatever expression is natural to them. We will follow their lead.
