Charlotte, Meet Pavement

Charlotte had a pretty spectacular spill on Tuesday night. She and Mark were playing with her new bubble toy when she tripped over her own feet and face-planted into the asphalt. She cried a bit, but was comforted by two lollipops and a bag of frozen peas to keep the swelling down. And she later requested that I cook the peas so she could eat them. Weird kid! She's now sporting a skinned knee (that's a regular occurrence as of late) and a huge bump on her forehead.

She still looks cute (those adorable curls and beautiful eyes can't be denied), but roughed up for sure. Which is why I'm glad I snagged some photos of her undamaged mug the other day. It occurred to me as we were waiting in the car while Mark ran into the store that photographing her in her carseat was an awesome idea. She was contained and bound to actually look me the camera in the eye at some point. So I positioned myself (awkwardly) in the driver's seat and started snapping away.

Here are my first few photos, straight out of the camera:


They're cute, and I even managed to get some catchlights, but the lighting is weird. So I moved myself away from the center of the car and towards the window, so that she was facing the light more. The results were definitely better, but she was making some goofy faces!


So I got her calmed down a bit (after snacking on some pretzels) and took a few more. Her face looks great, but the first one is blown out and the second is a little out of focus.


One more photo and we have success!


All this to say, it pays to be patient, take a lot of pictures (there's over 30 from this little "photo session") and pay attention to the results you're getting. Something I need to remind myself of regularly.