This was such a fun session. Horse-obsessed Ella recently turned 2 & to celebrate, her parents planned a special afternoon at Bar-B-Ranch in Davie, with Peaches the pony... & I got to be there to document it. We had great hospitality at the ranch, which looked like an amazing place for all kinds of horse & pony riding. Ella was so excited to be there, she hopped right up onto Peaches right away, 100% comfortable with all of the animals and never stopped loving on her parents, which made my job to capture all the cuteness, pretty darn easy.Planning an activity that is special to your family is the perfect way to create natural, candid, meaningful photos. Part of my 'what to expect' conversation I have at the beginning of every session includes telling whoever is in front of my camera to just enjoy each other in every way possible & I'll just be there to capture it. This family seemed to understand my approach before even meeting, which resulted in a super fun & relaxing family afternoon (that happens to come along with a collection of photos to remember it by).[tg_masonry_gallery gallery_id="9688" layout="wide" columns="4"]
pony rides
real life with morgan at marando farms & ranch | davie child photography
It wasn't until we pulled into the parking lot of Marando Farms & Ranch in Davie that we realized it was the old Batten's Farm. Growing up not too far away, I have a lot of memories, going to Batten's to get milkshakes & visiting the cow out back (Bessie? I keep hoping the name will come back to me). At just 18 months old, Morgan loved visiting with the animals at the this petting zoo.... I think her favorite was the turtle but she was the goats' favorite - they constantly followed her around. This kid has zero fear - literally getting face to face with animals 20X her size, not to mention trying to get as close as possible to every single animal there. We skipped the pony rides this time, since she's a little too young, but we'll be back!