We might have been a little nervous, but we were also very excited about our first opportunity to shoot someone other than each other. Max came in special from Colorado as our model. He was accompanied an entourage of three women. Although we have spent a lot of time working with backgrounds, Nancy wanted to catch a Pinterest moment, so she had decided to start out with a black background. With his ivory complexion and chiseled good looks, she thought that would be the ticket.

Max was pretty casual about the whole affair, so Nancy did her best to make him feel comfortable and eased her way into the money shots. He warmed up as the evening went on. All in all, we were very happy with the pictures we got, but we will let you be the judge of that:

Max in the Basket Pape 1097We started our inaugural photo shoot with Max in a basket surrounded by some Christmas ornaments. Max sporting his First Thanksgiving Day shirt Pape 1290Max surrounded by some of Nancy's fall decorations by Pictures by Pape, photographers in Dubuque, IA. Max au natural Pape 1093While Max was a little shy at first, it didn't take too long for him to loosen up.

We started with the basket and the ornaments. The ornaments were a bit of a distraction for Max. Grandma Jane had suggested a Thanksgiving shot, so Nancy grabbed some of her fall decorations off the front porch. It wasn't too long before Max was feeling comfortable enough to show a little skin. (Sorry, Max, we forgot to tell you we were going public with these :-)

Max wearing a cool sweater and hat Pape 1300After his "nude shot" Max was a little chilly, so we let him warm up with this sweater and hat. As you can see by his expression, he was really getting into the photo shoot by this time. Grandma, Max and Mommie Pape 1168-EditRemember that we said that Max showed up with three cool chicks - Here he is in a cameo shot with two of them. CJ broke out one of the backgrounds for this shot. Max with Dunkin Donuts coffee Pape 1402Max was wearing out from the photo shoot. We knew his uncle TJ was a big fan of Dunkin Donuts coffee, so being resourceful, we served up some coffee for our model.

After doing the "nude shot" Max was a little chilly, so he put on this dapper hat and sweater. Nancy couldn't help but snap a quick portrait. We could have called it a successful shoot since Nancy had her Pinterest shot, but CJ put up one of the Christmas backdrops. It didn't take too much effort to coax Grandma into a generation picture. But, alas, poor Max was getting a little tired. We knew his uncle TJ loved Dunkin Donuts coffee. so thought a little of that might do the trick. We didn't tell him Max was decaf.

Max and CJ Pape 1382After a coffee, CJ had to explain to Max that it was time to get back to work. Max in a Christmas Scene Pape 1359Of course, with the Holiday Season coming up, it only seemed right to get a picture of Max by a warm fire by the Christmas tree. Smiling Max Pape 1197While we love how the personality of a child comes through in some of the serious shots, it's always nice when you get a smile.

We wanted to get a few more photos, so here is CJ explaining to Max that his work was not yet complete. Max was a trooper about letting us take some more photos, but as you can see, he was pretty happy when we told him he was done. He rewarded us with a big smile.

We have another shoot lined up next week, and Nancy has a couple more Pinterest shots that she would like to practice, but don't hesitate to call if you are interested in doing family photos for Christmas Cards or have any late graduation pictures that you need. We don't want to get over-confident, but we are getting pretty comfortable shooting in the studio.