Isabella, my muse. Or maybe not?

Yesterday, as I was taking pictures of my cute baby daughter, Jason asked me if she is my muse. Well ...yes and no.

Yes because I love taking pictures of her. She is, in my humble opinion, very cute and it is easy to take good pictures of her.

You must not forget why it is easy for me to take pictures of her though (any photographic skills left to the side). There are two reasons. Firstly, I am her mummy. She always looks straight at me. Actually most times she won't leave me out of her sight. Secondly, I can make her smile at any given time. Both of these are essential elements for an amazing baby portrait.
I have done quite a few portrait shots with other people's babies and it's always a challenge to get the little one to look at me/the camera. Too often the baby/toddler will only have eyes for the parents and as cute as pictures of the baby are, they always upgrade from good to better and are more intriguing when the model looks straight at the camera. It makes the person looking at the picture feel like the baby is laughing at him.

Back to my muse. She certainly inspires me, makes me look at things in a different way, makes me want to document every step of her way as good as I can as a mother and a photographer. In that way she really is my muse.