Photographing kids makes Laura Hamilton happy

Laura Hamilton loves taking pictures of children. “When I leave a photo shoot with kids,” she says, “I’m just happier.”

Kids weren’t always Laura’s subjects. She studied commercial photography at Columbia in Chicago, and, like many others in her field, was hired as an assistant, or as she says, “a schlepper.” Her boss noticed she had a knack for styling and she went on to have a successful career as a photo stylist.

Then came pregnancy – and a move to California. “My friends started asking me to take pictures of their kids and it turned into a business,” she says. “I’m lucky to  have a pretty steady work flow, including many of the same families that I met when I started three years ago. I also have a good-sized Christmas card business.”

(Note: click the image above for a larger view.)

Most of Laura’s work is photographing children as the sole subject. But she’s quick to remind parents to get in photos with their children. “So many homes have beautiful photos of babies and children but not one photo with the whole family. Set the timer and take  some shots!”

Laura, who lives in Menlo Park with her husband and two young children , is practicing that discipline herself thanks to the “52 weeks with a kid” project on Flickr. “It’s made me much more conscientious about my own family.”

Footnote: You’ll see Laura’s work from time to time on InMenlo as she takes on special photography assignments.

Photo of Laura by Chris Gulker. Photo of jumping children by Laura Hamilton.