Kimberly and one of her clients. Photograph by Cindy Gilmore, Lifestyle Photography

1. Tell us about yourself. The first and most obvious question is: Why do you choose to specialize in children's black and white photography? I chose children as my focus because they keep it fun for me. There are many variables that come with working with kids, because you never know how they will react. This makes my job more interesting and challenging, and I think, keeps my work fresh. Children do what they do, and I capture that on film. The younger ones aren't camera-conscious yet, so they will pay little or no attention to me, and I can get interesting angles and expressions from them. I interact with the older kids, and get them to relax and have a little fun, so we get personality smiles from them, rather than the "frozen smile". People ask me how I can have so much patience with the kids, and my view is; kids will be kids, and I don't expect anything from them other than to be kids. By keeping my expectations at that level, I am not disappointed or frustrated when the little ones cry or refuse to wear a hat, for example. That is their nature. I just work with what I get and don't get frustrated. This allows me to capture those great images. I want the energy of the child to come through, and I choose black and white photography because it simplifies everything, and really emphasizes personality, expression and composition. We aren't distracted by the color in the image. I also love the timelessness of black and white.

2. How do you work? What's the process?

I work on location with available light, usually at the child's home. I generally work outdoors, but with babies we tend to be inside. Sometimes we go to a park, but the home is best because the child is in his/her own environment. It's also handy if we have a spill on the clothes, or need a snack. The sitting usually lasts about an hour, but it depends on the child. I don't have a set time limit for the sitting, because sometimes we have a baby who cries a lot of the time, or needs to eat in between shots. I go as long as the kids do. We do the sitting, and then when the preview proofs are ready, I come back to the home, and we usually do the order right then. I plan on spending about an hour to an hour and a half with the parents doing the order, and offer suggestions on matting or sizing. I also bring examples with me of finished images so the parents can imagine what their image will look like. It's usually about 4-6 weeks from start to finish.

Photograph of Kimberly by Alan Wassenberg

3. Where does your inspiration come from? Surprisingly, I didn't figure this out until I'd been photographing children for a couple of years. I was looking through my grandma's picture drawer, and found a roll of black and white images of myself that my father had taken. My dad was really into photography and had taken rolls of film of me when I was young, and I'd seen these my whole life. I guess subconsciously, I had kept the images in my head, because when I saw them again, I realized, "This is what I've been going for in my own photography!" They are natural images that capture the everyday stuff, the personality and different expressions of me as a child. I treasure these images and hope to pass that gift to other people, who, in their adult life, can look back and see how they were when they were kids. Thanks, Daddy!