It’s always a wonderful experience working for another photographer, especially one so talented as Victoria. She does amazing family photography work and I was so happy to get the chance to photograph her in front of the lens with her family. But the BEST part of this session was working with people from another country, which I absolutely love doing! I learn so much. Victoria and her husband Alexander are Russian, and they moved to the US just a few years ago. They just recently bought a house and wanted to document the new house, their family, as well as Victoria’s mother Natalia who was visiting from Russia. They have three boys: Svyat, Seva, and Serafim, as well as a dog named Alfonse and two cats named Tim and Philip (the very bestest cats). Svyat and Seva are fluent in both Russian (which they speak at home) and English (which they speak in school). But Serafim, the youngest, speaks only Russian.

I thought maybe Serafim might be a little afraid of me, not only because 50% of four year olds I photograph are outgoing and the other 50% are a bit wary, but he has the added challenge of me speaking a different language than him. But oh my goodness – NO. He constantly joked with me! He is HILARIOUS – a practical joker and just an overall extremely funny boy. And it was amazing how much we could communicate with just our facial expressions and kung fu moves/noises. I absolutely love him, he is great and kept me laughing the whole time. Svyat and Seva (who speak English as well as any American kid) were GREAT helpers who followed my directions so well and helped me translate to Serafim when needed. They are all truly amazing kids and I’m so impressed by this family’s love and sense of humor.

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