The first birthday party I remember was at the age of 4 when Mom and Dad got me a Rainbow-Brite cake, and invited a few of my friends, but a whole bunch of theirs.  I am not knocking their choice – I was 4, and I really did not feel like I got the short end of the stick.  By the age of 13, I had scored big!  That year, Mom and Dad had my birthday party at Pear Apple County Fair, which later became the building for my old church back in TX.  But I remember that birthday party because all of my closest friends were there with their siblings, and the food was great… and even though I look back at pictures and wonder how did mom let me out of that house like that, back then, I think I was looking good for myself.   For another pre-teen birthday, I got to take several of my closest friends ice-skating, and I can’t remember if The Preacher’s Wife had come out yet, but I did feel like Whitney when recall how many times I fell on the ice.  What was even more memorable that birthday was when we listened to “Not Gon’ Cry” by Mary J. Blige off of the Waiting to Exhale Soundtrack, and we sang it like we’d sacrificed 11 years out of our lives for a man.  But that still wasn’t the best part… the best part was when Mary J. was about to curse, and all of us stopped singing because we KNEW we were not going to get away with that, especially not while my Mom was driving!

Well, birthdays have come a long ways since then, from the Sweet Sixteens on MTV where parents are dropping “Meet Me at the Alter with Your White Dress” money on to Alter Ego Birthday Parties! I recently had the pleasure of photographing a group of friends in an Alter Ego Session as they celebrated a milestone birthday.  Some of the ego themes we came up with on the spot, but they all came out nicely and provided a nice contrast of their personalities.  The highlight for me was laying out the keepsake Photobook that they ordered with all of their poses and merges.  See the pages below!