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Photo of a kid riding a liger by Hello Photography in Austin, TX

A Napoleon Dynamite Themed Photoshoot | Austin Photographer

Napoleon Dynamite Themed Photoshoot

I am on my way to Connecticut to pick up my son, Deacon, who has spent the last 6 weeks with my parents.  It was such a nice break for me, especially since summer camps weren’t really an option this summer.  I have to be honest with you though… as nice as it was to get a break- I have been missing this guy SO much.

I have done a birthday photo shoot with him every year since he turned 2, after I had started to get into photography.  Every year we do something different and it’s typically been a concept that I’ve put together myself.  This year, for his seventh birthday, I wanted him to choose what he wanted to do for his pictures.  “I want a tiger in my pictures. Mommy, can I ride a tiger in my pictures?” Well, I’m sure everyone is aware that this was the year of The Tiger King and I can assure you that he did NOT get this idea from watching that show.  Honestly, I’m not really sure how he came up with this but I think he just picked something outrageous that he didn’t think I’d be able to do so he could get out of having his picture taken!

Then we started talking more about it and I happen to love the movie, Napoleon Dynamite, so we watched in one day during our “extended spring break”.  I was shocked that he watched the whole thing and even started quoting parts of the movie.  I really was a proud mom!

Deacon also has some incredible quarantine hair- puffy and curly- kind of like Napoleon Dynamite! So, we just rolled with it and worked our tiger scene into a Napoleon Dynamite themed photoshoot.  So the tiger became a liger and we were all happy!

This is the photo that Deacon was most excited about. Don’t worry, I didn’t put my son on a real liger! I actually did what’s called a composite, where I put 2 different photos together into one.  I do this a lot in my professional photos- swapping heads, adding flowing fabric to maternity sessions, and creating elaborate newborn scenes from a simple setup.

Photo of a kid riding a liger by Hello Photography in Austin, TX

One of my favorite lines from the movie is “Tina, eat your food” where Napoleon is out there feeding the llama.  So, here you have our version…

Photo of a kid feeding llamas by Hello Photography in Austin, TX

I’m still laughing so hard over these images, they were so much fun! Here’s a few more-

Napoleon Dynamite themed children's photos

Seriously, isn’t he adorable?

Napoleon Dynamite themed children's photos

I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard of the term, “photographer child syndrome” but he definitely has it. We got so many great shots but these are very real looks I get any time I try and take his picture.  Not perfect by any means, but he’s perfect to me.

Napoleon Dynamite themed children's photos

I was even fortunate enough to catch him during a sneeze which I thought was quite fitting given we were in the middle of a pandemic. Adorable, isn’t it? I’ll be sure and use these as bribery when he’s in high school and starts thinking he’s too cool to hang out with his momma.

Napoleon Dynamite themed children's photos

And one final shot.  He is ridiculous but I love him so much.

Napoleon Dynamite themed children's photos

I am so excited to have this guy around again and all of the fun things we are going to do together!


Hello Photography owner, Jen Rizy.Jen Rizy is an Austin-area Maternity and Newborn Photographer with a studio located in Cedar Park, Texas. You can learn more about her, HERE.

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