Telling a story: A princess playing

All of my children have loved playing dress-ups. We have had witches, wizards, bob the builder, princesses and a pink unicorn all make appearances. At the height of a Buzz Light Year obsession, I had my friend post from the UK a costume to New Zealand for Christmas. Truly!






I am more relaxed about the dress-up phase now than with my first born children. Before, I would limit it to home and birthday parties. During a Bob the builder phase, my son would take his tool belt everywhere, but I would ask him to leave it in the car when we went to the shopping centre. This was partly to do with not wanting to search for the missing hammer that could be left on a shelf in a department store. Between you and me, it did have a little bit to do with my embarrassment of walking through the shops with a pink unicorn in tow. However, on a recent trip to Ouro Preto, my youngest daughter wore a pink tutu into a gold mine(http://www.image-421.com/2011/07/gold-mine.html) and I realised how relaxed I have become. 
I love the creativity children express when they play dress-up. They let their imaginations run wild, and they are totally living in the moment. They usually change their voice, their stride and adopt a whole new persona to become the best Wicked Witch of the West there is.

Knowing that this phase passes quickly, I wanted to capture my 7 year old daughter playing dress-ups before it ends. On the weekend, we attended a princess birthday party. I saw the perfect opportunity to capture a “princess playing”.