Myriam & Taj are a fraternal boy/girl twin, and I couldn’t have been more excited to spend time with them as I am myself a boy/girl twin. While I can only speak for my own experience, growing up as a twin is totally different to simply having a second sibling. You move forward in life from the months before you were born through to the next 18 years of your childhood in close proximity with each other. You share friends, classes, experiences and milestones all throughout your life. The fact that we can look at each other and, without hesitation, know exactly how the other is feeling is testament to how close twins get after years being around each other, especially in some of the greatest and hardest times of childhood.
So of course, photographing these two little ones was so insightful for me. They were a team from the get go. When I first met them they were crawling down the stairs together saying my name, “Briaaaaannnn, Briannnnn, briaaaaann.” over and over again. I was absolutely not prepared for that and my heart almost exploded. Taj immediately gave me hug, but Myriam held back and stared at me, slightly skeptical at first. Perhaps she was looking out for Taj and sussing me out. These sorts of dynamics are what makes twins so interesting for me.
I don’t remember what it was like to be two years old, but I have an idea now. I also have also learned what it’s like to parent a set of twins as well, which lead me to give my mom the warmest thank you hug immediately after the shoot for raising us. You have your hands full with twins.
It really is so fulfilling to create images like this, knowing that Myriam and Taj will one day look back on these photos and gain some insight into what their first years few years as toddlers were like.
Watch the slideshow below to get a sense of what the twin life is like:
