When we started putting Zaria's book together, we did what everyone does: newest photos first, biggest clients up top. It looked fine. It also looked like every other five-year-old's book in the agency folder.
The photographer who shot her orchard session suggested something better. She'd noticed that Zaria's sets naturally fall into seasons - blossom in spring, gumboots in autumn, the kitchen in winter when the weather turns - and asked why we didn't just order the book that way, like chapters.
So now the book opens in spring and ends in snow, and flipping through it feels like reading a year. Casting directors comment on it constantly. One told us it answers the question they're actually asking, which is not "has this child worked for a good client" but "does this child still look like herself in month eight of a campaign".
The answer, for the record, is yes. Curls a bit longer, one tooth fewer, same face she pulls when she spots a puddle.
The funny part is that Zaria now believes all books work like this. She asked her kindy teacher where the winter chapter of The Very Hungry Caterpillar was. We are sorting out her expectations gradually.