A father’s influence on a daughter’s self-image. A dad’s involvement in his daughter’s life is a crucial ingredient in developing a young woman’s self-esteem. … Direct involvement and encouragement by her father will help diminish a girl’s insecurity and increase her confidence in her abilities.

My favorite type of photos are where there is an emotional connection. Last night I was able to capture a lot of moments of dads and daughters enjoying the Memphis Zoo for a Chick-fil-A Daddy Daughter Date Night.

By putting my flash off camera for some of the photos, I was able to improve the light on the faces of the people to capture those expressions and then drag the shutter to pick up the background to add to the atmosphere.

The dads and daughters enjoyed dancing together.

They enjoyed a Carousel Ride as well.

The Important Role of Dad. While almost any man can father a child, there is so much more to the critical role of being a dad in a child’s life.

I watched as dads did everything they could to be sure their daughters were having a wonderful time.

Not all were as brave or good on ice skates as this dad. However, many did also take in the ice rink as well.

To walk the zoo could take a long time the zoo had its trams running to bring everyone around the zoo, cutting down on those long walks.

The Cow Celebrities were running around as well as the princess for the kids to enjoy being photographed with and to give hugs.

While I would have preferred to shoot everything with available light, the problem was that I found the people silhouetted by the glow of the events behind them. The flash also made them the essential part of the photo.

A good father makes all the difference in a child’s life. He’s a pillar of strength, support, and discipline. His work is endless and, often, thankless.