Rachael, Jonathan, and Stella are almost four!

This is a very special family to photograph, and I have shared many milestones with them, from Rachael’s pregnancy with Stella, to her as a newborn, at 6 months, and celebrating her first birthday.  They are always full of smiles and look great in front of the camera.  Rachael is an absolutely glowing pregnant mama, Jonathan is a proud father, and Stella is an absolute doll as she is about to celebrate her second birthday.  I look forward to seeing these parents welcome a new baby into their family and to Stella becoming a big sister!

An expectant mama, a red dress, a beautiful sunset, and a flash

While I love working with couples and families, getting to work 1/1 with women is really special also.  Since I knew it’d be just us for our session, I suggested a sunset session, with about half in glowing orange daylight, and half after the sun had set and I could get creative with flash.  Mom’s red dress added some extra excitement and opportunity for creativity, as we were able to light and silhouette her belly against the fabric.  It was a pleasure working with this lovely lady, and I wish her only the best as she welcomes her baby into the world!

Kim, Derek, and Matthew because he’s 2!

I have never been more grateful for parents’ supervision than I was during this session!  Matthew is an energetic and fearless 2 year old boy!  He is also a great talker.  We started off our session by the lake, throwing rocks in, where he was one foot in, and would have had gone for a swim had mom and dad not been there to pull him back.  Then we crossed the bridge and went over to the farm village, Matthew announcing that he was running the whole way.  We found some more water to explore over there in a little man-made stream.  Matthew was ready to dive in head first!  Thankfully, dad has quick hands!  I also happened to capture that moment.  Looking and smiling pics are great, but that one captures their family and their life at this stage better than any other!  We finished our session by the tractor, where Matthew happily announced he was playing on the tractor, and was sad to say goodbye at the end of our session.  Kudos to these parents for happily keeping up with their energetic boy, and if you can ever find a way to bottle his leftover energy, you’ll be billionaires!

Teddy Bear Picnic

This photo session has been a long time in the making and is really special and near and dear to my heart.  My boys have these PJs that they love to wear, and they love to play with their stuffed animals at home and are often bringing them all into the family room for various arrangements with pillows and blankets.  I’d been really wanting to capture these current elements of their lives, especially before they outgrow the PJs, and before the onset of summer heat, and we were finally able to make it happen on a slightly cooler afternoon in late March.  We packed up the car with all of their favorites along with a wagon to haul them with, and set up in the woods with a very special blanket, handmade by my Grandma, their Great Grandmother.  These two had a great time arranging their animals and playing with them outdoors.  It was a fun change of scenery, and I’m so happy to have frozen these precious moments!

Pam and Family

I can’t believe it’s been 2 years since I did this family’s portraits.  HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN?  That question is one of the things I love about getting to do photography.  I can freeze time.  What’s your superpower?!  These kids have grown, and were full of plenty of personality for their session.  Of course, we took some posed portraits, but once those were out of the way, my goal was to let these kids be themselves and capture genuine moments.  And with an abundance of childhood energy and fun, I had lots to work with!