The Grange Family

This family is so special to me, and they were especially fun to work with! We have been trying to plan this shoot for ages, and I'm so glad we were able to finally make it work! 

It turned out to be a pretty cold day, but the kids were tough little cookies and made it through the entire shoot with great attitudes and beautiful smiles. Their mama- Sarah, is a dear friend of mine. She is such a beautiful person. Watching their family interact together was truly priceless. Some people are just natural born mothers, and Sarah is absolutely one of them.

I also have to send a shout out to DJ, the proud father of these darling little girls. He was SO great! So often people ask me how I deal with little kids during a shoot, and yes, it can be tricky getting the youngsters to pull out those natural smiles. But guess what? The truth is, it's usually the DADs that give me the hardest time. Not DJ though! No sir, he was so amazing. He even pitched in with great ideas, and we ended up with some amazing shots. So thanks DJ! You rock! 

Getting to work (or rather- play!) with amazing people like this family is just one of the many reasons I love my job! :) 

Injoy!

A Camping We Will Go!

When the Canfield family came to me wanting do family pictures they mentioned that they were worried about how to get their high energy toddler and his little sister to cooperate for more than 5 minutes. We talked for a bit about how to get the most out of their session, and chatted about what kinds of things their family loves to do together. Turns out, one of their favorite things to do as a family is to go camping! { Insert lightbulb moment sound effect here. } A lifestyle shoot was definitely in order! 

Sessions like this are great for families with young children, and for those of us who have a hard time pulling out those natural smiles for the camera. (Ahem- me. There's a reason I like to be behind the camera and not in front of it.) The atmosphere is relaxed and takes place in an environment in which your family feels comfortable, and it's amazing what a fun prop like a tent and the promise of s'mores will do for your youngest (and oldest!) family members. When everyone feels comfortable it enables me to capture special interactions between family members that are sure to be cherished for a long time.

Think of all the fun things your family loves to do together- baking and decorating cookies, building sandcastles on the beach, fishing and canoeing, playing baseball... the possibilities for this type of shoot are endless! And of course we always try to snap a few of the more traditional posed shots as well. 

There are so many darling images from our camping adventure with the Canfields! This is just a tiny sneak peek to wet your whistle. :) 

Enjoy!

Dakota's Newborn Session

I have said it before- and I'll say it again. I am so grateful to get to work with these beautiful babies! Dakota has such a sweet disposition. He is especially dear to my heart because he is my newest little nephew! His mom and I were due just 2 days apart and yet our boys made their big debut almost 3 weeks apart! 

Leave Dakota's parents some love in the comments at the bottom!

 If they receive at least 30 comments they'll earn a FREE video slideshow of their session- a $30 value! Help them decide which picture to enlarge for Dakota's nursery! I was no help what-so-ever... I have too many favorites! 

Enjoy!

Dakota's mommy and grandma made some of the beautiful blankets we used in his shoot. I love when clients bring sentimental items to incorporate!

Congratulations again! What a sweet little family!

And just for fun- my mom wanted a picture of her two newest grandchildren together. So here are my favorites of Zach and Dakota. They're going to have so much fun growing up together!