Capturing the Magic and Wonder of Childhood
Congrats to all of the graduating seniors this week! I am so excited to hear about all your adventures in the future.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.
Photographing toddlers and preschoolers will always be my favorite. I am always excited when I know I am about to photograph a family session with 1.5 to four-year-olds. I love photographing families of all ages, but this age group will always be the one that brings me the most joy.
A lot of parents put off scheduling family portrait sessions because they don’t think their little ones will cooperate. I want to put that myth to rest because I promise you, the kids will do just fine. In fact, most of your fears are the exact reasons why I love photographing toddlers and preschoolers so much.
The only thing I expect from little ones at a family portrait session is that they be themselves. That’s easy for the under-five crowd because they don’t know how else to be. (It gets harder actually as they get older because then they try to pose for the camera and start to not be themselves). Little ones are nothing if not authentic and that’s the reason I love them.
Here are some fears parents have about how their little ones will behave at a portrait session and why these are not a concern to me:
Reality: Yeah, probably not. But I don’t really need them to be still. I take lots and lots of photos. In many of them, maybe your toddler is looking away or running in the opposite direction. But enough of the photos will be of her doing what I want. As far as posing goes, we move quickly and try different things. It’s more gentle guiding than posing really. There are lots of family hugs, tickle fights, etc. This isn’t the Sears portrait studio. No one has to stand on a dot. I adore how this age group is in awe of the world around them. Letting them explore makes for great photos.
Reality: That’s fine. I’ve shot entire sessions where the little one was in mom’s arms the entire time, including some close-up individual shots of the child. My youngest was a velcro baby and now that she’s 14, I miss that, so I got a velcro puppy.
Reality: Kids are great at extremes, aren’t they? This is a little more difficult than the child who wants to be held, but it’s not unusual and we can make it work. Individual portraits are easy enough to capture. We just have to get creative about group shots. Sometimes letting the toddler “fly” back and forth from one parent to another allow for quick moments of the family all together. Tickle fights, and “hand mommy a flower”, etc are all things I try to do to get everyone in the frame.
Reality: First of all, they might surprise you. I try to keep sessions moving. If a child starts to get bored or lose interest, we walk to a different place and do something different. If they are tired of the more guided family shots, I’ll let them run around and play chase while I get candids.
But if they do throw a tantrum, that’s not a big deal at all. I raised two babies into teens myself and I can tell you that one of them was the queen of epic tantrums. Eventually, those fierce little girls turn into fierce young women who make you very proud with their strength and willingness to speak their truth. I have no concerns about waiting out a tantrum. Or photographing it. Just know I’ve been there.
Reality: I would never expect a child in this age group to consistently do what I ask. That’s why I’m flexible and try different things. The best thing for parents to do is just to relax and have fun. I might ask a child to hold their sister’s hand or sit down next to her. If that doesn’t happen, it is completely fine. I’ll try something else. Whatever happens, we will have fun and capture some beautiful memories.
So really, please let go of your fears about booking a family photo session for very young children. There are really only two things you need to do to have a great session.
First, let go of any very specific expectations. Maybe we won’t get a photo of everyone perfectly posed and looking directly at the camera. We usually do, but honestly, those aren’t my favorites anyway. I adore the connection in photos of families interacting with each other, and we always get plenty of those.
Second, and most importantly, just relax and have fun. The best sessions are ones like this one where mom and dad have let go of their fears and are having fun interacting with their little ones.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.
We had to reschedule this maternity portrait session a few times because of the weather, but it turned out absolutely perfect in the end. It was a perfectly warm January day for this beautiful couple to celebrate the coming of their first baby. It is such a privilege to be a part of honoring this special time for new parents. I so enjoyed getting to know this couple during our time together.
I get a lot of questions about making a winter session work. I think winter photo sessions in Middle Tennessee are lovely. The key is flexibility. I am very flexible this time of year, so I leave it up to clients to decide what weather they can tolerate. Some kids are happy playing in the cold, and others are less tolerant. Portraits with everyone bundled up are adorable, especially if you put some thought into the coats, hats, and scarves.
But the good thing about Tennessee weather is that if the cold wasn’t what you imagined, we can probably just wait a few days and the weather will change dramatically. And you will end up with what we have here….a 70-degree day in January.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.
Gah, I can’t believe these kids are growing up so fast. This senior is the oldest daughter of one of the moms in my crew….my VP when I was president of the PTO when the kids were in elementary school. So just the other day we were organizing fun runs and silent auctions to build playgrounds, and now we are researching colleges. Where does the time go?
Emily had the awesome idea of shooting her Senior Portraits at Cheeks Bend, a place where we both frequently go hiking. It’s probably not a location that I would take most clients because we actually hiked to get to the various spots, but for Emily it was perfect. I especially had fun photographing her in and around the caves. I hope she loves this session as much as I do.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.
Last week I got to go visit my brother and his family in Boone for an early Thanksgiving. My nieces are 5 years old and 3 months old and they are just perfect in every way.
They live a mere minutes away from the Blue Ridge Parkway, so we took a brief excursion to get a few pictures. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have that kind of photo location available to me on a daily basis.
I hope you all had a beautiful holiday.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.
I just love this family portrait session in Downtown Columbia with one of my oldest and dearest clients. That’s not a surprise though because this family is always without fail one of my favorite sessions of the year. These kiddos bring an energy that I just adore, and we always have fun.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.
I have a love/hate relationship with extended family sessions. I love being able to capture the love and joy in big family groups. I think it is a fantastic idea to capture all of these beautiful relationships. I especially love photographing grandparents with their grandbabies.
What I do not like is that there is never enough time to do what I want. I carry around a list in my head of all the shots I want to try to get at a family portrait session. This includes things like family standing looking at the camera, family standing hugging, family sitting, individuals of each child looking at the camera, candids of each child, siblings, etc. For a typical family session with 2 or 3 children, there is generally time to get all of those photos and have some time to relax and capture candid fun shots.
But when you bring in a large group with multiple individual families, I’ve learned that prioritization is the key. So on my session intake questions, I ask that clients booking a session for a large group let me know what they most want out of a session. That helps me understand what photographs to focus on because we just can’t normally get to everything I’d love to include. And it’s generally not a matter of just extending the session time, particularly if there are small children (and Dads). I find that people generally lose focus after about an hour so making session times longer doesn’t always help.
Prioritization was definitely important for this session. Even though all five children were under five years old, these kids did an amazing job and were such troopers. But it was so cold. The day before had been in the 70s, but that’s Tennessee weather for you. Rescheduling wasn’t an option because one of the families was visiting from out of town. We ended up having to hurry through and finish earlier than normal because it was so uncomfortable. But thankfully we had already discussed what the priorities were.
For this session, the most important thing the family wanted was a large group shot with everyone. Secondly, they wanted to focus on the grandchildren together with their grandparents. After that, I was able to get some other photos before everyone became too cold to continue. I am really glad I knew ahead of time what was most important to them. So if you are booking a photo session with lots of people, it’s a good idea to be clear about what you want most out of the session.
These beautiful children had me smiling the moment they got out of the car. I am so happy I got to capture this big, beautiful family.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. See my website for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me on Facebook and/or Instagram.
I loved shooting this Senior Portrait Session. The lovely young woman is the daughter of an old friend, and it was great to catch up with them both.
I also love that she chose Henry Horton Park for her location. I think Henry Horton is an excellent spot for photos in general. She chose the spot because she hikes here frequently. I always love it when seniors select a location that is meaningful to them.
One of the most important things to me is that my clients see themselves in their photos. From location to wardrobe, I want your portrait session to feel authentic.
I recently had a family with young children who told me that they aren’t “outdoorsy” in the least. I don’t normally do urban sessions with my littlest clients because they generally like wide-open spaces to roam around. But for this family, that didn’t feel authentic. So we did a session in downtown Columbia and it turned out great.
Sometimes I have clients who feel they need to dress a certain way because that’s what they see on Pinterest or whatever. I give clients some guidelines about choosing a wardrobe, but my number one rule is that you be yourself. If you hate dresses, why would you wear one for your photo session? But if you never get to wear dresses but they make you feel fabulous, then let’s do that.
Every one of my clients is beautiful and unique. I hope to create a space where they are able to be themselves so I can capture that.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. See my website for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me on Facebook and/or Instagram.
I’m sure you all know by now that Fall is my favorite season. How could it not be? I love the gorgeous fall color, the pleasant temperature, and meeting lovely families for their fall portrait sessions.
One thing I wanted to note about this family portrait session was the playground photos. Sometimes I shoot at local parks that also have playgrounds. For some little ones, this can be a problem because they immediately want to go to the playground instead of doing photos. This is especially true if the park is somewhere they already frequent and if the kids are quite young. It’s just too much for them to understand we have to do photos before playtime. In those cases, I’ve had parents decide that a location without a playground is better for their session.
But if the children are a little older, like these cuties in this family session, it can work out quite well. Little brother saw the playground and wanted to go. I told him if he managed to give me some time to focus on photos first, we could all go to the playground together. I happen to love playground photos. They are a fun way to get candid photos of kids in their own element. So if we are able to use it as an incentive, then I’m all for it.
The swings are my favorite. Is there anything that symbolizes the carfree wonder of childhood like a swing?
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. See my website for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me on Facebook and/or Instagram.
It is always such a joy to spend time with these seniors and get to know them at their portrait sessions. It’s such a special (though stressful) time in their lives. To me, a Senior Portrait session is a time to take a moment to a deep breath and appreciate this time.
This young woman was a joy to photograph. And I just love the variety this location provided us. (Note: In case you recognize this location, it is not available for portrait sessions normally but is the property of family members of this client.)
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.
One of my favorite things about my job is being able to see repeat clients at their family portrait sessions each year. They say that childhood goes by in the blink of an eye. That truth is especially apparent when you only see them once or twice a year.
These are two of my favorite little ones that I’ve been photographing for several years now. I love photographing all ages of children, but this session hits my sweet spot. My absolute favorite time to photograph children is between 2 and 4, and both of these cuties meet that criteria. There is just so much wonder in kids that age that particularly inspires me. They are true to themselves, always live in the moment, and are in awe of the world around them. Would it be weird to say that I want to be a two-year-old when I grow up?
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.
This is probably too many photos for a sneak peek, but I can’t help it. I have decision fatigue and also I just love this Senior Portrait Session. Everything was perfect…the weather, the leaves, and the subject.
I wish every day could be late October in Middle Tennessee.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.
These sweet girls were the best. We had so much fun at their family photo session in Columbia. Yanahli Park has become one of my favorite locations for portrait sessions. There is a field there where the sun sets in just the right spot.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.
It was a gorgeous evening in downtown Franklin for this senior portrait session. This really is my favorite time of the year and I love spending it getting to know new clients. My only complaint is that because editing takes so long, I can’t schedule as many clients as I would like.
I do have a few mini-session spots open if you are looking for a fall session. There are also a few spots left for Santa photos.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.
It was a gorgeous evening at Marcella Vivrette Smith Park in Franklin for this senior portrait session. And we were able to include a few shots of the family dog. In case you are wondering, I’m always happy to include fur babies in a portrait session, assuming our location is pet friendly (and most are).
I just love the wardrobe choices for this selection. Notice he’s wearing the same jeans throughout, but a few top and jacket changes gave so much variety. I love the colors and textures.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.
It was so much fun getting to know this sweet girl and her parents at this family portrait session at Marcella Vivrette Smith Park in Franklin. I could have just hung out with her all day long.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. See my website for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me on Facebook and/or Instagram.
Sometimes I have moms who are booking senior photo sessions for their teens who ask if I could also get photographs of the entire family. It’s often the case that we schedule lots of photo sessions when our kids are little, but that gets harder to do as they get older. I am absolutely happy to combine a senior and family session.
My portrait sessions are about an hour long, and we can focus that hour on whatever best fits your needs. Some parents just want a quick family shot with the majority of the session focused on the senior. Others prefer a more even split between a family session and a senior session.
I find that particularly when all the subjects are older, with no very young children to manage, a one-hour session gives plenty of time to get a wide variety of shots. A combination session works particularly well when perhaps your senior isn’t super excited about photos and is willing to share the time.
Looking for a photographer in Spring Hill, Franklin, and Columbia in Middle Tennessee? I photograph families at all stages, from newborns to seniors. Seeย my websiteย for more information or book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you considered following me onย Facebookย and/orย Instagram.