The years pass quickly, and that’s one reason why Whitney wanted a home portrait session to capture her family’s Christmas traditions while Haley is still young. They wanted a session that captured things they do each year around Christmas time, like decorating the tree, making Gingerbread houses, and listening to the Christmas Story and the Night Before Christmas while drinking hot cocoa by the fire.
I mean, how can you not just feel all cozy and filled with the Christmas spirit by looking at these photos? I just love this so much. 🎄❤️
What about you? What kind of memories would you like to capture for your family?
This was supposed to be an outdoor session but unfortunately, it started raining right before the session time. As I discuss on my FAQ page, there are several options for you if i should happen to rain for your session time. Nicole chose to move the session to her home, rather than to reschedule, which is a great option as I love capturing families in their own surroundings.
Another issue that Nicole had was that little Scarlett got a fairly significant boo boo on her chin before the session (isn’t that the way it always happens?), and Nicole was afraid it would show in the photos.
I reassured Nicole that Scarlett’s boo boo wouldn’t be too hard to remove in editing, so not to worry about it. So I thought this might be a good post to go over what I will and will not edit in family portraits.
What I will photoshop:
That random zit that popped up right before your session.
The boogers in your two year olds nose (but lets try a Kleenex first please!)
The bruise your four year old got riding her bike (or boo boo on her chin).
Generally anything “temporary” that isn’t part of what you normally look like.
That ugly trashcan in the background that I saw, but knew it was worth it to remove in editing.
The horrible bike lane stripe on my favorite path.
Minor “wardrobe malfunctions” that result from clothing not laying perfectly because I don’t operate perfectly posed portrait sessions. For example: your bra strap is showing, or maybe your shirt or dress is poofed out in a weird way.
What I won’t photoshop:
“Can you remove this logo from the shirt I chose to wear?” (I might could depending on the location, print, etc, but if you want it done more than once or twice, I’m going to need to charge extra.)
“Make me look 50 pounds smaller?” (You are beautiful, just the way you are.)
“Can you make most of the photo black and white and leave this one part in color?” (I just don’t want to.)
“Can you get the wrinkles out of my husbands dress shirt?” (Usually, no…especially if it’s a print and not a solid color.)
So my general rule to myself when it comes to editing…I want you to look like you, because you are gorgeous. But if something happened recently that isn’t a part of your normal, let me know and we can probably work on that.
I saw that phrase written in a meme recently and it spoke to me. I love a good dance in the kitchen. My husband…not so much, but he humors me. To me, it’s one of those things that reminds us to savor the mundane…those little moments at home that don’t seem very grand. Aren’t those really are the ones that matter, and that we cherish for years to come? At a lifestyle portrait session, those are the moments I want to capture.
The days are long but the years are short.
Things change so quickly as we are raising little ones, and before you know it, some things that seemed so much a part of your daily life that you didn’t even notice them, are suddenly gone. At my house, there is not a playroom anymore. There is no swing set in the back yard. My children bathe themselves and read to themselves at bedtime. I don’t remember the exact time when many of these changed, but gradually, they did change. I look back to photos of when they were smaller and am so thankful that I have those mementos of days gone by.
Seeing the possibilities.
That is one thing I love about doing these home sessions for families. I look at these photos and imagine all the possibilities they hold in bringing back the past, years from now.
10 years from now, will Renae’s family look at these photos and think about how that was the first year Coen played the violin, which he later grew to master and love? Or will they remember it as that time Coen tried the violin before he found what he really loved?
Maybe Coen and Peri will look at these photos and fondly remember the photo of mom and dad’s wedding day that was hanging over their bed for years. Will they giggle about when Peri was obsessed with Fancy Nancy and the giant caterpillar and Coen (and Mommy) was obsessed with Harry Potter?
Will Peri look around the kitchen and smile at the “Happy Fall” chalk sign? Or remember the kitchen table that the family shared so many meals on before it was traded in for something new?
These are the things that can’t be captured at a park.
The home session advantage.
One advantage to home lifestyle portrait sessions is that we don’t have to worry about weather or sunlight. My outdoor lifestyle sessions are all booked up for October & November, but I have been able to add some at-home session dates to the November calendar for weekdays where the early sunset doesn’t allow for outdoor sessions. You can book one of these spots now on my calendar. These sessions would be a perfect time to decorate the Christmas tree, make some Gingerbread Houses, and just create beautiful memories of your family together capture forever by the camera.
So what do you think? Would you be up for an at home lifestyle portrait session?
It’s no secret that my passion is family photography. I enjoy seniors, newborns & couples photography as well, but families, especially with younger children, are what inspires me.
Up until now, most of my family sessions have been outdoor, lifestyle portrait sessions. I love these for many reasons, most of which is probably the gorgeous natural light of an outdoor session, particularly at golden hour.
But for a while now, I’ve been feeling drawn to encourage clients to also consider another option for family photography. I want to offer in-home lifestyle & documentary sessions. I’ve always felt like the purpose of photography is to capture meaningful moments that a family will cherish always, and what better place to capture these moments than in a family’s home?
I find that many clients are hesitant to schedule sessions in their home because they are so used to seeing outdoor sessions and they don’t know quite what to expect from an at-home session. Here are a few things you can expect from an at-home photo session with me:
* We will be silly and play games, just like at my outdoor sessions, but those games might look a little differently. For example, we may jump on the bed (with your permission), play shadow puppets, or have tickle fights on mom and dad’s bed.
* Instead of awkwardly posing, I will ask that you do some activities together. What these activities are will vary depending on what your family likes to do together. Maybe mom and dad will have coffee on the back porch, while the kids play at their feet. Maybe you’ll make dinner or cookies. Maybe you can play board games or decorate the Christmas tree. The possibilities are endless. The point is that we will try to capture real moments for you…of things your family enjoys doing together.
* Your house doesn’t need to be fancy, or immaculate, or even clean. For real. This is real life and real moments. We are making memories…not caring about whether or not you swept the bathroom. The camera is forgiving and I promise I don’t even notice.
One advantage to home sessions, other than being able to capture memories in the place that you make the most memories, is that we don’t have to worry about weather or sunlight. My outdoor lifestyle sessions are all booked up for October & November, but I have been able to add some at-home session dates to the November calendar for weekdays where the early sunset doesn’t allow for outdoor sessions. You can book one of these spots now on my calendar. These sessions would be a perfect time to decorate the Christmas tree, make some Gingerbread Houses, and just create beautiful memories of your family together capture forever by the camera.
So what do you think? Would you be up for an at-home family session?
“Life is amazing. And then it’s awful. And then it’s amazing again. And in between the amazing and awful it’s ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.” – L.R.Knost
My new photo project:
I did a personal project about three years ago that I called “This is Motherhood” In that project, I asked mothers to allow me to take a simple portrait of them, and then I asked them to tell me about motherhood. I gave them a few prompts or thought starters, but mainly was just looking for some insight or experience they had with motherhood that might mean something to other mothers. I was blown away with what women were willing to share with me. Their stories ranged from funny to heartbreaking, and all of them were honest and inspiring.
For some months now, I’ve felt the desire to do another photo project, but I couldn’t get my mind around what exactly it would be.
I knew that like the first project, I wanted it to be about strong, beautiful women (though not necessarily just mothers.) In my line of work, I see a lot about how women are down on themselves, never feeling “enough”. I have a desire to somehow show them through my lens, that they are enough. Just the way they are.
I also knew I wanted it to be different from the first project in that I didn’t want it to be just a single portrait, but a more of a story telling photo essay for each woman. I wanted it to be set in her own environment doing her own thing. I wanted to show women doing hard things, amazing things, but also ordinary things. I wanted to photograph women living life. Embracing it even.
But I wanted some kind of quote or theme to tie them altogether and I’ve struggled with finding what that would be. For a while, I had settled on “She believed she could, so she did.” I liked that it implies some action…as I wanted to include some activity in the stories, and not just some portrait. But something was bothering me about that quote, and I finally figured out what it was….lots of times, she doesn’t believe that she could. But she does anyway. Because she has to. Many times, women don’t know their own strength. I want my project to show them their strength through the photos, so that quote just didn’t feel right.
Then, as I was browsing the internet, I came across the quote above, and it just felt like exactly what I was looking for. I want to photograph women doing heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful and ordinary things. I believe there is beauty in every moment…the hard, the wonderful and also the mundane. I want to photograph that beauty.
Breathtakingly Beautiful with BrandiLee
Ok so I didn’t take these photos for my project, but taking them helped me to decide on exactly what it was I wanted my project to be.
I first met BrandiLee last October, when I photographed a family portrait session for them. Last week, a friend of Brandi’s contacted me. She told me that Brandi had been selected by The Mom’s We Love Club as their featured mom for August. The Moms We Love Club is an Instagram account dedicated to loving on struggling moms through spreading awareness, prayer and fundraising. For the feature, they needed lifestyle images of BrandiLee at home. I was happy to have the honor of shooting for such a great cause, so we picked a time and I showed up to photograph real life. Brandilee will be featured at The Moms We Love club starting August 9, so please follow the page, and share the posts when you see them.
As far as strong women go, I’m not sure I know any stronger than BrandiLee, though I’m positive she didn’t plan for life to be that way and that she often feels that she is not strong enough to deal with what life has dealt her. I cannot even begin to do her story justice, but please, please go read about this precious family on their GoFundme page, and if you are lead, consider making a donation.
The quote struck me so when I read it, because honestly, editing these photos took my breath away.
What struck me the most was the joy.
And first let me say that I know it’s not all joy. I don’t want to minimize in any way the horrible heartbreak this family deals with on a daily basis. I cannot even imagine. I know there must be anger, and tears and so much pain.
But also, there were giggles, and hugs and helping mama make tortilla sandwiches, and licking the butter off the knife. And funny snap chat videos, and being excited when Daddy gets home. And asking for more watermelon. And snuggling with brother on the couch. And bedtime kisses.
“A new baby is like the beginning of all things – wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.” – Eda L. LeShan
When I first took the leap to being a professional photography, I honestly dreaded newborn sessions. I felt like I had found my style and my passion in family photography, especially with young children. I prided myself on capturing real, candid moments. I loved directly families into the beautiful light, and capturing what unfolded between them.
Most newborn photography I had seen at that time was so different than what I loved to do. It was beautiful, but very posed, with lots of bean bags, and props. I thought that’s what I had to do too…that that’s what it meant to photograph a newborn.
Thankfully, I started educating myself and following lots of other photographers and found that there is definitely more than one style of newborn photography, and I could absolutely bring what I loved about family photography into a newborn session. Step one was dropping any expectations of forced posing (especially when there are big siblings involved) and to focus on capturing that connection between family members, which is what I love to do.
And what other amazing time to capture that beautiful love and connection than during baby’s first days at home? It is seriously such a magical time that goes by amazingly fast, like a dream. What an honor to be able to freeze time in a sense in those early moments that define a family. It is so special for me to be brought into these moments of my clients lives, and to see their family grow. I was there for the birth of both of these beautiful children and I can’t tell you what it means to me to have a job that allows me to be part of something like that.
My favorite newborn sessions are when there is a big brother or sister involved. This brings a sort of beautiful chaos to the session that I actually love so much. One piece of advice I had read when I began to study lifestyle newborn photography was to go with the flow, and to just get them all in the frame and see what happens.
You can see both of those concepts in action in these photos. It’s generally impossible to get a 15 month old to pose for anything. But just like in a family session, we go with the flow and find things she likes to do to keep her happy and occupied I capture these moments between the family. (Notice the sprinkles on baby brothers belly to capture her interest? LOL)
These are the type of images that mean the most to me as a mother, so I hope that I am able to capture images that are meaningful to my clients.
Have you booked your family portrait session yet? There are only a few spots left for spring, so don’t wait to book your session.
Y’all, I think I survived the busy season. It was busy, but beautiful and I just absolutely love all the wonderful families I’ve met and photographed over the past few months, and throughout 2017. While there is no more opportunity for Christmas photos, I am still taking orders for custom photo books for past clients, that make great gifts for the holidays. I’m also booking January – June of next year on my online booking calendar.
Please don’t let winter scare you away from scheduling family portraits. Just look at this beautiful family I met yesterday in Chapel Hill at their family home. It was just a gorgeous piece of property with the sun shining just right through the trees on this chilly winter evening. I wanted to take these sweet boys home with me. Gillan was so much fun showing me around his land and playing hide and seek with me. I just adore the way three year olds are so in love with exploring the world around them. And he is obviously such an amazing big brother to little Tucker. And oh my gosh…baby Tucker! Just look at those adorable cheeks and that smile. What perfect little boys.
Gah, I don’t want to leave this baby. Can she just come home and live with me? (Her mommy says no.)
I’m so glad I was able to spend Thanksgiving with her though. We have so much to be thankful for this year. My brother and his amazing wife are just wonderful parents to this sweet girl, and she has her big canine sister Barley looking out for her. My girls are just head over heels for their new cousin, and I couldn’t help including a few pictures of them with her at the end of this post.
I could take photos of her all day long. Also, I just love her nursery. Deb did such an awesome job decorating it.
