William’s First Birthday Portrait Session at Harlinsdale Farms in Franklin TN

Franklin TN Children's Photographer Cake Smash Session at Harlinsdale Farms

I cannot believe that it’s already been one year since this sweet boy was born.   It seems like I was just photographing his newborn photos last week. I wish that the weather would have cooperated better for this session, but we made it work.  Isn’t William just the cutest thing in those little suspenders and button up shirt?  And oh my gosh…those eyes!  I could photograph those eyes all day long. 

This session was the last in William’s milestone package.  My milestone package is intended as a great way to document a baby’s first year of life and includes four portrait sessions with all the digital images of your photos from each session. You can learn more about it on my pricing page.  I just love being able to capture multiple sessions for a family after a baby is born.  There are some many huge changes that a family goes through during that one year and it’s such a magical time of growth and wonder. 

And aren’t their outfits adorable? I love the colors, the textures and of course, Charlotte’s boots are to die for.  The coats are great too, which is definitely something to pay attention to for portrait sessions in March when the weather can be so unpredictable. I cannot wait to see how these two beautiful babies grow over the next year. ❤️

February Family Portrait Session at the Park at Harlinsdale Farms in Franklin TN

Franklin and Middle Tennessee Portrait Photographer at The Park at Harlinsdale Farms

I’m not gonna lie, this one was chilly.  Only a week earlier I shot a session at Harlinsdale when it was 70 degrees outside, but we all know how quickly Tennessee weather can change, and change it did.  

But that didn’t stop my adorable new friend Porter and his family from having a great time and rocking their family portrait session. I actually love cold winter sessions because I think they show a level of coziness and closeness in a family…all bundled up together to keep warm.  And isn’t he just so adorable in his winter hat?  

Sarah and John were just fantastic. I love how they went with the flow and played with and entertained little Porter instead of expecting him to pose for too many photos.  

Sometimes the parents of toddlers can feel like a session isn’t going well because a little one maybe just wants to be in mommy’s arms.  Or perhaps the opposite and he doesn’t want to be held.  Or he or she is on the move and doesn’t seem to be “cooperating” for poses.  This can be stressful for parents because they might be used to a more posed type of photography, possibly in a studio.  I try to reassure them that pretty much whatever their toddler does is absolutely beautiful.  

Sometimes we make tiny adjustments.  For example, Porter was getting distracted by a guy on a motorcycle, so we just moved to another part of the park where he couldn’t see the bike.  But for the most part, I just want toddlers to be themselves and for parents to let them.  And Sarah and John did a fantastic job of that. I love how playful they were together…so many hugs, and tackles and hide-and-seek.  This way, it doesn’t feel like a job, but just like having fun while someone happens to take photos…and that’s precisely the way it should be.

Sarah wanted to include her extended family in the session. This was a celebration of Porter’s birthday, and she wanted to have all his grandparents and uncles in some of the photos, but she was afraid that they might distract him while we were trying to get pictures of just their immediate family, so she had the extended family come at the end of the session. That worked out great as an option, and my favorite part was when Porter got so excited at seeing his grandparents and ran to them for hugs with such joy on his face.  It was just absolutely beautiful. 

The Perfect Day for a January Photo Session

Franklin and Middle Tennessee Portrait Photographer at The Park at Harlinsdale Farms

Once upon a time, Spring Hill was a tiny little town, and about the only restaurants were J.J.s Barbecue, the Poplar House and the Old School Restaurant.  At that time, I worked as a Quality Engineer at GM, and we had sort of a tradition in my work group. 

It would happen on those rare beautiful days, when it wasn’t too hot, or too cold, when Spring was just on the horizon.  You know the kind of day…where it is just too beautiful to stay stuck inside a dark, giant auto plant. It’s the kind of day where teachers choose to take extra recess time, and even adults get cabin fever and just have to go outside.

On those rare days, someone (not always the same person), would come one by one to each of our cubicles, and say simple “Huffs today.”  Then, at lunch time, me and the boys would pile into a vehicle or two, depending on how many of us there were, and head out to Huff’s Grocery, in Burwood.  Usually, my friend John would drive, and I would instantly regret allowing him to because he drove like a teenage boy with something to prove.  But with the windows rolled down and the wind in our faces, it was hard to care too much about being responsible. 

It was too far of a drive to go regularly for a working lunch, which is why it was reserved for those special days. Driving on the back roads and taking the long way was part of the fun. (Saturn Parkway didn’t go that direction back then anyway.) To be clear, Huff’s isn’t really a restaurant at all, but a little gas station with a few groceries, in the middle of nowhere. (At least it use to be in the middle of nowhere, but I haven’t been there for years. With the parkway it could now be a booming exit.)  It reminds me of the salvage store that was near my rural home growing up…where you can get the necessities you need when it’s too far to drive to Kroger. 

But they made the BEST sandwiches.  They had a little paper menu where you’d choose white or wheat bread, then choose your meat, cheese and condiments.  Nothing fancy at all, but it was SOOOOOO good.  

Then we’d take our sandwiches, with a bag of chips and a can of soda and go sit out on the front steps of the store.  And we’d sit and just enjoy the day, and our sandwiches, with the sun on our faces, and take our own sweet time getting back to work.  

So you are probably wondering what any of that has to do with photography.  Well, when this family booked their January family session, they were concerned about whether it would be too cold.  Not a problem because they got one of the most beautiful days of the entire year.

And as I got to the location early before our shoot, I kept thinking about how it was a Huff’s day.  And ever since, and especially as I edit the photos of this beautiful family, I keep craving a Huff’s sandwich, which I have not had in years.  But the beautiful weather only lasted a couple days, and now it’s all winter again.  Boo. But maybe soon, it will happen again and I can go to Huff’s. Who wants to go with me?

Find your Tribe, Love them Hard

These two families are visiting together for the holidays…one having just recently moved to Nashville from California, and the other coming in from California to spend a week with them in their new home in Nashville.  Originally, we had planned to shoot the two family portrait sessions separately, one at a time.  But some time constraints prevented them from having enough time to do two full separate sessions before it got dark, so we decided to combine them into one big extended family session. 

I have to say that I am really glad it worked out that way because these families needed photos together. They wanted a location that was representative of the area and that they wouldn’t be able to see in California.  I’m really glad we chose the Park at Harlinsdale Farms. What better way to represent Nashville than with a beautiful old horse farm? Plus there is lots of variety there and it looks beautiful in any season.

It was the kind of session that was just so easy to shoot and everything came together perfectly. The light and the sunset was amazing, but most of all was just the connection between all of these friends.  I left the session feeling really glad to have been a part of it, and hoping that they have an amazing week in Nashville making memories together. 

Summer family portrait session at harlinsdale farms

What an absolutely gorgeous day it was for this family portrait session at Harlinsdale Farms in Franklin. We had the best time exploring the farm and goofing off.  These boys were just too much fun and I just adore all their expressions and interactions.

Summer is almost over and I’m booking Fall sessions now!  These will fill up fast, so don’t wait to book your spot!

Please note that there are currently two different options for choosing a date on my calendar.  One is for August sessions and for Fall weekday session where you may choose the location for your session.

The other choice is my Fall weekend session calendar. In order to get in as many clients as I can for the busy season, I will be choosing the session locations for these dates so that I may book clients back to back at the same location. On the calendar, you will see the tentative locations for these dates. However, it is possible these may change depending on how the locations look once Fall comes. 

Let’s be silly – Family Portrait Session at Harlinsdale Farms

If I had to say what age group is the most challenging for photos, I’d have to say it is big kids / tweens.  Most people with toddlers, assume their toddlers are the hardest.  Some photographers might agree, but not for me.  Toddlers are fast, and always do the unexpected, and will never ever stand in the spot you want them to stand in, but they are always, without fail, 100% authentic. 

But by the time they become big kids, children have been conditioned to act in a certain (wrong) way for portrait sessions.  They “behave” and stand wherever you ask them to, with this forced, uncomfortable smile on their faces, talking to me through clenched, smiling teeth when I ask them questions.    

So I’ve had to find ways to overcome this.  

Usually, this means playing and being silly. 

Sometimes I think parents must think I’m nuts to have somehow turned their well-behaved children into giggling, energetic goof balls by the end of the session, but honestly I prefer that to stiff children I see at the beginning of a session.  I am so thankful to the parents in this session because they stood back and let me guide the children in play and silliness instead of trying to force a certain pose or photo that they had in their heads. 

My guidance varies depending on the family, but for this session we discussed what vegetables are gross, embarrassing moments (they preferred to tell me one of a friend’s moments instead of their own, but it still worked), and whether or not Daddy is a good dancer.   We raced, played tag and roughhoused.  It was perfection. These two twins were just so much fun to watch. I loved seeing them interact with each other and trying to capture the connection between them.  And those Freckles!!!  ❤️❤️❤️

Capturing the Moments – Harlinsdale Farms Family Portrait Session

I just love this session.  The colors, the light, the giggles….and it reminded me of the connection between my own girls.  I hope that my client loves them as much as I do.  I try to capture the kind of images that I want for my own family…not just posed photos of everyone looking at the camera, but those moments between a family….a look, or a giggle, or they way they are naturally holding hands as we move on to our next spot.  In one of the images below of the father and the older daughter…they thought that I was only shooting pics of mom and younger daughter, but I saw them hanging out together and just had to take a moment to capture them too when they weren’t looking. My absolute favorite images are at the very end of the session, when the girls were just playing with each other.  That pure joy that you can see on their faces is just the kind of thing that truly inspires me.  They are absolutely stunning. 

Harlinsdale Farms had no less than 10 other sessions going on while I shot this one…probably more like 15.  It was insane, but it was SUCH a gorgeous December day.  The trick to shooting in such a busy place is to find where you want to shoot that is in the light you want to shoot and try to frame out any unwanted people or elements.  That’s not always possible though, especially when you are trying to capture a real connection between active, moving children, so that is where photoshop comes in, to eliminate unwanted people in the frame when absolutely necessary.

I also want to take a moment to point out that these images were shot when Fall was completely gone.  There is pretty much no more leaves left at Harlinsdale and everything is mostly dead.  This is a winter session for sure, despite the warm weather, but I absolutely adore it.  I point this out because so many people are dead set on shooting “Fall” portraits. Well sadly that really pretty season only lasts for a few weeks, but I 100% believe that beautiful images can be created any time of year.  

Chelsea & Molly – Mother Daughter portrait session with extended family

I don’t get to see Chelsea enough these days, so it was so good to hang out with her for her annual family portrait session. For the past two years, I have taken photos of just Chelsea & Molly, but this time, they decided they wanted to include Chelsea’s parents and brother in the session.  Are they just a gorgeous family?  I adore the colors they chose to wear for this session…and Chelsea’s beautiful scarf really brings it all together.  

I cannot get over how old Molly is getting. All my photo babies are growing up.  🙁  Sometimes with tweens, it can be difficult to get real genuine smiles and expressions at photo sessions.  By now, they have begun to get that uncomfortable feeling that we as adults sometimes get when a camera is in our face, and adopt the cheesy fake smile. This is primarily our fault as adults for screaming at them for years to “smile and say cheese.”  But this time, I had a game plan and brought a secret weapon…my 9 year old. Her methods are unconventional as she stood behind me for half the shoot singing ridiculous songs in a loud obnoxious voice for Molly, but she did manage to help me get some genuine smiles and laughs, so I’ll call it a win. 

I just adore these two and love photographing them.  Such a gorgeous mother / daughter combo both inside and out.  <3