Capturing the Magic and Wonder of Childhood
I first met this lovely family a little over two years ago for their maternity photo session, and then shortly thereafter had the honor of shooting an at-home newborn session for their first baby.
This week I got to return for baby #2. It is such a joy and a privilege to be able to capture a newborn session and then to be able to return a couple years later and see that newborn growing into the BEST big sister. Congratulations to this new family of four.
When I photograph large family photo sessions, I can’t help but get a little jealous of all the fun that big families seem to have. It’s like a party anytime they get together. I adored this family before I had even met them, thanks to the beautiful things that their dad and grandpa said about them in my client questionnaire.
One of my favorite things is reading what my clients write about their families in that questionnaire. The simple question of “Tell me a little about each of you” can reveal so much. It’s an oddly personal job to capture someone’s portrait, and in a way I can’t quite explain, I like to know something about them before I begin. For example, I knew that the older granddaughter was very serious about taking care of her baby doll. So I definitely wanted to include the doll in photos. And when I saw her squeezing the doll and her cousin at the same time, giving them both all her love, I had to capture that.
The only challenge with such a large group is balancing getting all the different combinations of shots you need and still trying to capture a little of that personality simultaneously. I often leave wishing I could have gotten to know them even better.
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 to book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you would consider following me on Facebook and/or Instagram.
I’m so in love with this family portrait session in downtown Columbia, and it makes me feel like I’ve made a horrible mistake. You see, I love taking pictures around the square in Columbia. It’s never crowded and it has some of the best old abandoned buildings that have beautiful texture and great light.
But I’ve only ever recommended it for Senior sessions. I’ve hesitated to use a downtown setting for my littlest clients because of the streets and traffic. I love to capture children running and playing. So I usually suggest the parks for them so that they have more space to run free.
But when I was chatting with this client about choosing a location, she said that “outdoorsy” settings didn’t feel like a great fit for their family. And above everything else, I want a client’s session to feel authentic to who they are and reflect their personalities. She also said the kids were likely to want to stay pretty close to mom and dad at a session. So I suggested we give downtown Columbia a try.
And I am SOOOOOO glad. I love them, and I hope she does too. These two sweet kids were FANTASTIC. The family was the kind that I immediately felt connected to and loved photographing.
When dad asked if I would take photographs of them getting ice cream at Hattie Jane’s Creamery at the end of the photo session, I thought that was a fantastic idea! Who doesn’t love photos of adorable kids eating delicious ice cream?
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 to book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you would consider following me on Facebook and/or Instagram.
Family Portrait sessions like this one at Montgomery Bell State Park are my happy place. I love it when the babies are old enough to walk and talk and giggle and explore their surroundings. But also they are young enough to be their true authentic selves without worrying about what the look like in photos. This is why toddlers and preschoolers will always be my favorite age to photograph. (Though it’s also still fun to photograph Seniors, who allow for a different kind of creativity since they will do exactly what I tell them to do.)
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 to book a session from my online calendar. I would love it if you would consider following me on Facebook and/or Instagram.
On Tuesday, I shot a Senior Portrait Session at the Park at Harlinsdale Farms in Franklin. It was an absolutely perfect fall day. The autumn color was in full glory and all the trees were spectacular. On Sunday, I returned for a family photo session and almost all the leaves were gone.
I did, however, find this one perfect tree that had not lost it’s leave and was a gorgeous red orange color.
There were droves of photographers at the park that afternoon. It is one of the busiest portrait weekends of the year. I arrived early, as I always do, to stake out the location and look around at the light. These two sessions are a perfect example of why I do that. Even though I know this location well, and had been there just a few days before, it looked completely different.
When I found my tree, the light was coming through it in just the right way. I’m obsessed with light and this is one of my favorite kinds. I don’t normally shoot in that direction because there is an ugly parking lot behind the tree. But I figured it was far enough away to not be much of a problem. I knew I wanted to start the family photos at the tree because the light could move and not be at just the right spot if I waited. So I stopped roaming and just stood and staked out my spot like a dog hoping it didn’t get overrun with other photographers before my session started.
The funny thing is, I never saw another photographer go near the tree. It just goes to show that you can have 100 photographers photograph a subject, and everyone of them will see it differently and execute a different vision.
And isn’t this just the most beautiful family? Gah, those giggles are the best.
I would love it if you could follow me on Instagram. That’s a great place to keep up to date on future openings. Also, you can book a session directly from my online booking calendar, or contact me if you have questions.
Wow, what a week. I hope that you are all finding some peace, love and toilet paper in this time of coronavirus, and above all, staying safe and healthy.
I know you have already received emails from every business you’ve ever associated with on how they are handling things during this time of quarantine, so I’m going to refrain from sending emails on my thoughts. But I will outline them here in case you have a session coming up and are wondering what will happen.
For my portrait sessions, these are generally done in outdoor parks or in clients home where close contact with other people is minimum. I do plan to take extra care in changing the way I do sessions temporarily in that I will rely on my words to guide you into position rather than touching you or your children to move you into the position I would like. This goes for newborn photo sessions as well.
But, if for any reason you are uncomfortable proceeding with a session at this time, please know that I will allow you to reschedule for any date in the future. Please just shoot me an email and let me know and we can postpone your family portrait session until things have settled down.
I was happen to get out into the sunshine and photograph this beautiful family of four at the Park at Harlinsdale Farms in Franklin this week. Little Chase just turned two, which is my favorite age of children to photograph. Look at that adorable smile!
This is a family that I photograph pretty regularly, and I feel like they keep getting bad luck when it comes to session weather. I’ve shot a session for them in the rain. They had a session last year that was super hot, and then another where it was bitterly cold. They’ve been troopers through every single session and handled it beautifully each time. But it stinks because I generally feel like the weather cooperates for almost all my sessions – even late winter ones, but this one family keeps taking all the hits.
So of course, yesterday, when I arrived at the Park at Harlinsdale Farms where we were supposed to shoot, it felt WAYYY colder than the 54 degrees my phone said that it was. Then five minutes later my phone read 48 degrees. That’s still generally reasonable for a winter photo session, but the wind was so bitingly cold. I was worried that it would be way too uncomfortable to have fun and enjoy the session.
So when Kate showed up and asked if we could try to move the session to the Factory at Franklin, I completely agreed. I wasn’t sure we’d be able to, as the Factory charges a permit fee and I’d always booked it in advance. But the man at the front desk was nice enough to let us get the permit immediately so we were able to move the portrait session indoors, which was so much better than dealing with the bitter wind.
We were also able to slip outside for brief periods before coming back inside to get warm, and there is this nice corridor that was mostly protected from the wind. So all in all, it worked out well. But I still hope that next time they get a nice pleasant, mild day….it’s their turn.
One of the biggest compliments for me to hear, is that a family had fun at their portrait session with me. I feel strongly that good memories need to be associated with the pretty pictures. I want kids to be themselves, and that means running, jumping, playing and exploring their surroundings.
It’s not just that I feel like I HAVE to let them do those things to get through the session. It’s that I believe doing those things actually makes the session better. Capturing a big genuine smile on a child’s face as he races down the slide, means more to me than a formal posed image.
I love photographing Hadley and Harper so much. They are so active and FULL of personality. I first met them at Harper’s newborn session, and love seeing them each year. How can you not smile when you look at those faces?
They also come to see me when I take Santa photos each year, and seeing Harper talk to Santa was one of my favorite moments from last year. If you haven’t signed up yet, spots are going quickly for my Santa photos at the Spring Station Middle School Holiday Marketplace on December 7. All the ticket sales from the Santa Pictures go directly to support the Spring Station Middle School Band. Book your slot today!
If you book a family portrait session with me most times of year, one of the questions on your booking paperwork will ask you where you’d like to shoot the photo session. I have a page on my website that will tell you about locations I frequently use, and I’m here to help you if you want it.
But you may notice that if you book a session for a weekend in October or November, that I’ve already chose a portrait session location.
The reason for this is that in the busy season, I generally book 3 back to back sessions on the weekend, with only about 15 minutes between them. This is just enough time for me to switch memory cards, so I don’t have time to drive to another location between sessions.
I used to let the first client who booked a particular date choose the location, and then those who booked the date after that would have to agree to that spot. But this complicated the booking process.
Also, I have more requirements for long shooting days than I have for just magic hour sessions. For the rest of the year, most of my sessions are scheduled for the hour before sunset…known in photographer lingo as “magic hour”. Magic hour lighting is pretty great anywhere. But when I am booking sessions earlier in the day, then I have to be sure that a location has some shade available, because the sometimes harsh sunlight of earlier in the day is not ideal for photos. But the proper location can allow a shaded spot from which the sun comes through the trees beautifully.
But for this session and the two before it, the bright sun wasn’t a big concern because it was a nice overcast day.
These two sweet brothers did an amazing job for their session. Those eyes! How can you not smile from looking at them?
I can’t even with the cuteness in these photos. The girls were just everything. ❤️
In online photography forums, you can read a lot about finding your ideal family portrait clients. I don’t know precisely how to put into words what defines a perfect client for me, but I know it and get excited when I see it.
Isla (3 years old) and Evie (1 1/2 years old) are at my absolute favorite ages of children to photograph. They brought their special Panda lovies to the session. I adore capturing young children with their special objects. The girls were so much fun to be around – wild and free and full of wonder about their world, which is everything I love about photographing kids this age.
Mom and Dad were more interested in capturing authentic, emotional images than in Pinterest perfect posed shots, which is the best kind of client for me. We danced and played and had a fabulous time.
This is a family who thought about the constraints of studio portraits with very young children and realized what a nightmare that could be. One thing that is extremely important to me is that family portrait sessions not be a stressful experience for families. I want to make it fun for the children, and for happy memories to be associated with the photographs. What good is a beautifully posed image if the memory associated with it was of a horrible experience?
I want to point out, though, that creating an enjoyable experience does not mean that everyone is happy for every minute of a session. It’s important to note this because I don’t want parents to become stressed out if there is a tiny bump in the road. Toddlers and preschoolers, by nature, have SO MANY EMOTIONS and not enough words to express them. I do not expect, nor need them to be happy and joyful every minute of a session.
First of all, that’s not real life. Second, the pouty moments are beautiful too. And third, and most importantly, toddler moods are like Middle Tennessee weather…if you don’t like it, wait a few minutes and it will change. As long as no one over reacts to momentary grumpiness, they will typically forget the mood in a manner of minutes…especially if we move on to a new activity…which I will generally do if they become impatient with what we were doing.
Can we talk about these outfits for a minute? These girls (mama too) look fabulous!! The color combinations are gorgeous! The cheetah print and floral prints are so fun and coordinate beautifully together. I talk about adding texture to clothing choices in my online “What to Wear Guide.” The girls’ vests accomplish this perfectly and are so adorable. The sisters were coordinating but not wearing the exact same outfits, which I prefer. But most of all, the girls seemed happy and comfortable.
Don’t be surprised when these images end up in my guide, once I have time to slow down and stop editing. LOL
Photographing young children is something that I do regularly. If I had to choose one genre or age group of photographs to take, it would be families with pre-school age children for sure. It’s where I am most comfortable. It’s the age group that I am most passionate about shooting (though I still love taking pictures of people of all ages).
I have to remind myself that my clients do not do this regularly. This might be the first time they’ve been to a photo session like mine, and at the very least, it’s the first time they’ve done family photos with a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old (or whatever the case may be.)
Because of that, I try to reassure my clients throughout a session that this is normal. I swear. Listen, photo sessions with multiple pre-school age children is by nature, a little bit of organized chaos. One client I had once called it a beautiful mess, and I love that term. Your kids are doing great. Really, they are.
I think one thing that makes parents nervous is when I start asking small children to do things, and maybe (probably) they don’t do what I ask. Please believe me when I tell you that I have NEVER met a two-year-old who did everything I asked. Never. Expecting them to follow all my instructions is not age-appropriate or realistic. Also, it doesn’t bother me one bit if they aren’t interested in something I suggest.
There are three main reasons it doesn’t bother me:
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes an image doesn’t tell the whole story. Today I want to talk through what happens at pretty much every session with small children ever, using photos from a family portrait session. So you can read what was happening in real life, and see the resulting image. I’m hoping this will prevent any future anxiety when you think “my kids aren’t cooperating.” I promise you; they are doing exactly what I want them to do.
So as you can see, these two beautiful sweet girls did an amazing job. They did exactly what I wanted them to do….to be wild and free and full of wonder. Because that’s the way it should be. Here are a few more photos from their session.
I had a fabulous time getting to know everyone at this extended family portrait session at Ellington Agricultural Center. It’s the first time I had shot there before, and the location is gorgeous. I definitely want to go back.
This session is a 50th anniversary gift for Sharon and Bob from their children. The two have NEVER had professional portraits made before. What an honor it was to be able to capture their beautiful family. I loved getting to know them.
Despite promises of a cold front, the weather was warmer than I would have liked, but it didn’t stop the fun. And the lighting was absolutely gorgeous.
If you are wanting Fall Portraits sessions for your family or senior, please book today. There are no October spots left but there are a couple of November spots still available. Book yours today.
When you research family portrait photographers, you will find a wide variety of prices and pricing structures. Today, I want to help you to know what questions to ask when comparing photographers and understanding the price.
Most photographers charge a session fee, but what that includes can vary greatly. I used to charge a $250 session fee that included no digitals or prints, only my time in shooting and editing the session. Then clients would purchase digitals or prints after the session. But I realized that 95% of my clients wanted all the digitals from their session, so I started including those in the session fee for $450 total. So before, clients would pay $250 for the session fee, and then after the session they would pay $200 for digitals. Now the total price is the same, but it’s all included in one charge. There is no need for clients to purchase anything after the session unless they want to buy print products from me.
Be sure you understand what is included and what is not so that you compare apples to apples.
Some photographers include “web only” digitals in their packages that are small files, sometimes watermarked, that are intended only for sharing on social media and not for printing. If you want to print your images yourself, make sure that that package you are considering includes full size digitals and a print release (both are included with my sessions.)
This is a very important question to ask as it also varies greatly for different photographers. There is no right answer here, and a lot of it has to do with the photographers style. But it’s something you will want to understand. Some will deliver as few as 10 or so final images from a session.
I’m probably at the other end of that extreme. Because my style is very candid and natural, I want to deliver lots of variety of shots to clients. Instead of just trying to get the “perfect” posed shot, we will focus on playing and exploring while I shoot a wide variety of images for your gallery. As a result, I tend to deliver over 100 images to clients, in both black and white and color.
But more than anything else, please don’t base your decision on price alone. The photographer you choose should be experienced, particularly in the genre of photography you are looking for, and should show consistently good images in their portfolio. And most importantly, her or his style should be something that speaks to you. Above all, photographers are artists, so don’t hire a photographer with a certain style and expect them to deliver something else.
This grandma contacted me because she wanted family photos taken with her three adult children and their families while her one daughter was in town from California. She wanted to do the photos at the families second home / retreat near Leipers Fork that they just purchased in May.
She said something beautiful in her booking paperwork that stuck with me while I was photographing this gorgeous family. She said, when talking about the property, “I feel that it will be a place where people can come and disconnect from the busyness of the world and find peace with God.”
After arriving, I immediately saw what she meant. It is such a beautiful place and I know that they will make many beautiful memories there. I feel honored to have been able to document the beginnings of this special place for their family. I imagine many years of family photos there in the future.
There are a couple spots left for Fall family portrait sessions, but don’t wait. Book your spot today.