Why Family Sessions Are So Special
When I was a little girl I used to dream about having a family when I grew up. I would cut out pictures from wedding magazines and glue them in my scrapbook trying to plan the perfect wedding. I would look through the parenting magazines my mom got in the mail at all the smiling happy kids and think one day my kids would be as happy as the models. Being a wife and mother was going to be easy, right? Boy was I wrong.
As anyone who is a parent and/or spouse knows, it takes a lot of work to keep things running smoothly (and there’s a lot of bumps in the road as well). Kids are going to need to be chauffeured to school and activities, the date nights that you think you will go on with your spouse don’t happen as frequently as you would like, your children argue and you wonder where their attitude came from (and vaguely remember being a little sassy yourself at that age). Family life isn’t perfect, but it’s real and full of love, just like family photography sessions.
Parents often come to photography sessions with a variety of expectations. Some have a specific idea in their head of what they want captured, some show up and say “I know my kids are wild, capture what you can”, and some are in between. Even though these expectations are different, none of them are wrong! My goal is to exceed your expectations and capture the true essence of your family’s individuality and style. I often tell parents that kids will be kids and when we let them be themselves and show off their personality, truly special photos are the result.
Life moves so fast, and it’s easy to forget 10 years from now how special and unique each season of life children experience as they grow. Being able to capture in time a piece of these memories to look back on and remember is one of the many things I love about photography.
Even though a large part of the session is focused on the family as a whole or the children in some way, I always make sure to set aside some time to capture memories of just mom and dad as well, and dare I say, take off their “mom and dad hats” for a bit. I always laugh when we begin because couples have a deer in the headlights look at first-it’s tough to not think of yourself as a parent for a second and just focus on being a couple. After a few photos and silly prompts however, couples always begin to relax, have fun, flirt a little, and just enjoy being together. It’s so important to capture the love that you share for your partner and remember for a few moments what it’s like to be that version of yourself.
Whether you’re in the season of life with diaper changes and toddler shenanigans, or the teen years with non-stop activities and homework, trust me when I say it’s so important to pause and capture the memories. Life moves so quickly, and being able to look back at your family photos and remember how unique and special your family was in that moment is a gift to yourself you don’t want to miss out on.