Portland Family Photoshoot || Alison, Tom and Josie's In-Home Session
When I met Jen and John to photograph their engagement and elopement last March, I had no idea how great of a connection they would be! Not only did they quickly become friends (Jen - I swear we're going to align our schedules to see each other when I'm there in the fall!) but they've passed my name along to so many fantastic people that I've gotten the opportunity to photograph with.
Alison, Tom and Josie were one such family. When Jen put us in touch, Alison said that they hadn't had any family photos made since their daughter, Josie, now three-and-a-half years old, was born - it was definitely time to change that! A family who loves simple pleasures, they wanted to do their photoshoot in their home to "capture the simple joy of being together just the three of us." I love in-home sessions for that exact reason; not only do they put my subjects at ease in front of the camera because they're in their own home, but they allow me to capture how they actually live their day-to-day lives. To me, these lifestyle sessions are the essence of what my brand is about: documenting the simple moments that my clients will want to remember years later. Not to mention, photographing inside meant we didn't have to worry about the constant Portland March rain!
Josie was a total ham and not in the least shy in front of the camera once she'd befriended me. (I let her hold my camera - after that she was totally sold!) Alison noted that one thing she really wanted this photoshoot to capture (for their family to remember years later) was the sweet silliness of their three year old, and that we certainly did! One of Josie's hobbies is performing for her parents, especially singing into her toy microphone, and while I didn't see the full performance in all its glory, I definitely caught a glimpse of her stellar dance skills.
This sweet family also loves being outside, so once we were happy with the images in their home, we dashed out between bouts of rain to let Josie run around. And to splash in puddles, of course. As we walked around their neighborhood we found a fairy garden, picked a couple daffodils from an amenable neighbor's yard and danced a little bit more. After the rain, the skies were overcast and the grass was vividly green, creating the quintessential Pacific Northwest backdrop for the second half of our session.
I had so much fun getting to meet and run around with these three. I love photographing kids this age because once you gain their trust, they're totally uninhibited, animately talking about anything that comes to mind all while making the best facial expressions. As I'm creating my business expansion plans, I'm working on adding specific family and kids' milestone (newborn, 6 months, one year, etc.) packages into my offerings so that I can not only meet new families, but continue to document the family journeys of my sweet clients who have trusted me with their engagement and wedding photos. I can't wait to document more of these simply yet powerful family memories!
