The Miller Extended Family Session at Potawatomi Conservatories
Juggling multiple schedules within one family is a challenge. Juggling multiple schedules with multiple families can feel impossible. But the outcome is so worth it! Extended Family Sessions are a special kind of a chaos that is particularly fun to capture!
The Miller Family came together on a rainy Saturday morning at the beautiful Potawatomi Conservatories in South Bend, Indiana. Even though the clouds had taken over outside, indoors it was cozy with gorgeous light every direction you turned. And the Miller family brought all the personality and sass for their session, making it one fun shoot!
Tiffany, a former co-worker of mine, is the oldest of six in her family. Tiffany has always been one of the most positive and helpful people I have ever been fortunate enough to work with. She is seriously a ray of sunshine! Now that I had the pleasure of meeting all the Miller’s it is no surprise she’s so sweet. This family has personality, charm, and good looks to boot.
The process for an Extended Family Session is similar to a Family Portrait Session. I try to prioritize the shot list by what’s most important to capture, which to me, is this rare occasion of everyone together for a photo. That means everybody is in on the first click! From there I try to knock out as many of the images involving the youngest children, knowing that they will fade quickly! Lots of hugs and laughs with grandparents before jumping into smaller family photos and individual shots.
Once it’s time to give the kids a break, that’s when we can move on to siblings and individual photos. I think my favorite shots from this particular session were mama and her girls. My goodness - their laughter is genuine and you can only imagine the conversation happening in some of these photos! I think the brothers were grateful they also got a break from the ladies and had their own group photo…
Some of the last shots we got during this session were individuals of all the ladies. Initially there was some hesitation when I asked if they were interested. Not unusual! I think many of us sort of shrink back at the thought of being solo infront of a camera (myself included), even if our selfie game is strong (myself excluded). However, I am learning a little more everyday the importance for us to exist in pictures! Many of us have an entire phone filled with great moments of our kids and friends and family, but if asked to send an individual image of ourself we may have to do some scrolling. I’m glad the ladies of the family decided they wanted their moment to shine. Such strong, gorgeous women - a joy to capture.
Fingers crossed that 2021 will bring a lot more togetherness for us all. Looking forward to your whole tribe coming together and wanting to capture the moment? Let’s make it happen!
Granger, Indiana Newborn Session: Welcome Baby Charlee
Very little in this world is as exciting, emotional, and overwhelming as welcoming a little one. An entirely life changing event in one tiny, precious bundle. Babies are the best.
Having taken both Natalie’s pregnancy announcement photos and maternity photos left me itching to meet the sweet baby she was carrying! When I got the text that the baby had made their arrival, my heart overflowed with joy and excitement for Natalie, Mike, and their crew! When Natalie and I were first getting to know each other she had mentioned that she still had a little bit of baby fever dwelling inside. I am just over the moon for her and her family knowing that this baby girl is the perfect completion of their family!
Talk about a glowing mama! How gorgeous is she at 8 months pregnant!
The beautiful and healthy Charlotte Noelle joined the Evans family on November 22nd. She has ten perfect fingers, ten perfect toes, and every cute and squishy feature you could hope for. And I was lucky enough to be trusted to capture them all!
Baby Charlee was welcomed home by Faith, Jack, and happily promoted to big brother Eli. Not to be left out, she also has her own set of four paws on security detail in the form of Monty.
When it comes to newborn lifestyle sessions, baby is in the driver’s (car)seat. We operate on their schedule and pace, taking breaks for diapers and feedings whenever needed. For that reason, it’s always best to plan to spend some time together day of session! This particular newborn session lasted two hours to give us time to capture tiny details, special moments, family portraits, and lots of snuggles with mom and dad.
If you’re preparing to welcome a bundle of joy to your family and hoping to be able to capture this special moment with a portrait session, here are some helpful tips for planning!
1) A session in that first two weeks of a newborn’s life is usually suggested for timeline. Getting their sleepy, curled up poses is easiest during this time and with how quickly they grow and change, you don’t want to miss out on those first moments! However, from a mama perspective, photos at any moment in time are just as special. When I first became a mama, our first few weeks were rough and we didn’t end up having anyone come to capture family photos for us until our son was one month old. And that’s ok! That’s what worked for our family and our journey.
2) A well fed baby is the easiest to capture! Try to get a great feeding in right before your session so that baby is happy and sleepy.
3) Keep the room(s) that you will have photos in warm to help keep that baby cozy and sleepy!
4) Wherever the most natural light flows into your house is ideal, but there’s flexibility in this, whether that’s a living room or your bedroom or baby’s bedroom or a foyer. Baby doesn’t have to be in a Pinterest worthy nursery for beautiful images. But baby should be well lit so we don’t miss out on every precious detail!
5) I will debate to the end of time that the cutest thing a baby can wear is a white onesie. So please do not panic about what baby should be dressed in! If you have a cute outfit you’re excited about, that’s great! Have no idea what to dress them in? A white onesie. I promise it’s perfect.
6) What about the rest of the family’s wardrobe? Neutral and soft colors in a home lifestyle session always look great. I’m also a fan of barefeet in home lifestyle sessions :) If you plan on printing an image to hang in your home, you can also consider what room it will hang in if you would like to coordinate colors to the decor of that room.
7) And what about props and accessories? Is there something that was given to baby that you want to include, like a gift from a grandparent? Is there an heirloom being passed down? Those are great items to include. Bows and booties are always adorable. Beyond that, just having a stack of blanket options and a cute newborn is more than enough!
Baby Charlee, it was an honor to capture this exciting start to your journey and blessed chapter in your family’s life. I can’t wait to watch you grow and explore this great, big world. You’ll move mountains, baby girl!
Baxter Family Portrait Session at St. Patrick’s Park
“With or without the pig?”
If you are following along on Facebook, you’ve heard me mention one of the best tools I have in my bag for photoshoots with children. A little $5 squeaking (err….honking? sort of a wheezing…) pig from the pet toy aisle. If you have young children and have had family pictures taken, this scenario might sound familiar…
Photographer: “Everyone smile at the camera! Little Johnny, where’s the camera? Let me see your smile!”
Parents look down at Johnny to encourage a smile, Johnny looks at camera to smile. But now mom and dad are looking at Johnny.
Photographer: “Mom and dad, back to the camera! Big smiles!”
Parents look at the camera, but now Johnny is looking at mom and dad.
Rinse, Repeat.
Well, when I welcomed this lil’ piggy to my team, I eliminated that scenario for about 95% of my shoots. With a squeeze of the pig, all eyes are up at the camera and (usually) the kids have big, happy grins going with lots of giggles!
Enter the Baxter family on a rather chilly fall evening.
I met Mama Stephanie through the Leadership South Bend/Mishawaka program (shout out to Class 44) in 2017. Learning she was a Buckeye, I already knew she was an A+ person. Stephanie is an optometrist in the area, and just all around one of the nicest people you’ll meet. So welcoming and friendly with beauty and brains! I was so honored when she reached out to schedule a family shoot with me!
We made plans for St. Patrick’s Park, easily one of my favorite places for a shoot. With both Stephanie and Kevin working at Michiana Eye Center, I knew they would want a setting that was a sight for sore eyes (weak pun, will try again later). As the evening approached it got chilly fast. Griffin and Vivian were troopers, but it was a little difficult to concentrate on anything but how cold it was getting!
It was cold! But the light was gorgeous, the family was gorgeous, and even Lola the Schnauzer was making efforts to get great family shots.
I knew my window was closing fast as their little noses turned pink, and the best bet for great smiles in spite of the weather was my trusted pig. It’s hard to focus on cold toes when a pig is wheezing at you.
I pulled the pig from his blanket (that was also in my bag) and gave him a good squeeze. Instant giggles! That pig spent the rest of the shoot on my head.
“Should we take this picture with or without the pig?”
“WITH THE PIG!!!”
honk/wheeze
Griffin and Vivian were laughing so much that mom and dad started cracking up too :) All eyes and smiles were focused right on the camera the rest of the shoot, a perfect vision (ehh…see what I did there?).
The sweetest kids, the cutest couple, a fantastic family session.
Thank you so much for being such a fun family session Kevin, Stephanie, Griffin, Vivian, and Lola! I hope to see you on the other side of the lens again!
Holiday Mini Sessions in Mishawaka, Indiana
It’s a jolly holiday.
It’s been a minute since I’ve sat down to write a blog post, and with Holiday Mini Sessions wrapped and delivered, I wanted to give a little update on the beautiful weekend we had for these!
When first planning minis, I knew I wanted a country setting but wasn’t quite sure where to access one that was just right. So, I reached out to the best resource I could think of, and posted a request on social media :) I had a vision in mind that was based off a property I had driven past so many times and just kept wishing I could take pictures on so I was hoping to find something very similar. My friend Courtney reached out to share that her husband’s grandparents had a pretty property in Mishawaka that I should drive past.
Guess what! IT WAS THE LOCATION I HAD BEEN LONGING FOR! Brenda & Harold welcomed me with open arms (from a six foot distance) and even were gracious enough to step in front of the camera to let me capture them as their 60th Wedding Anniversary approached <3
This is some serious goals. Makes my heart just melt the way these two look at each other and laugh together.
I could have taken their portraits all day with the way they giggled and smooched.
It was a beautiful weekend, both the people and the weather were so fantastic. A huge thank you to Courtney for making this connection. My photographer heart is overflowing! Oh and thank you to Joel for having such sweethearts for grandparents!
Many families shared that they were missing family near and far this holiday season and wishing everyone could safely celebrate together. Knowing that many miles between families makes the sharing of holiday cards so much more special this year. Hopefully these images can help to bring joy to others until we can all be together again <3
Holiday Mini Session FAQ
So Mini Questions, So Little Time.
‘Tis the season for photographers! Between family portraits with the backdrop of beautiful fall foliage and preparing for holiday card sending, this is a very popular time to capture your current season of life!
This year I am offering Fall-anthropy Mini Sessions with 10% of each session going to support Camp Tannadoonah (sold out!) and Holiday Mini Sessions (booking coming soon!). I thought I would pop on here quick just to give a little more information about what a Mini Session is so you can decide if it is right for your family!
What is a mini session?
Mini Sessions are designed to capture a small gallery of beautiful images in a smaller time frame than your typical family session. The sessions I am offering last only 25 minutes, and we will operate on a strict time frame to be sure not to steal any time from the clients booked for the following session. AKA: Don’t be late for this important date!
Who are mini sessions ideal for?
You know that overwhelming feeling of keeping kids clean for an hour and being sure they’re well fed and napped and changed and everything else that comes with small children prior to a family session? Does the thought of only managing this for a 25 minute time frame leave you breathing a sigh of relief?
Mini Sessions are truly ideal for small families and young children. A short burst of photos filled with giggles and energy tends to be favored by parents.
It’s also great for couples, young and seasoned, who just want a few fresh photos of their love.
Who are mini sessions -not- ideal for?
If you’re hoping to capture a large family, a shorter time frame typically doesn’t create the opportunities and flexibility needed to make this happen. The more individuals in a photo, the more juggling of positions and break outs are needed to give you the quality of gallery I am committed to delivering. I offer both Family Portrait Sessions and Extended Family Sessions and am happy to work with you to add a touch of holiday if you are needing more than 25 minutes for all the laughter, noise, and personality of large families.
What should I wear to a Mini Session?
With minis often being “themed” to a season or holiday, it’s great to try to dress to the occasion. For fall minis I recommend deeper jewel tones, and creams or tans to compliment the warm colors that will be present in the background. With holiday minis, you’ll get sharp and festive images by dressing up in winter friendly attire, whether that be sweaters, warm dress coats, long dresses or tights for little ones, or anything else you might slip into for a holiday celebration. Ultimately, though, wear something that makes you feel comfortable and confident so you can focus on flashing only your smile for the camera. ;)
How does payment and packages work for mini sessions?
A link will be provided to book a mini session spot and full payment is required upfront. Three packages are offered based on how many images you would like to be able to select. If you selected a smaller package and upon reviewing your gallery decide you would like more images included, upgrading is available.
Each client will receive access to their digital gallery where they will select their designated number of images by favoriting them. After this is completed, watermarks will be removed from those selected images and all other images will be removed from your gallery.
So that’s just a small (is it too much to say “mini”) glimpse at what a mini session is! Hopefully this helps you decide if this might be right for you and your loved ones!
Happy to answer any other questions you have about upcoming mini sessions and hope to see you and your family this season!
Family Portrait Session at Cobus Creek Park
A gem of a park in Elkhart, Indiana.
When Dani reached out to schedule a Family Session she was up for any location in the area I wanted to try. Sounded like a pretty good reason for me to have some “me time” to drive around, sipping creamer with coffee, listen to music that isn’t sang by the cast of Sesame Street, and explore some local parks. I came upon Cobus Creek Park after a quick Google search and had no idea this spot was so close to me! Pretty trails, a fishing pier, and the beginnings of fall colors appearing. In the center of this park is a Sensory Garden that is simply adorable. A pretty great spot for photos for this family of six!
Their blues and yellows were the perfect pops of color in every spot I arranged them, and they all so naturally posed with one another that it was really fun to step back and capture their sweet interactions and family love. It was easy to see the “littles” adored and looked up to the “bigs” and the “bigs” were so supportive and encouraging of the “littles” when it was their turn to shine. And seriously, how cute are mom and dad?!
I think these parents had a pretty solid game plan to keep everyone smiling and excited by scheduling family brunch after the session. The magic word quickly progressed from “cheese” to “bacon” to “hot chocolate.” Menu items that make me smile too.
I want to share two of my favorite moments from this session with you all as well.
The sensory garden is home to a few koi fish. I’m not talking about little guys, these are some big fish! I love watching the kids track them swimming back and forth under the bridge. It’s a big moment when you first spot these guys!
My second favorite moment was delivered by the younger son, Tyler. When I’m working with younger kids in a shoot, I’ll often try to model a pose for them, asking them to do exactly what I just did. I showed Tyler how I wanted him to stand, and with zero extra coaching he precisely mirrored me. I told him I had no doubt he got all A’s in school with how well he listened and followed directions. About halfway through the session he came up to assure me that he does, in fact, get all A’s. That grin on his face said it all.
If you’re looking for a pretty spot for a walk, photos, or some quiet time I definitely recommend some time at Cobus Creek Park. If you’re looking for an adorable family that loves a good brunch, I recommend the Elgas Family :)
Thanks for joining for a brisk morning in the park!
Check out their full gallery here!
Cagala Family Portraits at Donnell Lake in Vandalia, Michigan
"This will be our first family photo..."
Whether the rest of that sentence ends in “ever” or “since the kids were babies” or some other measurement of a very long time, it’s a pretty common thing I hear when booking family sessions.
The Cagala Family was no exception, so I was really excited for this family to have some photos at their lake home in Michigan.
This sweet family, including Miss Myrtle, were an easy crew to work with. As fate would have it, I had walked with my little guy past their lake cottage several times thinking how pretty it would be for photos, followed by a dirt path not to much further down the road. I was scouting for their session without even knowing!
As we were planning for the Cagala Family Session, Renee asked “Is there anything else we need to know or do?”
This is an excellent question!
Here is my advice for anyone nervous for picture day:
1) Do not panic when picking outfits. If you’re really struggling, reach out for assistance! Let’s work together to find a look for everyone that’s cohesive and comfortable. Pick a simple color scheme with a few accents. Not everyone needs to have a pattern. Not everyone needs a matching outfit. Remember the focus should be on the people and not their clothes.
2) Kids will be kids. Let the photographer do their best to help the kids relax and get the shots you’ll love. Often times we will have more luck in an hour than you’ve had all day ;) and if we need you to intervene you’ll most likely already know!
3) Be in the moment. This is meant to be fun! I think being able to capture you in your element in the stage of life you are in is such a fantastic gift that photography gives. Of course we all want the perfectly posed, everyone looking at the camera and smiling picture. But I also want you to look back and laugh as you remember your overeager son taking a spill as he ran ahead to get to the spot first, dusty jeans and all. I want you to grin at the grimace on your daughters face when I ask her to give a big ol’ hug to her brother. And I want you to get butterflies when you see just how lovingly your husband is gazing at his beautiful wife.
Photography really is about capturing a moment so that you can relive those feelings again and again.
So, thank you to the Cagala Family for being willing to embrace the moment, laugh with each other, and freeze time on a gorgeous lake evening.
See the rest of their gallery here!
Baby Evans Pregnancy Announcement Portrait Session
Nacho average news…
There’s nothing quite like a glowing mama and her baby bump!
Natalie is a former coworker of mine who turned quickly into friend, and I am over the moon excited for her and her growing family! She is the sweetest soul, such a positive (and unstoppable) woman, and has the most genuine heart and smile.
I knew this would be a fun (and funny) session with her silly humor!
Natalie and Mike have three awesome kids at home, and this little baby is going to be pretty blessed with laughter in this household. Eli is excited to finally not be the youngest in the family! They also decided they would wait to find out the gender of their baby until the big day, which is such a fun surprise! I’m not sure I could handle the wait!
I have been enjoying a little walk down memory lane as I have been texting Natalie all of my favorite baby items from over the past year. Sure the “snot sucker” is great, but have you tried the battery operated nasal aspirator that doesn’t require you to stick one end of a tube in your mouth? If you haven’t and you’ve got a little one at home, I highly recommend scouting it out! Like I said, a sentimental trip down memory lane! :)
There is one photo I couldn’t wrap up this session without getting, even though it may have been a bit of an embarrassment for Natalie…
When Natalie made the transition to Van Life, she had a certain little bumper sticker that made her laugh every time she mentioned it. And it just happened to fit perfectly into this fun gallery!
Baby Evans, I can’t wait to meet you! You’ve got a family and future filled with fun waiting for you!
