Covington family photography: Brothers photo session

This year I have intentionally been turning my family sessions a new direction and focusing more on “day in the life” photo sessions. I believe patiently that capturing your everyday life is beautiful, and I particularly think with toddlers, it is wonderful to capture them in their home environment, where they are more apt to feel at home and settle in.

For this session, I focused on photographing my nephews at their home. Big brother B just moved into his own “big boy room” right before turning 2, while baby brother J just turned four months. I sought to capture B in his new domain, including the loving details of his room that mama designed. The small details were important, too. B adores his puppy; it’s his security. Meanwhile, baby J is drooling up a storm and sharing his wide smile with strangers now, no longer a sleepy newborn.

Here are some favorite images of the boys at their home!

photo montage of toddler photo montage of baby

What about you? Do you have images of your childhood bedroom? What details of your family would you like to have captured? Let’s chat in the comments!

Behind the Scenes of a Bountiful Family Session

Today I’m sharing a special family session from last fall to give you a behind-the-scenes look at a Beloved family session, which I call my “Bountiful” family sessions.

Often I find that people schedule family photo sessions because it has been a long time since they’ve had updated photos, or maybe a specific event like the birth of another child or a particular milestone is triggering them to feel like they “should” get pictures done–or maybe it’s just that they want to be sure they have an updated Christmas card photo. 🙂

But really, a family photo session you are investing in should be so much more than just a snapshot of your kids’ gap-toothed grins or your latest haircut.  Your family photos should tell the story of who you are as a family. 

It is always my goal to get photos that reveal the personality and character of the individuals and of the family as a whole. This particular family loves the outdoors and being active, and the young siblings have the sweetest relationship, all of which was important to capture during their session.

In my sessions, I do have some posed photos, but I also seek to engage everyone to get more authentic expression, and we also have some playtime and relaxed moments, too!

I love these images, particularly of brother and sister, and that mom and dad were able to have a few moments together as well. Often parents of young kids haven’t had any photos together since their wedding! In these photos, the love between all members of the family is so evident. Their postures are relaxed and open. And the photos in the sand capture the carefree playfulness of toddlerhood.

siblings on the docksiblings on the docklittle boy on the beach siblings playing in the sandlittle girl on the beach little boy on the sand girl dancing in the sand dancing girl in the sand little girl all smiles couple laughing couple and marriage photographer

Tell me, what are your favorite images from this session? I’d love to hear what resonates with you! And what are the special “quirks” you’d want captured in your family session?

Maple Valley/Covington Family Photographer: Featured on the Beloved blog!

family photograph on the beach

I am so honored to have one of my recent family sessions featured on the Beloved Collective blog.  What is the Beloved Collective? Simply put, the Beloved Collective is a group of artists passionate about celebrating photography that captures the heart and soul of people. The Beloved genre and accompanying techniques launched a few years ago, and I was one of the “early adopters” and remain one of only a handful of certified Beloved photographers in the world.

With the Beloved techniques, we seek to go beyond the standard posed photo session into something more revealing and more authentic to our subjects. I am always hoping to reveal a glimpse of the people inside, to go beyond the “camera smile” to see into people’s hearts. I want you to look at the pictures of your family and say, “That’s so ‘him.’ You really captured his essence.”

I have the most freedom with my techniques when interacting with longtime couples, but in the sneak peek over on the Beloved blog, you’ll see a bit of what happens when I get out with families, too! I dub my Beloved family sessions “Bountiful” sessions, and I truly hope they are overflowing with love and authenticity.

I would love it if you would head over and tell me what you think!

And tomorrow, I’ll show more from this fun family session…

Free book on loving your family: How Do I Love You?

I am so honored to have been invited by my friend Davina Fear to be a part of a very special project. Davina gathered 25 photographers and writers to join together to offer simple, easy ideas to share your love with your family.  After spending hours devoted to compiling them all, she has created a beautiful little book, “How Do I Love You?”. Included in this group are notables from around the world such as Brooke Snow, Josh and Jenny Solar, Elizabeth Halford, and people behind A Beautiful Mess.  I admit I’m a little starstruck to be included in such a group!

This book is perfect for Valentine’s Day, with enough ideas to pick one for each day until February 14.

To get this book (free!) and find out more info, visit Davina’s blog post on “How Do I Love You?”.

 

Maple Valley family photography: Sneak Peek J Family

One of my favorite families in the world joined me at Lake Wilderness for a mini session on Saturday.  Their adorable 2-year-old is a photographer’s dream…making life quite easy!  I mean, really, how could the pictures *not* be cute?  And mom and dad aren’t too shabby either… I didn’t realize until later they were celebrating an anniversary! And here they are looking as cute as I imagine they looked on their wedding day.

photo of toddler holding parents hands

A family affair.

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The cutest toddler smiles!

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Beautiful family