I am so excited to welcome little Alana to the blog!! I have had the pleasure of photographing the Pristow family after the arrival of their first daughter, Emilia. So when mom, Erica, contacted me about scheduling Alana's first birthday session, I couldn't wait to see them again! Getting to see my client families each year is truly one of my favorite parts of the job - it is so much fun to see how their children grow and develop over the years! Fortunately the family lives in a neighborhood with a beautiful common space with a pond, trees and a small garden. So in order to keep the girl's close to home for their sunset session, we met at the pond area which also happens to capture truly beautiful golden sunset light. 

We started with their family photos both posed and candid images. I like to set my families up in a general pose and then give them ideas on how to interact with each other to capture genuine moments and reactions. I am not always a fan of stiff poses where the families are looking directly at the camera but prefer those candid moments. I absolutely LOVE the families snuggle close, have tickle fights, give their kids lots of kisses and laugh throughout the session. Having your photos taken should be fun and easy and I really try to accomplish this during each of my sessions. 

The Pristow family is one of those families that just jump right in and enjoy this time with their girls. They play, laugh and know the best way to get smiles from their girls. It's always a blast to see this beautiful family and their girls are so much fun to photograph! After we finished up with some family photos around the park grounds, including some photos of the sisters together, it was time for some individual photos of Alana to celebrate her first birthday. Mom had brought another outfit for Alana so after a quick outfit change, we set her up on a little blanket for her cake smash! Alana dove right into the little cupcake and enjoyed all of the delicious icing and sprinkles! What a fun way to celebrate a huge milestone!! 

What a beautiful day for summer sessions! When I had originally contacted the owner of Pisarcik Flower Farm, we had scheduled my spring Mama & Me minis on their farm. But then COVID19 happened and the world shut down so those plans had to be placed on hold. Once our businesses were allowed to start back up and running again, a new date was set for family summer mini sessions and I am so excited with how the day turned out! It was a gorgeous day in July, with just a slight impending storm at the end of the day, but it was a day full of families, laughter and catching up! Each of the families that had signed up for a session were previous clients. I was absolutely thrilled to catch up with each of them, see how they were coping through the craziness of our new 'Covid world' but also see how much their children and families had grown. Some had new babies I was able to meet for the first time, children I had not seen since their newborn photos or older children starting school for the first time in the next few weeks! It was so much fun seeing all of these families again and it definitely brought back a sense of normalcy! 

The owners of the flower farm gave us free rein to use the greenhouses and space around their farm, which was so generous and amazing of them to do. This gave myself and each family an opportunity to walk around the property, explore their beautiful floral nursery and capture beautiful images among the flowers! Each child walked around with wide eyes and excited enthusiasm as they smelled each flower and gently touched every plant. The laughs, smiles and wonderment we captured was amazing and I am truly grateful for Pisarcik Flower Farm for letting us use their gorgeous property! It was the perfect backdrop for these summer sessions!