What an amazing family and photo session! I had previously met this sweet family when big brother, Derek, turned one and we photographed his 1st birthday session. So, I was excited when I heard from earlier in the year when she decided she wanted to book a family portrait session this year. We settled on scheduling for the fall, once their new baby girl was a bit older and they could update their family photo. We ended up with a gorgeous fall evening and beautiful sunset light! Mellon Park is one of my favorite city parks in Pittsburgh because there is so many fun little nooks and crannies to photograph families, so I knew it would be a great option for their portrait session. We started with some candid photos of the family interacting together as I have found this is the best way to allow children to warm up to the situation and get used to me pointing a camera towards them. Plus, I had brought my daughter with me during their session and I had her in a carrier on my back, so she was able to get the kids to laugh and interact with me for some fun, natural smiles. But I primarily focused on getting the family to respond to each other and I was able to capture some really sweet, intimate moments between mom, dad and their sweet kiddos. And Derek was more than willing to give his baby sister some kisses, which was a huge bonus! 

After a few family photos, we took some individual photos of each child. I say this all of the time, but children change so much in such a short period of time and I always love to give each child some one-on-one time in front of the camera to see if I can capture some of their unique personality. It will be so fun to look back on these images and compare them to photos from when they were younger or as they grow up to see just how much they change from year to year. Derek was such a playful little guy and I was lucky to capture some of his fun facial expressions! And the image of Mom with her sweet baby girl was just so precious!! 

One of the best parts about photographing families is that I often am invited back to photograph their family as they grow! Mom, Sarah, is a friend that I used to work with and I had the opportunity to capture the arrival of their first son, Camden. So, when she emailed me with the exciting news that they were expecting their second baby, I was beyond happy for them and excited to capture their newborn session and updated family photos!! We started with some family photos in their bedroom, which had really beautiful light! Camden is a typical active toddler, so he did not want to sit on the bed for long. But that gave us the chance to capture some fun, interactive, lifestyle photos of their family! We grabbed some of Cam's favorite books and toys to play with and put their dog, Sophie, up on the bed to be included in the family portraits! And sweet baby Ada just slept through all of the fun!! 

After taking a few images outside in their front yard, we headed inside to start with Ada's posed newborn photos. Mom wanted to use neutral, gray, pink and blue colors in the set ups, so she helped me go through the blankets and props that I brought with me to decide on our final selections. We started with a super fluffy mint green fur blanket with a perfect pink wrap and headband to tie in a sweet, feminine touch. Ada definitely preferred to be wrapped up and cozy, so I made sure to have wraps prepared for each set up so that we could keep her happy and comfortable. She was sleeping really well so I was able to capture a few shots of her in a sweet side-lying pose that really showcased her tiny toes! From there, I wrapped her up and captured a few close up images to show off those little details. She has a gorgeous head of hair, full lips and long eye lashes. She looks like a perfect little doll!! So I put on my macro lens to capture a few of those tiny details, including her long lashes. Finally, we settled on a bucket pose using some blues and pinks. Mom had ordered a really sweet, beautifully handcrafted crotchet bonnet that she wanted to use in the session, so we incorporated it into the bucket set up, which really helped to tie in the pinks of the vintage quilt I brought with me. It was a really great mix of rustic, vintage and feminine details! 

Baby Ada was such a sweet baby girl and I am super excited that I was able to capture these images for my friend and her family! She is one loved little girl and I cannot wait to see how she grows and the relationship she develops with her parents and big brother Cam! 

I always look forward to photographing this beautiful family each year because they are always so sweet, lovable and natural in front of the camera! I ask them to goof around and love on each other and I always get the best expressions, especially from the kids! 

We met up in a location we've used before for their family photos - a local park with a gorgeous fall backdrop! Fall came a little late this year, so the trees were just started to change color but the sunset was absolutely stunning that evening. We had the most gorgeous sunset light coming through the trees and across the field of tall grass. We started with a few family photos to help the kids ease into the session and warm up to the camera. Because we scheduled our session during the week, I had to bring my daughter with me for the first half of the session. But she was a good helper, playing peek-a-boo with the kids and helping get those smiles and funny expressions! After everyone was warmed up and ready, I posed the three siblings together to re-create an image we took two years ago of the two older kids sitting together on my wooden bucket. But now that baby sister has arrived, we were sure to include her in this super adorable image! 

I also made sure to also capture some individual images of each child at different points during the session. Kids change so much, so quickly and how they interact with their parents and siblings can also change from year to year. So I always try to photograph them separately and within the family pose so parents can look back at this time in their young child's life. Finally, mom, dad and I snuck off to the side to grab a few images of the two of them alone together. This is another shot that I think can get often overlooked during a family portrait session. I believe it's important to photograph the parents together, not just for themselves, but also for their children. For their children to see them together, in love and snuggling with each other. And how fun for everyone to look back on later in life! I am so in love with the Recker family's photo session this year and I cannot wait to photograph them in the future!!