Our very own family photo session | 2020

Our very own family session taken on a cool, overcast, September morning on the farm.

Typically I prefer to take photographs in the late afternoon or early evening, close to the golden hour before sunset. Life doesn’t always work that way. The weather may be better in the morning, it might be an overcast day making it get darker earlier, etc. For my personal photo session I work it in whenever I can and that often means on the fly. On Labor Day we woke up to an overcast morning. Before heading to spend time with family, I decided we needed to get dressed, grab the tripod and remote, and take our family photos. I’m always afraid I’ll get too busy and forget to take our own family session and that CANNOT HAPPEN. I cherish our family photos every year and I absolutely love how this cool Sept morning session turned out!

Each year since Emmajean was born we have taken the time to take our family photo and I’m so grateful.

We have a wall of photos in our home that displays my favorite image from each one of these sessions and I find joy looking at them daily. We also order a nice family album each year. It’s so important to me to document this time and to have the images printed so we can enjoy them and they’re not just lost in the crazy digital realm. We love telling stories as we look through our images.

Emmajean loves asking us about stories when we were kids and I can already imagine her reliving her precious little years through these images. I hope she enjoys looking back at these with her grand kids one day when she tells them about her life growing up on the farm. She probably won’t remember the scramble to get ready… but she’ll look back at these eyes, the hugs and kisses, and she’ll always remember the love.

My kind, patient, husband is my greatest supporter, my teammate, an excellent photographer, and my best friend.

I’m grateful he “gets it” and was able to keep calm and smile through the chaos. (PS That’s exactly what I tell all of my parents at a family session, just remember to smile through the chaos, we’re gonna get a ton of great photos!) Here are a few behind the scenes photos to prove our struggle and that you’re not alone….

Let’s just say if your child runs out of the house in fancy shoes but missing that adorable outfit you had picked out…. don’t worry you just wrap her up in the prop blanket and haul her back inside. I won’t judge, promise.

#nojudgement #momlife #realworld #itsnoteasy #photographerskid

Even if it takes an hour to get your little one to dress up, even if the weather isn’t perfect, even if we have to take a minute to let the little one calm down … keep smiling. It’s life and it’s worth it every single time.

The best advice I can give when having your family session with little ones is to remain calm, keep smiling, and let the kids play. We even distracted Emmajean from my camera and took a break to capture our own silly photos. I take a ton of photos at your session and you’re sure to get several that are wall worthy displays of you and your child’s personality… be it smiley or spunky, you’re going to cherish these memories.

Getting in front of the camera is also super important to me as a photographer, because it helps me remember what it feels like to be photographed. It’s my goal to help you relax, have fun, and feel comfortable in front of my camera.

So no matter what, give yourself and your kiddos grace, take photos of this precious time and just smile through the wiggles and imperfections. Know that you’re gonna look back at these crazy days and your heart is going to be flooded with memories and overflowing with love… and that my friends is why I’m so passionate for photography.

XO
Jillian

I’d love to help document your story!
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