Firsts

     As a mom of four rough and tumble kids, it's hard for me to remember the quiet serenity of one baby.  It's not hard to remember the reality of the first baby.  I felt like I had been turned inside out, my whole heart was on the outside and I was trying my hardest to keep it happy, fed, healthy, growing.  And frankly I can't remember my son's first birthday, probably because I was already pregnant (SURPRISE!) with his little brother.  

    So when Jodie contacted me for photos of her son around his first birthday, I was so excited for her!  No matter how crazy life feels and the details start to blur, she'll have a real and tangible memory of its beauty.  

   Even better, she wanted photos both in their home and in their (our) neighborhood.  Sweet photos of baby, of course.  But also memories of his crib, his home, his community.  What a gift.

Long time gone.

Those friends you knew before you grew up.  Those first couple friends when your couple-hood was just beginning.  Those friends who were the first to know when you were expecting your first baby.  Those friends who knew it was crazy to have a baby in college but were crazy right along with you.   Those friends who stood in the blessing circle with you and you stood in their's.  They watched and loved on your first baby while you took your hubby to the ultrasound to find out you were having .... another boy!

Those friends.  Those friends you only see but every two years or so, and only for a few hours.  But you pick right up where you left off and you leave with your heart full to the brim.

This last visit, we stepped right outside their front door and did a quick family pictures session. And then we made our respective eldest offspring babysit the whole clan and we took off for a quick milkshakes-and-fries date night.  And we looked at each other in awe, "Have we really made it this far?!"  We really have and it's really freaking awesome.

Superhero Sweetness.

I think of teachers as superheros.  Seriously, they do so much with so little, and for so little in return.  My kids lives pretty much revolve around those men and women who spend so much time with them.  And when I think about teachers who also have little ones at home, that they are trying to love and support and encourage....well, my head starts to hurt.  It's just too much!

So when I got the chance to photograph these two superhero-teachers, and their sweet girls, I jumped on it!  Their girls' cute grins and sparkly eyes were just wonderful.  But when Daddy held that adorable baby girl and her whole face just lit up, that's when I just fell in love with family sweetness all over again.

Thank you S family, for allowing me to step in and document these moments.  It was an absolute treat!

Part 4: Best Family Photos of 2012 {Gilbert, AZ photography}

Time to wrap it up, kids.  Imagine you're a family photographer here in Gilbert, AZ.  And you get a phone call in the thick of the holiday season.  A family needs their photos done, All seven of them.  4 boys.  2 of them twins.  Will you squeeze them in?

When it's the Olson family, you can be darn sure I'm squeezing them in.  She's pretty much one of the kindest women I know.  They're raising an incredible family, I've worked with their boys in the Boy Scout program and it's just ridiculous how great they are. 

We basically just ran around and played for an hour and my camera happened to capture it.  So much fun and such a excellent way to kick off the Family Photo Season for 2013!!

Take it away Olsons!

Part 3: Best Family Pictures of 2012 {Gilbert AZ photography}

Third times the charm!  You excited for the holidays yet?  My kids love to run to the mailbox, come December.  They take turns opening the mail and love seeing the photos of the families, even ones they don't know or recognize.  There's something about families, taking the time to document their life.  I think it really communicates to our kids:  you're valued, you're special, I want to show you off to the world, how awesome you are!

This family photo session was done right here in Gilbert at one of my favorite natural locations.  The light is gorgeous and the greenery is always lush.  The perfect frame to four beautiful young women, and their awesome parents who adore them.

 

 

 

 

 

Part 2: Best Family Pictures of 2012 {Gilbert, AZ photography}

Continuing on with the highlights of last year, just to make sure I've really whet your appetite for the Fall Family Photo season....

I'm going to be totally honest here.  When this mom told me the colors were going to be green, blue, and peach, I was like...."well, this'll be....fun"  I seriously couldn't envision it.  Then when they showed up!  Styled to the Nines and looking all kinds of awesome!!  I realized I had no clue how fun and fab those colors could look together. 

This mama knocked it out of the park and turned it into one of the best family photo shoots of last season.

Part 1: Best Family Photos of 2012 {Gilbert AZ photographer}

I'm sweating still.  You?  It's October, it's still in the 90s, and it's really hard to think about the holidays and all that they entail.  To get you in the mood (cue music), it's time to take a peek at some of the best family photos of last year. 

 

Some great things about this family photo shoot:  the colors were so fun, a mix of bright and fun with neutral and just the right amount of bling styling.  Just perfect for this urban location. 

 

This family had never had family photos outside of a department store studio and then walked away with some fun memories and some amazing photos to remember this special time.  Too fun!

Natural Location Options {Gilbert AZ Photographer}

As we get cranked up and ready for the fall family photo season, it's time to get organized!  When my clients and I start talking location options, I first ask them to decide between "natural" and "urban". 

Many times this is dictated by the clothing choices they've already made (because who do we dress first?  altogether now:  MOM!).  If we're going with boots and scarves and fall colors, you better believe your photographs will look best in a natural setting.  If we've got motorcycle jackets, funky jewelry, and sunglasses, only urban will really work.  (been there, tried that.  The orchard just doesn't make leather and chrome look good, friends.)

So here's a round up of some of my favorite and best au natural photography locations here in Gilbert and the surrounding areas.

(If you're looking for the Urban choices, check them out here.)

This awesome orchard is totally green in the summer and dead in the winter.  Sometimes the leaves are still on the ground, sometimes not.  No fee but they do ask for a donation.

This beautiful spot with the young lady and the cute family below is the same location.  It's huge so there are lots of different options.  No fee.

This one with the little boy is a lovely little area but it needs the exact right light.  When you get it, it's just yummy.  No fee.

This location is absolutely amazing for family portraits, truly one of the best in the area.  There is a reasonable fee, which you can also pay by buying dinner at the local (super yummy) restaurant.  This family hauled in their own couch. 

This location is stunning, mostly in the Spring though when the yellow flowers are out.  It feels like a lush desert with a gorgeous stream, waterfall, and lake.  No fee.

This is a favorite of mine.  woodsy, and beautiful, near a river.  Both sunset and sunrise light are just stunning there.  Small fee.  So beautiful. 

This place is lovely but tiny.  Be prepared to jockey for a spot with other families.  It looks so out of the way but it's really close and easy to get to.  No fee.

And my very best photography spot for families is..... well, it deserves it's own post, right here. 

 

The best kind of newborn photography {Gilbert AZ}

Does this story sound familiar?  The pregnancy which you thought would take forever, went by in a blink of an eye and all the sudden she's here.  And then all the sudden, she's three weeks old and the photos of her only exist on a cell phone, because hello?!  There's three other kiddos running around and their world has been rocked too!

That's where lifestyle newborn photography comes in.  A super nice photographer comes to your home.  She plays with your kids while Baby finishes her nap and eats her next meal.  Instead of growls from the three year old, you hear "Take my picture too!".  Everyone has fun for an hour and then she leaves, and you wonder "Was that really family pictures?  That was too easy." 

Even better.  Those are photographs that you wish you could take while you're busy living life.  You try to burn them in your brain:  how your son looks with his favorite Superman cape on, how your daughter looks twirling in the sunlight, how your oldest boy scrunches his eyebrows when he's playing Star Wars on the piano.  Those are the scenes that you feel slipping through your fingers as time marches on.

But now they're caught.  Now you have them forever and ever.  You know, teenage blackmail if needed.  But more likely, that wedding video when Superman is all grown up and wearing a much different kind of suit.

 

 

 

 This photo shoot was done as assignment for an awesome class I took through Chic Critique forum with the amazing Lindsay Silsby (Pied Piper Photography) and Summer Murdock Photography. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

D* Family Rocks It Out!

So when a friend/client starts the conversation with, "I saw this thing on Pinterest." it makes every photographer's blood run cold.  Because you have no idea if it's even possible, let alone if you can live up to it.

But this chick is different.  She's so real and so genuine and so fun, that pretty much I was willing to try whatever the heck she wanted.  And it turns out her idea was really stinkin' cute.

She wanted a filmstrip display for her living room, which is gimongous and with really tall ceilings.  And this is what we came up with:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is how it looks in her living room.  Mission accomplished and it was a stinkin' blast!!  Love that girl and her crazy ideas!

Hartley Family Photographs

A not so long time ago, a beautiful maiden met her match in a faraway kingdom called Idaho. While her family long maintained that no one would be good enough for this fair maiden, the dashing knight somehow convinced them that he was worthy of her brains, her smiles, and even her love. Which, of course, brought us to this....

 

 

And you can only go for so long with all of that, and you end up with a little of this....

 

Enter grad school, finals, homework, internship interviews, and oh yeah, a brand new baby. Throw in some adjustment to life as a stay at home mom in the dead of winter, minus a husband who's just grinding away at that degree. Luckily summer time always comes in this kingdom. And with it, a completion of coursework and an easy summer waiting for that final internship to start.

 

A family has begun. They've passed trials already and are stronger and more resilient because of it. Soon, the fair maiden and her knight will look back and think "We were so young! We had no idea what we were doing!" Yet, they will be proud of all they've accomplished together and the incredible family they have created.

 

 

And so it begins; Their Story.

The W Family

I remember the day, many years ago.  We had just moved into our first home, surrounded by boxes and crazy toddler boys.  She knocked on the door and with her was this tall drink of water we had only met a couple times before. 

But she couldn't stop smiling so we knew something was up.  A pretty ring on her finger made it official.  The Hubs' baby sister was getting married. 

I remember I made a fool out of myself (are we surprised?)  Right before the wedding began, I saw Tall Drink of Water in the audience with us and I questioned him sarcastically, why wasn't he getting ready with his Bride?  Turns out TDW is an identical twin and I was grilling the twin.  Awesome.  :)

They have been through a lot together already, earning degrees, finding vocations, working second together.  And having beautiful babies, of course.  Their girls are stunning, which means the next baby will make me swoon.  And I can't wait!

This is the W Family.  And a little bit of their story.  I'm so grateful I was able to capture it. 

Gwynnie

She just moved here, with her little family.  New to Arizona, new house, new neighborhood, new baby any day.  Add a wild and crazy toddler to the mix, just for fun.  She knew about lifestyle photography from her home back in California.  She loved it and called it photojournalism.  We decided to try a lifestyle shoot, just hanging out with the family in the new house and taking a walk in the new neighborhood. 

She said it easy and fun.  No clothing to coordinate, no location to scout.  Of course a few posed pictures because everyone needs a stunner.  But mostly just a whole lot of fun. 

Oh, and she looks like Paltrow.  Yeah, it's a hard life.  :)