This year, twins Will and Avery and their parents met me at Land’s Sake Farm for our session at Lauren’s (mom) suggestion and it was a great choice!
Located in Weston, the farm (you should click on the link above and check them out!) welcomes photo shoots (we left a donation). Their grounds are lovely and rustic, and it was fun to wander and shoot along the way.
I think we can all agree that things are pretty rough right now. Political unrest, a pandemic making a mess of everything. At the time of this session in August, that was no different, and it was gross and hot too!
I felt some levity when I heard from Kristin who said her family was due for a session. I have photographing them since, well before they were a family! My first session with Benjamin and Kristin were for their engagement. Now they have two beautiful sons and I have had the honor to photograph them as they grow too.
Seeing them and capturing them together brought some light to my week!
Joseph was visiting Boston with his husband Gerard when he contacted me through my Instagram page. The two were looking to have a family session along with their dog Donatella Versace. Donatella Versace?! Sign me up!
I was honored that they wanted to work with me, someone they found out of the blue via IG, and I thought it was a great thing - a photo shoot - to add to a vacation getaway.
They graciously made the trek up to Salem so we could avoid the Boston city crowds and have a session at Salem Willows.
In the midst of this sometimes isolating pandemic, a session with this lovely pair and their sweet pup was a welcome pick-me-up!
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It has been a minute since I’ve had a family session, and the first one back - outside and distanced - could not have been more fun!
Read MoreI have always loved photographing people in their bedrooms. It’s not because I’m a weird snoop or constantly on the lookout for interior design inspiration. Bedrooms are a reflection of their owners, and can be their cozy sanctuary away from the rest of the world.
Often when I come into a client’s home, with the parents’ permission I’ll ask one of the kids to show me their room. Showing me around can help them feel important (which they are!), and showing me their favorite toys often helps a shy kid open up, so they feel less weird about their family session once we get going.
Shooting in bedrooms can give my clients a sense of ease and comfort, as well as a little time capsule to look back on in the years to come and remember how itty bitty their kids were, and what the space looked like when they were a young family together. As for the kids, I would love to have a photo of myself in my room as a kid - my soccer ball on the floor, The Bangles poster on the wall and my My Little Pony collection on display in all their rainbow glory. They are fun pictures to have in the future.
Here are some of my favorites through the years;
I recently held my annual Fall Mini Session Event. It was quite a day! When I arrived at Salem Willows Park I found that most of the trees in the large park had been damaged by the massive storm earlier in the week and the trees that still stood had not yet changed to striking New England fall colors as I had ordered. The nerve of Mother Nature! In addition to the End of The World appearance of the park there was some kind of video crew shooting in various spots, and a wedding being performed.
My clients, being the awesome folks they are, took it all in stride. We took advantage of the park’s beach and the lovely afternoon light resulted in some great shots. That and puppies. Pictures are always better with puppies.
When Lizzi got in touch with me to ask if she and her friends could hire me to do a fRamily (family made-up of friends) session, I was ALL IN! Five families, the parents all buddies from college, were bracing themselves to say goodbye to one of their families before they moved away.
The group hired me to do some big group shots, then we used the remaining time to get individual family shots, candids of the kids, some siblings pics, and any other group shots requested.
While I felt for them losing part of their group, it was such a great idea and I was so happy to be there to shoot some photos for this tight group of friends!
I’ve been photographing William and Avery every year since they were wee little ones. Brand new humans. I enjoy it every time. Sometimes the biggest challenge is finding a location that helps me and my clients get the best photos. I wants a place with lovely vistas and great backdrops, but not an environment that takes away from the people I’m photographing.
Many people like to go to the scenic mill in Sudbury, but I prefer this little spot down the street from it. On the two occasions I have been, there have been no one else there. Just like I like it!
William and Avery are now four (and a half, Avery will point out), and on this day they not only met me later in the day when the light was nice but the little people were more tired, but they’d also gone to a birthday party earlier in the day.
They are what I call troopers.
I’m really happy with the results. The light, the colors, the nice little moments. It was a good day.
Heather comes up with great photo shoot ideas for her family sessions. You can find a few shots from last year’s Family Photo session in the wrap up gallery, where her daughters Alana and Nadia are riding bikes in their pretty dresses and showing off their soccer ball skills - also in their dresses (which makes them young women after my own heart!).
A few weeks ago I got an email from Heather saying she had this idea about having the family session in the snow; shots of them sledding and having a snowball fight, etc. We would need to wing it a bit, we both agreed, since the session depended on weather. I was in!
Weather and scheduling worked in our favor and on Saturday I went to their place and had a ball watching them have a ball…while making snowballs.
The highlight for me was when we were setting up a shot of everyone throwing the snowball in my direction and Alana claimed “I have terrible aim!” then promptly nailed me right in the face. It was pretty much perfect!
Tis the season for holiday photos! This weekend was no different. Both sessions took place in beautiful Boston. The first was Rachael along with her kids, and their cousins which made for a fun and super fashionable cute-fest. Next was Pam’s family who came dressed in their best. Even their pup Murphy was sporting a matching bandana!
The results were fun, charming, and a lovely nod to our beloved city!
Tammy found me through my friend Amanda and I’m so glad she did! It’s been a long time since I stopped photographing weddings, so a fun, reception/party situation was a sweet addition to my season.
From the minute Tammy’s mom Debbie walked through the door and was greeting with cheers at her surprise party, it was clear that she is very loved. You could see it in her beaming smile as she regarded all her friends in the room, welcoming them and yelling with joy to one “I thought you were in Florida!”. The admiration of her could be seen in the faces of her friends and family beaming back at her, hugging her, and dancing with her when the doo-wop group showed up and performed.
May we all have a fun party like this at some point in our lifetime!
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To be fair I haven’t forgotten Violet, it’s just that she’s probably old enough to vote by now (make good voting choices, Violet!)
I had a delightful time last year photographing Raymond , who is the first-born to high school classmate of mine, Alison, so I was very happy to hear from Allison again! This time, it’s a girl! Violet was a sweet little love to be sure, and photographing their growing family was something I really appreciate being given the opportunity to do.
On the wall in Alison and Ed’s home was the family photo I’d taken last year - I love seeing that! It’s not just because I took it (though that is a source of pride), but I always hope that my clients will get a chance to actually print their photos after going through all the scheduling and outfit choosing and primping for a session.
It makes me feel good to know that they are actually enjoying the fruits of our collective efforts!
I’m always thrilled to add a new family to my roster and Cindy, her daughter Mia, age 3, and husband Richard were no exception. Including a charming wooden puzzle into their shoot was a nice touch and I was glad they had it, along with some interesting light and bright spaces in their home. And who can resist some jumping on the bed!
The quote from the title of this entry is not coming from me, but rather Ellie, 7-and-a-half, who said during her family’s session “After five years of doing this, I really know what I'm doing!”
I have been photographing Ellie and her family for, you guessed it, five years now. I was recently reflecting on the fact that it has now been ten years since I moved back to Boston from West Palm Beach, Florida! I never would have imagined ten years ago that I would have a steady collection of wonderful people who trust me with capturing their annual family photos.
Here is a collection from my fall shoots this year. It’s been a super-busy season and the season isn’t quite over yet, but I wanted to share just the same.
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I've been photographing this family for over twenty years, ever since I was a budding photographer, young teenager, and a babysitter for CJ (far left int he first photo) and Tori (far right in the first photo).
Since then, I've had the pleasure of shooting Amy and CJ's engagement photos Amy and CJ's wedding, Finley as a newborn, Vivian as a newborn, and lots of times in between and since!
Here is the family's annual shoot, including Meimei, Papa, and Tori this time!
