Aw, this family was so sweet, you guys. It was a beautiful fall day and mom did an excellent job keeping everyone’s outfits in cream and blue tones! So pretty!

As can happen with kiddos, this little girl just wasn’t having it for a while, but I never ever find that a problem. I’m all about letting kiddos be in whatever mood they want to be in. Often, just allowing them to be a little cranky or clingy for a bit is enough to pull them right out of it. Plus, clingy (aka snuggly) photos can be some of the absolute sweetest!

This particular family photoshoot was at Harlinsdale Farm in Franklin, which is a great choice! And probably why it’s so popular! Lots of space for littles to run and roam freely without worry.

Father

I’m a complete sucker for all things moody, so when this mama was like, “I’m thinking I want to do a rainy day,” I pretty much gave her no other option than to stick to her word! ha!

It actually turned out to be a perfect moody day for a family lifestyle photoshoot in that it rained JUST ENOUGH. No one got soaked, but there was enough drizzle to wet the umbrella and turn hair into a moody dream.

Kristina and I have been friends for a few years now. She is one of the most kind-hearted people I have ever met in my life. She is HONESTLY just as beautiful inside as she is outside. And her art is equally as beautiful.

I had wanted an art piece from her for a while, so I was like, “HI. Do you want to trade?!” I got a gorgeous and giant painting that hangs in our entry way and she got all these gorgeous photos of her beautiful self, family and art!

She’s the third painter I’ve worked with, and it’s just so fun. I get so inspired by other artists and it becomes to use the look and feeling an artist’s paintings to help me in creating a concept and look for their brand photos. Kristina’s home matches her artist vibes so well (clean and cool) that it was easy to shoot in her home and have it mesh with her work photos.

When I work with a brand client with kids, we always have a conversation about how the kids fit into the brand. Some clients don’t want their kids in at all and it’s not necessary to do to connect with their ideal client. Some only want a little and for other clients the family almost IS the brand.

For Kristina, family is hugely important for her and her kids are her life. She loves encouraging them creatively, so it made sense to include them in part of our brand photoshoot. She got out some watercolors for the kids and they enjoyed painting while we captured some creative time with kids!

As with any brand shoot, we make sure to capture a mix of headshots, behind-the-scenes, “working” shots, details, some more thoughtful shots that let the individual talk about deeper thoughts and feelings, family time and fun!

If you want to check out more about Kristina and her beautiful art, she’s over on IG and she keeps her stories updated when she has sales! You can also contact her about commission work. She’s amazing!

You guys! I got to shoot this family’s VERY FIRST family photos!

Oh, and why, yes, that is The Home Edit’s Clea Shearer and her badass celebrity photographer husband John Shearer (um, power couple? Yeah.) And, YES, they are funny and super nice, because I know you were wondering.

John and I met maybe two years ago or so and sat down to talk shop from each of our “sides” of the photography industry - him as a celebrity photographer and me as a family photographer (I wasn’t doing brands yet) - and talked back then of a photoshoot for his family, but he and Clea have the nuttiest schedules so it took literally two years to get this on the books!

It’s funny - after we got him scheduled, there were several times (and at the shoot) when either he’d mention something or I’d ask something and he’d be like, “Yeah, just do your thing,” and I’d be like THIS IS MY THING. Haha! The way I work with EVERYONE - families and brands alike - is to get to know them so that I can choose locations and tailor my shoot to work with each family or brand specifically. And then, once we start shooting, if someone has a suggestion, I’m always like, “Yeah, wanna try that? Sure, that sounds great!” I ALWAYS have a vision and a direction, but am ALWAYS open to what my clients feel like doing or suggest. (Unless, of course, it’s just the worst possible idea because it will result in a horrible photo and then I’m like, “YOU KNOW, maybe we’ll try that if we have time!”)

This shoot was fun, too, because John’s cousin’s family was in town for Thanksgiving and both families and all the kiddos are besties, we did a double family shoot! We’d shoot the Shearer’s in one location, and then the cousins! Then we’d move and do the Shearer’s and then the cousins! haha!

The thing I loved about the cousins was the little boy. He was in no way feelin’ this shoot, as many kiddos are apt to feel about family shoots, but the best is that the parents were just like OH WELL. This is the IDEAL reaction to having a kid lose it every time the camera comes out. Most parents start to bribe and get upset and then end up looking all angry and pouty themselves in the photos, but not these two! The dad, in particular, would just laugh and try to cheer him up! That’s why the kiddo is hanging upside down in the later photos!! Seriously, my fav.

And then Clea was wearing these to-die-for Louboutin shoes and this wild jacket literally from the show Schitt’s Creek, and really, I expected nothing less from a woman who organizes for the likes of Kim Kardashian. Anyway, I had an idea prior to the shoot of some adult piggy back rides (that sounds a little wrong), so I had to do a sly little, “How do you feel about jumping on John’s back at the end of this?” question asking because I wanted it to be a surprise, and, honestly, not every wife would have fun with a piggy back and would look at me resentfully the whole time, so I need to check with the wives for a lot of stuff first. ;)

BUT, everyone was game for the piggy-backing fun and it was hilarious!! Man, it’s hard not to crack up hopping on your husband’s back and having him run you around in circles! haha!

And my secret surprise I had for everyone at the end was a rainbow parachute. Like I said, I like to customize my shoots (even if they want a more traditional holiday card photo like the Shearers did), so I had pre-purchased the ‘chute just for this. The almost bummer was that I hesitated on ordering because at first it looked like the cousins woudn’t be joining us and I thought whipping out a huge parachute for two adults to hold would obviously be a dumbass move, so I didn’t order it until they were back in. It was supposed to be delivered THE DAY OF the shoot and I kept praying it would arrive before I left, but it DIDN’T.

Right when I started my shoot, I got a text from my AMAZING husband saying, “Parachute just got here. Want me to bring it to you?” And I was like I DO. About 15 minutes in to our shoot he pulled up and handed me the ‘chute in a bag (so I could keep it a secret) and we were golden!! The kids loved it and there were lots of smiles and laughs from the parents, too. Score.

Check it out! Clea shared some on her Instagram, but you get a little more of a peek right here!

(Totally swiped this from The Home Edit’s IG because it’s adorable.)

This is my FOURTH year doing birthday photos for this set of cuties! Well, technically, fourth year with the oldest two and second year with the youngest. Last year the baby turned one and we did a smash cake session along with all the usual photos, and it was ADORABLE.

Their mom does the neatest “show their growth” thing that I have ever seen a mom do. We all know that many moms will document baby’s first year month-by-month with a onesie that says the number of months or maybe a nursery blanket, but this mama captures each year in a very special way. She has her daughters “wear” her wedding dress (“wear” in parenthesis because it’s a loose term when you’re putting it on a two year old - haha!), and she has her son wear one of his dad’s white button-down shirts. As they grow, they begin to fill out these items more and more.

It’s a sentimental and magical way to document the inevitable passing of time.

It’s also kind of hilarious to document how their personalities change over the years because THIS year big brother and sister were not nearly as amused by me! They’re getting to that stage of being more self-conscious and they were definitely not as into smiling readily, but more into giving me all kinds of anti-smile faces. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t crack ‘em! Haha!

The littlest one was just the sweetest. I have always had the oldest girl grab the sides of the dress and spin from side-to-side, so this year the two year old was old enough to stand up and try the same and she LOVED IT! She just spun and spun and threw the dress in the air. It was the sweetest. It’s a perfect way to capture a birthday milestone in photos.

After we finish with the dress & shirt looks, we always move on to something a little more fun! We do a different background each year. This year, for their 2nd, 6th and 7th birthday photos, I did a background of all different color streamers. It looked so festive!

This type of shoot isn’t a traditional lifestyle session like I normally do, but I’m all about customizing my shoots to what works for my clients so that’s what we do here every year!

Warm weather is HERE and it’s time to pull out the sprinklers and pop-up pools! Summer is so ripe for photos with it’s long days of sunlight, colorful palettes and large, popsicle-stained smiles!

We want to be able to capture that summer magic in photos. It’s so fleeting and the years move on too quickly, so having memories of our summers is so important. While I love gathering all the kiddos in one big group and asking them all to give me a crazy grin, I’m REALLY a fan of candidly capturing these hot-day & warm-night moments.

Now, I am always available for a summer lifestyle session - which I fully believe more people should do!! No one ever thinks to have a summer day or night professionally captured and it’s just THE BEST!!! But, since I can’t be there for you allllll the days…

…I want YOU to be able to be the best memory keeper that you can be for your family, I thought I’d share some of my top tips when it comes to taking candid photos of your kids!

And what would photo tips be without photos?! haha! DUH.

I’m often not far from my camera, and when we blew up this darling little MiniDip pool from Target for the first time, I KNEW I had to grab it and capture the first dip of “summer!” (Summer in quotes because it’s technically still spring.) And it has shows just about all the tips I talk about!

That brings me to my tips:

1. Capture the FIRSTS. First dip in the pool this summer. First steps into the ocean. First lick of an ice cream cone. First one to cannonball into the pool without even feeling the water beforehand!

   In these images, it was our FIRST time in this adorable pool!

2. Capture the LASTS. The last one out of the pool. The last one left cleaning up. The last one to fall asleep. The last neighborhood gathering before school begins again.

3. Never ask anyone to look at you. That’s the whole point of CANDID! You don’t want to bring anyone out of the moment - it’ll stop the moment and ruin all the candid fun. Try to be a fly on the wall so that you can truly capture your kiddos all caught up having a good time (or maybe pouting in a corner - haha!)

4. Move around. Stand up. Lie down. I talk a lot about changing your point of view when shooting the same scene. Most people simple stand there at the normal height they normally and shoot normally. Normal is no fun! haha! Get high and get low and move all around!

5. Take photos of DETAILS. You don’t always have to see everyone’s face to tell your story! Don’t you love baby butt cheek hanging out of a swimsuit?! It’s the best! Take a photo of it! Wet hair, grass-covered feet, little fingers and little toes, even details of the objects that you’ll probably forget about years from now.

6. Make it so no one can see you. If it’s possible to get completely hidden, but still get some photos, this is the BEST for capturing candids! On this day, once my girls started inviting some neighbor kids over to play, I went inside and shot through our kitchen window. They had no idea! haha!

BONUS TIP: Use a black & white filter on some, especially ones that you took in bright sunlight. They look amazing and it will add a “moment in time” feel to your photo!

So, take a look at my little backyard shoot and see if you can see my tips at play!

Ah, my favorite Miss Gia! I have been shooting her birthday photos for three years now, and her mom and dad always want something unique, which I LOVE! We met originally because our kiddos used to attend the same school in Franklin, TN, but now I love being able to call her mom, Corbi, a good friend AND a stellar realtor. ;)

This year Corbi wanted to incorporate some of Gia’s love of all things kick-ass, namely, her jiu jitsu skillz. Oh, yeah, with a “z.” She is one of the only girls in her class and she totally thrives on beating up guys! haha! If she were my kid, I’d be like YOU WALK IN FRONT - haha!

The photoshoot is really about her as her mom always uses it to create an annual album for her grandma, but Gia still insists her parents promise that they’ll hop in a few with her & make it a little family shoot. Isn’t that adorable?! My kids are so over photos that they just want it all to stop!

We knew we wanted to do a little face paint to make her look even more fierce, but I was a little nervous! Normally, my hair & makeup gal, Brittany, is all over that, so I had to bring out my face paint skills (no “z”) for this one! Thankfully, it wasn’t too difficult. ;) And, it only made sense that we head to the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere to utilize their amazing property and jungle-like jungle gym! Such a fun shoot! I have to imagine Gia will show these at her wedding, RIGHT?!

Love this sweet family! Their daughter and my oldest used to go to preschool together, and each kid learned everyone’s first AND last name, so our daughter would come home talk about each kiddo using both names, so I will forever think of lovely Miss V here as both her first and last name together! haha!

Now, they wanted a family session, but they really wanted a lot of focus on their daughter. They’d done a shoot with me a few years back and hadn’t done anything since then. I have to say, I adore shooting this age. She, like my oldest, is 8 and they have this very interesting developing sense of self where they are not game to simply smile and giggle at you anymore! They want to be serious and they want their serious side seen. And I LOVE Miss V’s serious side! Could she be any more gorgeous!

Since the focus was mainly on V and since the family wanted some more traditional “looking at the camera” shots, this went a little differently than my usual lifestyle sessions. It was a little more posed, but nothing too stiff. And V was kind of in model mode for a while, so I just embraced it!

It’s always sweet to me to photograph mom and daughter and then dad and daughter. Each relationship can be so different, but still so special. I love making sure that moms and dads have those. And having just one child makes it easy!

How is your relationship different with your kids than your spouse’s? Let me know!