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

This was my 3rd time photographing this adorable cutie pie and her mama! I wholeheartedly love these two ladies and cannot express my gratitude enough that they keep trusting me to capture their special bond.

Miss H is everything and more in a little girl, from her fluffy skirts to her “why won’t you listen” behavior! Haha! What parent among us has had a kind who behaves well at this age?! They’re expected to explore and push their boundaries, and I don’t mind a bit. That’s all part of their story right now. And so is their undying love and care for each other. The shared side smiles and cuddles, how she looks at her mama and curls into her neck - it’s all part of who they are right now and it could not be sweeter.

I love Franklin’s Harlinsdale Farm for kids. There is so much space to run free without too much worry of injury! It’s definitely a fav for sunset family sessions, and senior sessions! Kids can be kids here, and parents can relax, which really lets me document the story of each family, and what’s unique to their family unit.

By the end of the shoot, Miss H and her mama were singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” together and it was too cute! Then, she ran away with her dress tucked up into her diaper! haha!

So, without further ado, let’s get to fancy Miss H and her mama!

Shannon is an amazing mama of two kiddos who attend one of the schools I photograph, so that’s how we met! Her husband is a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox (who just won the World Series last year!!) and they only had a little time left until he went back up north to start the next season. So, I’d say our session was rushed a little more than usual, but you can’t tell at all!

Plus, with a lifestyle session, it’s really all about just showing up as you are that day. I don’t ask the kids to be in any kind of special mood or to smile. I don’t even mind if they cling to one parent the whole time. We play and snuggle and have a lot of fun, so it didn’t matter if there were only a few days to prepare!

I met them first at their home and they could not have been kinder or more welcoming. Since we’d be shooting in February, we were scoping out the home as our potential shooting spot because who knows what the crazy TN weather will throw our way, and we couldn’t wait until it got warmer. Ultimately, they wanted outside and it looked like the weather would hold up that weekend, so they had about 3 days to prep and get their wardrobe ready! She actually didn’t even text me, just showed up and everyone looked great! Perfect colors for the light and the season!

The kiddos got cold pretty quickly, so the little boy would get wrapped in his sister’s jacket and I gave the sister the blanket I usually bring on family lifestyle shoots, and she’d wrap up in that as we walked from spot to spot. It made shooting just a little more difficult in that they didn’t want everyone all bundled up in each photo, so we’d bundle up and then throw everything off and then bundle again and walk!

They also had their amazing dog, Nala, YES SHE IS NAMED AFTER THE LION KING, how amazing, and she was just perfect!

What really made this winter session work so well was that they’re such a close family. They’re full of love, and so quick to move toward affection, it made things so easy. They’re playful and silly and it came out in their photos.

Thank you, Shannon and family, for being one of my amazing families!

You guys. YOU GUYS. I was DYING this entire senior shoot. And I came back to life and died again as I was editing it. We almost didn’t shoot this day. It had been raining for what felt like months, but we kept it on the books because I’m all about calling it at the last minute (because we all know the weather apps aren’t the most accurate all the time…just sayin’.).

My amazing hair & makeup gal, Brittany Nelson, and I showed up at Jadyn’s house a few hours before sunset. We were to do some last-minute wardrobe picks (as is natch with seniors involved in like a billion things) and get her hairs did and makeup looking gorgeously natural. We hung out in her mom’s giant bathroom while Brittany curled and styled and glossed.

Finally, wardrobe pressed and hairs in place, we got in our cars and drove out to Harlinsdale Farm - one THE TOP go-to spots for photographers around here. I mean, you seriously cannot shoot without seeing at least a dozen other photographers. It’s a sprawling place, with beautiful grounds, various barns, a pondy-lake (lakey-pond?) and lots of photo ops - plus, it costs NOTHING to shoot there, so, score.

HOWEVER, this day was different. Harlinsdale Farm was three days out from hosting a huge weekend-long music festival, so you could shoot there, but you couldn’t park there. That meant that a lot of photographers thought you weren’t allowed in at all. Plus, as we drove, it started to sprinkle…and the sky was almost black off in the distance. I wasn’t sure if it was heading out way, but I was like WE ARE DOING THIS. Literally ZERO other photographers thought the same thing that day. It was just us.

My senior girl, her mom and I walked across the street as the rain stopped. Then, over the course of the next hour, we had the most magical high school senior photo shoot EVER.

The light was gorgeous. Simply gorgeous. As the sun began to shine through we got a RAINBOW, you guys. a FULL RAINBOW. And then, a DOUBLE RAINBOW! This rainbow is NOT photoshopped! haha! And then it was crazy what the sun did - it turned everything orange. Now, we all know what a beautiful sunset is like, but there was something about the combination of the humidity and the storms that had been around and this…SUNSET…everything was ORANGE. It was almost like an orange fog came and touched everything - like you had put on orange glasses. It was wild and beautiful and the slightest bit eerie because you felt like you were trapped in it, like you wanted to swipe it away with your arms like you would a spider web, but there was nothing that you could grasp.

It made for a gorgeous session with Jadyn. Her green eyes and her choice of outfits - just perfect. She’s not big into photos. Wasn’t really sure if she wanted to have a senior session at all. She even told her mom she was only doing it for her. But as the hour turned magical, she had a lot of fun. And then…she loved her photos.

They ordered a 12x12 hardcover Senior Heirloom Album and I cannot wait to deliver it!

Also, I have like 2 photos in here that don’t have Jadyn in them at all - I just couldn’t believe the SKY that night!!!