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.)