As a professional photographer, I hear all the time “You must have the best pictures of your kids!”  Well, I do….mostly.

My four littles don’t mind me taking pictures every day, of them at sporting events, or during school events, getting ready for school, doing homework, eating dinner, cooking, creating art, playing with friends, feeling happy, feeling sad, in dress up, riding bikes, digging for worms, pretty much everything…but the family portrait!

I have to admit, the everyday photos are my favorite and the ones I cherish most.  There are a lot of perfectly imperfect moments in our lives.  I try to snap these most and find that they are the ones that fill my heart with joy and gratefulness.  I go to every commissioned session with the goals in mind of achieving the most organic images of a child I can…you know, ones that show personality, a little fire, a little sweetness, a little twinkle, maybe some love in a relationship or even some teasing between siblings. You can see some of those images here, on my ONEaDAY.

I think every parent wants just ONE, even occasionally, of their kids together, and looking at the camera…just occasionally like on Easter or Christmas or the Fourth of July.  Well, I have tried and tried again, and been there with the bribing, threatening, crazy parent behaviors that we all resort to in the last moments of desperation….Just to get at least ONE.

You have all seen my photos and know I am capable of making magic happen through the lens. I can create dynamic and meaningful images at my client sessions.  After years of training and practice in photography, teaching elementary school and parenting my own four, I have the technical skill and the patience to make beautiful family images for others, now how do I just do mine! You can see it here, or here, or here or here again.

So why do I NOW hire a professional?  I hire a professional for the family portraits for several reasons and the biggest are

-I do not think any family portraits need to be stressful, including mine. They can be fun and playful!

-If I am behind the camera, I am not in the picture.

-I want to think of each session as a time to experience the act of togetherness, the love and the laughter that makes us great.

-Not only does a professional have technical skill, they are also a guest to your family…your kids will show their best color, and then they SNAP!

These 25 images are my reasons for now hiring a professional to photograph our family