My husband is a bit of a Brad Paisley fan.  Brad Paisley is a country singer, for those of you who haven’t heard of him.  In fact, my husband’s favorite song of his is “She’s Everything.”  Wes thinks it “fits” me perfectly…especially the part about wanting chocolate and being moody. :) I don’t really listen to much country music but I’ve recently become a fan of his because I really like his lyrics.  His lyrics tell stories and illustrate what it is that makes life rich and full–like the little moments, the imperfections, the blessing of family and traditions.  In fact, his song “Two People Fell In Love” was part of the inspiration for this particular post on families.  The chorus goes like this:

There ain’t nothin’ not affected
When two hearts get connected
All that is, will be, or ever was
Every single choice we make
Every breath we get to take
Is all because two people fell in love

It’s a great song, so follow the link over and check it out when you get the chance.  Family is at the center and heart of everything we do and accomplish in life…at least it should be.  Families bring such tremendous joy and fulfillment in our lives, and at the same time can yield some of the greatest heartache and disappointment we will ever experience in this life.  It is for that reason alone that we should put our greatest amount of energy into building, strengthening, and preserving the family relationships we are all a part of.  For those of you who aren’t parents yet, I firmly believe that we have the greatest impact on our siblings than anyone outside of the family.  I think I took that for granted when I was young.  It wasn’t until my later years of high school and going into college that I realized the tremendous influence I had on the growth and development of my siblings.  I only wish I had learned that earlier on because it would have affected my choices and the way I treated them.  Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t a horrible sister, I just realize I could have been better and that the impact of my choices and actions was greatly underestimated.

I enjoy getting to know all of the families I have the opportunity to photograph.  No two sessions are alike!  Being primarily an outdoor photographer, the lighting and location vary a great deal and with each family comes a unique set of dynamics.  It never gets boring as each session inspires new ideas and opportunities.  Here are just a few of the family sessions from 2009 that I wanted to go back and highlight.  As you will see, each one is uniquely different.  I feel my job as a photographer is to capture the essence of you and your family and while I may use similar tactics to help bring that out in the families…or while I may use the same camera and lenses and some of the same locations…every family will produce their own unique results.  That is what I love about it.  In fact, the images with emotion are my absolute favorite.  Some mom’s may look at the image and think they look funny because of how they are laughing, but I love it because it shows the realness of the moment and the real joy they are feeling.  I love how this 1st session turned out…so many beautiful moments captured.

This little girl not only looks like an angel but acted like one too.  She was so sweet and such a joy to photograph.  I couldn’t believe how good she was at such a young age.  The colors in the park were beautiful that day too.

This next family session was a blast too.  I love these young families that only have their first child because all the attention focuses around them.  I love the rustic setting too.  I think I hit a record high on the number of pictures taken at this session.  She was being so good so we just kept snapping away.  It was tough sorting through them all.

Now I have to admit that I got way more great pictures from this next session than I expected.  I was a pleasantly surprised!  These 2 kids were darling as can be, but the boy was also as busy as can be.  And the girl kept falling in the tall grass…which was understandably upsetting.  Kudos to the parents, though, because they handled all the tantroms and drama perfectly.  I was pleased and impressed with how relaxed they were…they could roll with just about anything.  I wish all parents could act that way during a photo session.  I have yet to see a session with young kids that doesn’t result in some kind of a tantrom or drama.  It only makes things worse when the parents get upset.  You just have to roll with it and remain calm…they snap out of it. The other challenge for the day is that is was dreary and misty out…so we didn’t have the greatest of weather to work with.  I loved meeting this family though and had so much fun shooting this session.  I hope to work with them again.