Real Life Family Photography, telling your story in the magic and the mess

The Rogers Family: Seattle Family Photographer

09.20.19

I loved this family session. Not just because the Roger’s family was delightful (which they totally were), or because the photographs that we created together were amazing (even though they really are). It’s because this session finally pinpointed for me what kind/style of photographer I am. Because for so long I have felt undefined. I didn’t feel like a portrait photographer, a lifestyle photographer, or a documentary photographer, even though I loved all three for different reasons. The sessions I offer when I am at my best and using the eye and perspective that I have been gifted are a mish mash of everything. Not long ago the mish mash would have terrified me. But this is exactly what I want in my family photos, and I know there are other families who want the same thing. They want the portrait, they want what is absolute truth and reality, and they want somethings to have a little order and control. I’m not sure if this makes any sense to you, but if it does, it probably means we were made for each other and I should come right over to your house with my camera. I’ll take off my shoes, I promise.

This session was pure magic. First, it was at their home. If you want to feel nostalgia when you look at your family photos down the road, do them at home. I mean it, your home is the most nostalgic place for you and your kids. We took some time for portraits, we hung out in one spot, but not for too long, because (ya know) toddlers. They played, ate pizza (the dog too). We did a couple more portraits on the porch. We went for a walk down their back alley and around the block, because that is their nightly tradition. And during all of that time, and in the in between times, there was magic happening. I got to capture it. So maybe I’m not a lifestyle, portrait, or documentary photographer, but I AM a “catcher of magic photographer”.

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Ocean Shores Day Trip: Tacoma Documentary Photographer

07.10.19

I always attribute different points in my life where I feel like photography was calling out to me, but I wasn’t really listening. A trip to the ocean with college roommates was one of them. I had my little digital camera, when digitals were just on the rise. And I remember playing with light, texture and composition, but not really know why something looked good or how I got it to look good. But I so clearly remember snapping shots of my roommates walking on the beach, the seagulls we chased down, and waves in the sand and the life in the water. I was very drawn to it, and yet at the same time I wasn’t paying attention and never thought much of it.
So when I return to the beach with my family I see all those same images I saw 12 or so years ago and I realize my heart does the same thing it did then. It’s the most simple place you could go, sand, water and sky, and yet the water dances with the shore, the wind ripples in the sand, the sky changes from one moment to the next and when my children go the ocean they come alive, and me and my camera get to help the story of the our time at the ocean.

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The Demas Family Backyard Photos: Tacoma Family Photographer

07.09.19

I’ve been holding off on blogging this session, thinking that if I waited long enough I wouldn’t want to share all of the photos from my time with Demas Family

in their backyard, but I still am having a difficult time limiting the amount of photos I share. When shooting in a family’s home or backyard, there is so much life and diversity compared to a portrait shoot in a park. They do their own thing, they live, and settle into themselves, rather than always staring back at the camera, which we all know is not very comfortable for a big number of us, including myself. But when you are in your own backyard, you can let down a bit. No audience, no worry about meltdowns or bribing kids, just being where your family loves to be together.

Thank you Demas Family for trusting me with a shoot I’ve been envisioning for a long time, and hoping to bring into more of my sessions!

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Baby Nora: Tacoma Newborn Photographer

06.25.19

When your best friend has a baby, it’s hard not to have a bias for certain newborns you get to photograph. But this is one of my favorite sessions. We got to hang out all day and take pictures when the time felt right. They trusted me to do my thing. They also trusted me, to not only take photos, but also create the sweetest keepsake film for them. The dog in this session isn’t just the family dog, this is Megan’s first baby girl, Marge. She has such adoration for Megan and Rob (but mostly Megan), I thought it was really important to include Marge in the session, especially since she was at Megan’s side the whole day. They also have two cats, who are loved as well, but the little curmudgeons hid the whole time.

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5 Reasons Why Family Photos are Best in Your Backyard: Tacoma Family Photographer

05.30.19

I have been shooting family photography for the past 5 years. Initially I didn’t want to do family photos because it felt frustrating to chase kids around who had no interest in cooperating with the given situation. But I soon fell in love with it. I loved capturing the kids as they were, their true personalities. I had to think on my feet and get creative. But I ran into tension, because parents wanted the happy, smiling child looking directly at the camera. Which I TOTALLY GET! I wanted the same thing (and still do sometimes). It took major bribery to get my kids to smile at a camera. But what I have learned in the last five years is, you can get those smiling photos of your kids, but first they need the room to play, to be silly, and to connect with you (and me as well). And in the midst of all of that it won’t feel like pulling teeth to get them to smile at a camera for a few seconds.

I have also found that location plays a big role for kids. And one of the best places to get photos taken is in your own backyard. I will talk more about my WHY down below. So, this summer I am offering mini and full family sessions in YOUR backyard. $100 for a 30 minute session and $200 for an hour. And if you book a June session the first handful of your digital files are HALF PRICE, along with a reduced package price.

You may still be questioning whether or not family photos are best in your backyard, but here are my 5 BIG REASONS why I am encouraging you to take family photos in your backyard.

1.) Your home (and backyard) is where you and your kids are most comfortable. Yes, I know that may not always be a good thing. But I promise it is. So many parents want their kids to smile naturally but that’s hard to do with a stranger is putting a camera in front of their face. It’s even hard uncomfortable for the parents. But when it’s your territory, your kids territory, they are more relaxed, they are more at ease in their own backyard. I’ve seen it with many kids. And that is where I can capture the most natural, most authentic part of your child.

2.) The backyard is where so many of your children’s memories are made. I get it I am in love with dreamy photos in a golden backlit field. But when your kids look at your family photos in a backyard they remember all the in betweens that happened there, all the summers they spent there. These photos will hold more significance to them as an adult. It will take them right back to the days of their childhood, because they walked across that lawn with their bare feet so many times. And I promise I can find you some dreamy golden light in your own backyard.

3.) Your backyard is a unique backdrop. I remember taking family photos as a kid at our church every few years. Families signed up and got in the assembly line to take family pictures in front of the same gray backdrop. There is so much life and individuality to the backdrop of your backyard. It helps tell your family’s story so much more than the same backdrops being used over and over again.

4.) Your kids are calmer because they won’t be begging to play on the playground or explore the beach. This one speaks for itself. It’s torturous to a kid to go to the park and see that playground they want to climb on. This takes away all of those arguments.

5.) Your backyard doesn’t have an audience. So this one works for the kids, but I think even more so for the mom’s and dad’s. If you are in your backyard there aren’t any strangers walking by staring at you, making your feel uncomfortable. You are in your own space, and the only person who might give you a glance is your nosy neighbor, and that’s only if you live next to a Gladys Kravitz. And you are just bringing something interesting to her day. 😉

I’m sure I could go on and on about this, I can’t say enough about how much more enjoyable family photos have been for myself, parents and their kids have been when done in their backyard. If this idea excites you, book your session here. I can’t want to chat more!