We do a lot of important stuff like photographing weddings and babies and engagements and all that good, happy stuff that usually signifies beginnings rather than endings. This shoot was a little different. Courtney, whom we met a friend’s wedding a couple years ago, contacted us because her parents were selling Courtney and her brother Kyle’s childhood home. They were pretty bummed out about it, but with the kids gone (Courtney) or going away (Kyle), it was time for Patti and Roy to downsize. Courtney wasn’t going without a fight, though, and hired us to photograph her and her family hanging out inside their house one last time before the family moves in January. We felt incredibly honored to do this type of shoot as we knew how important it was for the family, and it was kind of our first shoot that signified an ending. Of course, it’s a beginning too with Kyle going off to college and the parents moving into a new house, but it was the end of one phase of life and the beginning of another, and for some reason it made me feel the significance of our job probably more than I ever have previously. We were really happy to do this for them.

Of course, the fact that the family is super awesome, hilarious, and fun didn’t hurt much either. They made us food (yum!) and welcomed us in with open arms and Vanilla Coke. We ran around their gorgeous house and yard and had a great time. Courtney and Kyle showed us how they climbed on the roof as kids, how they play board games and pool and hang out in the kitchen, how they fish and play baseball, and how they decorate the tree planted in their grandpa’s memory for Christmas. The cats hid from us, but… we tried. :) We loved doing this type of shoot, and we hope that we were able to capture their awesome family doing what they love in a space that they grew up in and called home.

Geoff and I are absolutely thrilled to be doing our “Day in the Life” family lifestyle sessions! It’s very us, and we have a ton of fun. On this particular adventure, our task was to document the whole family (mom, dad, two grandmas, two grandpas, and an aunt and uncle) as they celebrated the third birthday of their very special fairy soccer princess, Elizabeth. We were invited into their home and had the great opportunity to document tea parties, bubble blowing competitions, the unwrapping of birthday gifts, mad coloring book skills, and even a game of soccer in the park. Elizabeth is one of the most well-behaved and precious children we’ve encountered, but we were also told that her demeanor on the day of our visit was a fluke (or possibly caused by us simply being there, in which case we could possibly be summoned at any point in time to come over and induce Elizabeth into an almost zen-like trance with our presence).

Her parentsLindsey and Jacques, are incredibly awesome people who are SO fun and have an amazing sense of humor (Elizabeth’s bedside books included the complete and unabridged Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Carl Sagan’s Cosmos). Her dad even writes amazing comic books! So little Elizabeth couldn’t be growing up in a cooler family (or with a more loving system of family members as well… her grandparents, aunt, and uncle were all delighted with her, even when she covered them in stickers). Elizabeth is very much loved and cherished, and I am so excited for her future self to see the photos of how adored she was by everyone (and how much fun she had as a kid). We’re honored to have had this family has clients!