Jo+Brad+Laurel+Sam+Frank // A Raleigh Family Session

Ya’ll know these guys so they don’t really need any introduction, but we will say that meet a lot of people on this job, but Jo, Brad, Laurel, and Sam are some of our favorites. They’ve kept in touch with us and invite us to their lake house and cook us dinner and let us play with their french bulldog and send us text messages when Carrie Fisher dies. We love them, and they are near and dear to our hearts. We photographed them last year with Frank, their newly adopted French Bulldog who has become, perhaps, the most babied and spoiled of the family and is possibly the favorite child (I know Laurel and Sam won’t be offended by this statement but will likely agree with me, so I feel like it’s fine to put that out there). They LOVE him, and how could you not, given that face!? And lucky for Frank, he was adopted into a family who took their adoption of him seriously, and so they are doing everything they can to get Frank back on a path to health and wellness after some pretty devastating news. Frank was diagnosed with Granulomatous Meningoencephalitis. Essentially, it’s an autoimmune disease brought on by a bad reaction to a vaccination. He’s had seizures and pneumonia, as well as other significant reactions to the disease and the drugs used to treat it. Currently, he is doing quite well on chemo and is a very strong, brave little pup. He is on the upswing and his family is taking great care of him in conjuncture with the NC State Veterinary Hospital Neurology Team.

So this year – we did their family pictures at the arboretum, but Frank was recovering at this current juncture from a recent hospital stay, so he was only able to join us for half of the pictures. He has since made significant strides and we are so happy for him! He is still sporting his veterinary hospital haircut in these pictures but also sporting a cool French t-shirt to represent his heritage. We’re so glad that Frank has this wonderful family in his life, and WE’RE so happy to have this wonderful family in OUR lives. Sam and Laurel remain two of our most favorite children, and they just keep getting funnier and more amazing as they get older. Probably because they have some pretty great parents whom we adore. Happy to photograph this family once again!

Elaine+Henry+Charlotte // Raleigh Family Photographer

My notes going into this session said: “Elaine is good at finding four-leaf clovers, hates zombies. Henry = possible lead singer of Journey cover band? Charlotte likes to sing.” Turns out that Charlotte DOES like to sing and dance, and she prefers both of those things to be done to Hall & Oates and/or the Beastie Boys. I’ve never seen anyone dance so dramatically around a living room to “She’s Gone” besides myself. In a rainbow tutu nonetheless! John Oates would be so proud. We had a lot of activities to do on our roster, so unfortunately we did not get to hear her sing “Sabotage,” but maybe in the future (one can dream!). Charlotte is an outrageously smiley adorable small child who I want to scoop up and pat on the head.

Her parents are equally as adorable by themselves and together, but I cannot scoop either one of them up because they’re taller than me. Elaine did not spot a four-leaf clover during our shoot, but to be fair, we did not have her look for any. She was kept safe from any and all zombies. Henry, it turns out, was not a lead singer of a Journey cover band, but instead pretended he was for many years, just subtly and occasionally and vaguely enough to fool everyone around him. This went on for long enough that by the time people found out, they liked Henry despite the fact that he was never in a Journey cover band, and he got away with it. I’m taking notes on this plan of deception. Together, all three of these humans are really, really great and make a terrific marching band.

At Home with Jacques, Lindsey+Co.

Jacques and Lindsey are back! And you definitely know these guys if you’ve been following us for any period of time. We did a family session with them, their kiddo Elizabeth, and Elizabeth’s extended family back in 2014, and then we did a now well-known headshot/promo session with Jacques back in 2015 for his comic book business Not So Super Comics. And now they’re back! They have a new kiddo named Eleanor, and Elizabeth has become a fantastic big sister. This afternoon was all about having the kids spend time with their extended family of grandparents, aunts, and uncles all in once space and having quality family time together. They had fun playing with bubbles, musical instruments, and walking down to the lake. The kids also had a great time showing us their extraordinary homeschool setup brought to you by their awesome teacher-mom Lindsey! It is incredible, and the kids were learning about circuits. Yep, circuits. I don’t even know anything about circuits and I’m 32. It was also about distracting their dad as he tries to work on his upcoming Kickstarter campaign.

That’s righhht, Not So Super Comics fans! A new Kickstarter is coming very, very soon as Not So Super Comics morphs into Not So Super Publishing. Yesss, publishing! Jacques is writing two picture books for little and big kids and adult kids alike called “Gumgah & The Grumpledonk” and another called “The Booger Queen” that are sure to delight. As a previous Kickstarter supporter of Jacques and owner of all his comics, we can say that his writing is fantastic, fun, and thoughtful, and we are so excited to read what he’s come up with! He vows to be a publisher “of fun and inclusive comics, picture books, and art that all kinds of people can enjoy,” and we are so glad to be a part of his project!

We did a few short promo photos for him prior to the family session in order for him to create a Kickstarter video, and we tried to channel all the Reading Rainbow vibes that we could short of inserting animated butterflies (kinda hoping Jacques does that somehow in the final product but no pressure Jacques, I know you probably are busy with, you know, writing).

So go follow Jacques! He is available in all these places. Follow him so you can hear about his Kickstarter news!

Facebook // Not So Super Comics
Facebook // Not So Super Publishing
Twitter // Not So Super Publishing
Instagram // Not So Super Publishing

And now I’ll let you guys see his adorable family. We are so happy to have had the chance to work with all of you again, and are anxiously awaiting the new books!