I always love photographing self-professed “nerds” because I am also a nerd and usually we can talk about nerdy things together. Kelsie loves musicals, Neal loves board games, they both love ridiculous movies, and so naturally several recommendations were passed between all of us for a bunch of nerdy stuff (everyone – go watch Solarbabies if you want to see something truly amazing and ridiculous). Just felt like being home photographing these folks. Their house is adorable and they have two beautiful and majestic doggos, Tonks and Granger, who became my best friends. Their son, who is a JOY, was quite the smiley and happy photography subject, especially when it came to eating sliced cucumbers, which are his favorite. Loved working with all of these guys and having a photography party in their amazingly wallpapered bathroom.

This session was so fun for me! Olivia and Aurora were celebrating two major milestones in their lives – Olivia graduating law school and Aurora graduating 5th grade – and I was there to commemorate this time in their family with Yahtzee, oil painting, roller skating around the living room, and hanging out with their dog Dinky. We also talked about Stephen King a lot (one of my favorite pastimes), as well as this family’s time spent living in Pittsburgh, which is my hometown. I realized later that I forgot to talk to them about Fern Gully, which they had mentioned on their contact form and is, by far, my favorite childhood movie and still my favorite animated movie – next time! I have a lot in common with these folks and it was a ton of fun hanging out with them. Olivia and Greg have been together since they were 16, so 21 years in October, which is exactly how long Geoff and I have been together (I was also 16 when we met)! They are great parents to Aurora, who is an artistic, creative, lively spirit who loves painting with her mom, talking about Stephen King with her dad, and doing flips on her aerial hammock in the living room when she’s not roller skating around it. And they’re also great parents to Dinky, a beloved 14 year-old angel of a lab mix who could not be sweeter or gentler. It was a ton of fun spending the morning with these guys out in their own little slice of Fern Gully in the woods.