This may have been my most favorite family session to date. Anne is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach who teaches busy mamas how to reclaim their bodies, exude confidence and prioritize their health. Woah. When I first read that blurb about what Anne does I was definitely interested in reading more! She offers 1-1 health coaching, group programs, seminars, cooking classes and corporate consultation. She doesn’t teach a specific diet, rather focuses on the foods that are right for you, fully living your life and experiencing pleasure in all areas of health. Anne just launched a program called “Real Healthy Mom.” It’s a six week program, with three in-person meetings, three overarching topics (Food, Movement and Self Care), and a sisterhood of fabulous women supporting each other throughout. I signed up. What mom doesn’t want to exude confidence and prioritize their health?!
So Anne called me last month to do some headshots for her and to do a lifestyle photo session of her family which she wanted to use on her website and in her marketing materials. I was immediately excited. A TRUE lifestyle session! No holds barred. OK. So if you ask Anne, I’m sure she would admit to cleaning prior to my arrival, but the essence of what she wanted to capture was what her everyday family looks like, and that includes a little chaos and a little mess! I often tell clients that it’s always nice to have a beautiful image of everyone looking at the camera and smiling with beautiful expressions on their faces, however, if I were a betting woman, I would bet that my client’s favorite images are those more spontaneous ones where I’ve documented who they are as people, as a family and how they interact with one another. Those images are priceless because they are the ones that really peek into our lives and elicit memories years down the road.
Lifestyle photography isn’t for everyone, and I get that. If someone were to be coming into my home tomorrow to photograph my family I’m pretty sure I would be up all night scrubbing and cleaing in preparation. Sure I have hopes and dreams of one day having that perfect “Martha Stewart” home where everything is clean, organized and put away in it’s place but the reality is that my daughters dirty socks can be found under the couch, there are dirty dishes in the sink, a perpetual kids craft table which is virtually never completely tidied, dog foorprints by the side door, mail on the counter and at least a dozen or more toys strewn across the floor on any given day. …and that’s just my kitchen/family room. I didn’t even speak of the unmentionables which can be found upstairs! I digress. Back to the Mackays.
We had a lot of fun together reading books, playing games, snacking, cutting up vegetables and washing strawberried, changing clothes and diapers, carrying laundry and doing yoga… So. Much. Activity! We do SO many “mundane” things everyday with our children and we rarely stop to think about those relationships or memories that we are creating with them. Even those simple little things like helping mom wash strawberries in the sink and snacking on a few with her. Those can be powerful memories and sometimes so much more meaningful because they are everyday/routine. I remember helping my grandma wash and dry dishes and peel potatoes in her kitchen. Vividly. I don’t remember any specific conversation that I had with her while doing that, but I can still see her there in her apron, sitting on a stool to my left with the little light on above the sink. While I peeled the potatoes she would cut them and while she washed the dishes with soap, I would wash the soap off and dry them. We had a perfect system together. The Mackay family is most certainly going to have memories like this with their children and grandchildren and I am thrilled that I was able to capture some of it forever documenting it for them with these beautiful images. Take a look at their sneak peek and this gorgeous lifestyle session! If you think lifestyle photography might be something that you are interested in, please contact me!
Yep. There they are. You know I had to photograph them! Adorable. Perfect. Little kid feet! Love them!!
Wes escaped and wanted to climb on the family dog during his changing. Of course he did! #storyofamomslife
Anne told me that she sweats when she has to change 10-month-old Wes’s diapers or get him dressed since he’s at that age of movement and beginning of independence. I’d be lying if these routine activities at this age didn’t stress me out from time to time. I’m still wrestling a 15-month-old! I feel your pain Anne. Millions of women do!
You know you’ve been there. Baby wants/needs to be held but you have chores to do around the house and therefore you turn on your “supermom” multitasking switch picking up baby and carrying him while balancing and juggling things like the laundry basket. I know I’ve done it a time or two! Though, admittedly, I might have just put the baby IN the laundry basket. 🙂
I love these sweet images of Mom teaching her son how to break an asparagus stalk.
Washing and eating strawberries was also very fun. This photographer also thought that they tasted yummy!
Doing yoga with two boys can be both very fun and very tricky. I’m not sure it was the relaxing workout mom wanted to have.
