I might be a little bit biased but I feel like I get the coolest families to photograph, and Jennifer and Gabe’s crew did not disappoint. First, they have an incredible house in the trees that is occupied by two cats. I only met the one, but he was freaking cute, fat, and orange (three solid criteria for judging a cat). His name is Hess. He came with the house and is very friendly, and apparently quite used to modeling for cameras. The second cat’s name is Koby and he did not come out to meet me, but I’m certain I would’ve liked him. Second, they have two adorable children. Maeve is a few weeks old and enjoys sleeping, looking cute as heck, and acquiring beautiful quilts that were sewn by Jennifer’s mom. Lincoln is three and enjoys never, ever getting out of his pajamas (something I totally respect) and hunting for dinosaur eggs that his dad hides in Lincoln’s sandbox under the cover of night. Jennifer and Gabe themselves are fantastic parents and partners, super patient and kind to their kids and each other. I had a great time getting to know them and pretending that I lived in their fantastic house for a brief hour or two of my life.

This was such a fun family session to do – I love doing extended family shoots with multiple generations because everyone’s excited to be there with each other, especially when they’re traveling from out of state (or in from India!). This shoot involved Gita and Neil, their adorable children Deven and Maya, as well as Neil’s extended family (shout out to Shilpu for finding my website and recommending me!). All of the family members were in town to meet newborn baby Maya, who is so sweet and agreeable! We had a great time hanging out around the house, putting together Legos and playing Chess. I also got to see Kiran cook the Indian version of funnel cake in a pan, which looked delicious! Deven rode his lowrider house-bike thing down the insanely beautiful hallways filled with light in their stunning house and we waited and waited for Maya to fall asleep for pictures, but she was really much more interested in whatever we were doing. :D I talked to Gita and Neil about their move to Chapel Hill from Boston, and admired their home and family. It was so great to meet and work with everyone involved and to get a glimpse into their family life this morning.

I’d like to warmly welcome Annie and Kunal in the CSP 5 Timer’s Club! ::cue fireworks:: This is the 5th time we’ve photographed them, and while I love them SO much, I have to say that I’m deeply disappointed by the fact that they weren’t wearing their space suits. I mean, it’s fine I guess… it’d probably be a lot to expect Kunal to wear a pop-up hamper made into a rocket ship every time I see him given the limited mobility of his arms, but I’m still a little sad. But, I guess I’ll just have to wait until their newest addition Adhira is old enough to fit into her older sister Aashna’s astronaut costume, and then we upgrade Aashna into something like a shooting star maybe? Or a Mars Rover? Open to ideas.

We were lucky enough to shoot once again with Kunal’s parents Rehka and Mashesh, and Annie’s mom Barbara for this shoot, and also to listen to Aashna’s amazing karaoke skills. Her little sister Adhira, while not yet into karaoke, is definitely into smiling like the most adorable baby on the planet, having a similar haircut to me, and also posing like the smallest, cutest newscaster. It’s always great fun to photograph this crew, and we are so grateful that they’re our clients!