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.

Anne+Brian+Wyatt.

Anne and Brian are near and dear to our hearts. I’ve photographed Anne as a bridesmaid and a fiancee, as well as her bridal portraits AND her wedding, so I believe this is my 5th time photographing her if my very basic math skills are correct. ;) And this time she is a mother! She and Brian are the proud parents of the most adorable kid to hate hats this side of the sun. His name is Wyatt, and he is full of energy, inquisitive looks, and I believe I mentioned hatred of hats but it’s worth repeating. This kid hates hats. And much in the spirit of his feline brother Pippin (and cats everywhere), he didn’t want to do something simply for the fact that he got the sense that we wanted him to do it. This was evident by the small smirk on his face each time he plucked the hat off his head and threw it on the ground. Somewhere in the background I believe we heard the soft refrain of “I ain’t gonna be part of this system.”

In between sessions of throwing his hat on the ground, he walked around the arboretum and the sunflower field with his two loving parents and was freaking adorable. Look at that hair! Those overalls! He’s a peach. So, obviously, are Anne and Brian who are such sweet and loving parents! Can’t say I’m surprised as they’ve always been sweet and loving to everyone, but they have such a bond with this little guy. A bond strong enough to repeatedly try to put a hat on his head despite his thwarting them at every turn. And if that isn’t unconditional parental love, I don’t know what is. So happy and thrilled to be a part of this family’s continued photo history!

“I ain’t gonna be part of this system.”

At Home with Rachel+Kevin // Lifestyle Family Shoot

It is so much fun to have repeat clients, and even more fun when you get to see newborn brunette baby clients turn into blonde big sister clients who have a whole lot to say. We revisited the ever-wonderful Rachel and Kevin (whom you may know from their first newborn shoot with us a couple years ago) and joined them in welcoming new baby boy Jonah into their lives. This also involved reuniting with previous Baby Evelyn who is now Big Sister Evelyn. Previously, she had done a whole lot of sleeping and eating. Now, her days primarily consist of running frantically from room to room, hiding from you in a cardboard box castle, eating string cheese, and jumping on the bed because the photographer asked her to, thus creating a terrible downward spiral insistence to always be jumping on the bed that I suspect Rachel and Kevin might still be dealing with to this day (sorry guys).

Jonah is currently in the Whole Lot of Sleeping and Eating Phase so he’s slightly less energetic than Big Sister at this point, but I’m sure that he’ll progress to the String Cheese Phase in no time (and hopefully Evelyn will have forgotten about my bed jumping request by the time he gets there). A big thank you and congratulations to the wonderful Rachel and Kevin – you guys are awesome and your family is really cute.