GUYS remember Annie+Kunal’s engagement session from way back in 2014? We went to Bean Trader’s and then to downtown Durham where Annie and Kunal would frequent. Then they got married and left us for Albuquerque where, apparently, Kunal grew his hair down to his lower back and we are SO UPSET THAT WE DIDN’T GET A CHANCE TO SEE THIS. In addition to growing his hair and Annie doing doctory things, Annie and Kunal also had their first child, sweet Aashna, who is a bundle of energy and almost-two-year-old joy. She enjoys sunglasses and foiling all of her parents’ plans by already being able to spell some food items that they try to discuss in secret. Recently Annie, Kunal, and Aashna all moved back to the Triangle area (YAY!) and are now expecting their second baby due this winter! So for this our-family-right-now/kinda-maternity session, we visited their old haunts from their engagement session, now complete with an Aashna. Also complete with the BEST HALLOWEEN COSTUMES EVER (that Annie handmade!!!) and I swear if Kunal doesn’t answer the door to their newborn session dressed as a rocket I will be so, so deeply disappointed. Love working with this family as always, and so excited to meet their new little one soon!
Meet Sasha and Robert! Yes, like Sasha and Bob, even though Robert hasn’t gotten to the point where he’s met Bob yet in the Walking Dead (we told him he needs to catch up and keep going). They have a really cute three-year-old named Cooper who is very enthusiastic, and a very calm and level-headed 5-month-old named Everly. Sasha warned us that Cooper is kind of a ham and would work right away on winning us over, which he did. We were unpacking our gear from the car when he started frantically waving at us from the window of the house.
Once inside, we were immediately bombarded with dogs (Cobie – Terrier, cute. Ollie – Chow mix, cute.) and I went right to work petting them because I can’t resist anything fluffy. Cooper immediately broke us up so that he could show us his room and ask us to read books to him. Sasha warned me that he might try to lock us in his room and keep us there forever, so we were able to outsmart him and stood just outside the doorway… just in case. Later we all woke up Everly and immediately started taking her picture, and while this might be a recipe for disaster for anyone over the age of 12 with any degree of body awareness, it works just fine on babies.
We made cookies! We scootered! We played games! Bug the Cat made an appearance and let me pet him too! It was a successful day all around with no tears except from Everly who insists on standing in an upright position at all times. Look at our success!
It’s always such a great experience being invited into clients’ homes to photograph their family being themselves. I love seeing all the different houses and decorating styles, for one, but I also love seeing the different interactions between families. Every family is different, and our job photographing them is never the same twice. This family featured two beautiful little girls (one a little more vivacious, the other a little more serious) who enjoyed showing us their collections of stuffed bunnies, climbing in their treehouse and in their living room, jumping on their trampoline, skipping rope, and putting on their mother’s high heels. They are energetic, independent, and intelligent, and we just tried to keep up. :) Mom and Dad were super welcoming to us and were really interested in having all the different facets of their family documented due to Mom’s background in journalism, and we were happy to oblige. We had an awesome time meeting this fantastic family of four!