The McClung family. Honestly, I have felt overwhelmed at the thought of starting this post for days. There is so much I could say and yet, it seems like there are not adequate words to describe what this family means to us and what they have been through in the past year. So I will start by saying the same thing that I told Suni and Steve when we wrapped their session. Matt and I want to be you guys when we grow up. I know, I know… we’ve grown up… But, we truly admire this family more than words could say. Steve is our Pastor, together Suni and Steve are precious friends, and their kids are babysitters for my kids and very loved by us all.
8 months ago, the McClung family lost their precious son and brother, Ezekiel, tragically and unexpectedly at age 13. This was the same week our Knox Ezekiel came into the world, which is why you may recognize the name. I know there are still really low days and then some better days for the McClung’s, but they will tell you that God has been gracious to see them through every day. They have approached Ezekiel’s loss in the best way, by remembering and honoring him always. Not avoiding bringing him up because it might be awkward. Their motto now is, “Always6” to be sure that people know they will forever be a family of 6. This is the way we wanted to approach this shoot. There are some classic family shots and there are some that are more focused on honoring Ezekiel’s memory, but in every shot they would tell you that they are Always6.
Please continue to pray for the McClungs and enjoy their sweet session.
Caroline was so sweet and timid during her one year session a couple of weeks ago. Pretty much exactly how she was at her Newborn Session. At this age, sometimes I get lots of smiles and other times I get lots of discovering… The outdoors, my camera, everything was interesting to this sweet girl. Smiles or not though, Caroline is adorable and it shows in these images. You can also tell how smitten her mom and dad are over her, which I love. Sarah and Josh, I hope cherish these images for years to come.
Enjoy!
I love one year sessions. Especially when I have been able to photograph the Newborn Session and 6 Month Session. It is amazing how a baby changes over the course of just 1 year! Shep was a ham for his one year session and gave us lots of cute, happy faces. He was just days away from walking which worked out perfectly when I needed him to stay in one place. This guy is so adorable and I know he and his parents will make you smile.
Enjoy!
I love fall for so many reasons. One reason is, fall is the time of year that I reconnect with my most loyal clients for family photos. This season I have been absolutely swamped with family sessions many of these have been my repeat clients like the Fisher family. I have photographed these guys more times than I can count, and they have truly become friends. Both Maddex and Stella have grown a mile since I saw them a few months ago and we had a great time at their Pumpkin Patch session. Enjoy!
One of the pieces of advice I am most often given when people see or hear of my little ones is, ‘enjoy every minute’. And then I hear of how fast time went by for them. How their children are grown and off to college or having babies of their own. And you know what? I never get tired of hearing this. In fact, I try to hear it as if it was the first time, every time. Because time does fly, especially these little years. And while I am in the thick of it and so overwhelmed some (ok, most) days… These are the days I am going to miss most when they are grown.
So when I get the opportunity to photograph a family that is in the thick of it as well, I do my best to take full advantage because I know that time is flying for them too. The Spicer’s consist of Stephanie, Daniel, Alex and little Donovan who just recently turned a year old. They were such an encouragement to me during our shoot because I could tell how much they are enjoying these days of their children being little, which made it so fun to be able to capture them on camera for a bit. We met up at Charlotte’s Uptown Romare Bearden Park and this session turned out to be one of my favorites family shoots that I have done in a while.
Enjoy this sweet family!
Two year olds can be the most challenging age to photograph. And the most fun. When I arrive at a 2-year-old session I always ensure the parents that we WILL get some great shots in the midst of the crazy. This was surely the case with Enzo. This sweet guy was all boy with lots of energy, but at the same time was the most precious cuddle-bug . He loves is mom and dad and these images depict that perfectly.
If you are not getting your kiddo’s yearly milestones photographed, PLEASE DO. They grow and change so much in these years. I absolutely love being able to provide families with images that show the personalities of their little ones in these younger years.
Now, meet Enzo. I bet he’ll make you smile.
Once I finished my last portrait session before maternity leave, I got pretty inspired to start tackling some personal work. First up, my niece Emerson at 6 months old! This girl is definitely the little princess in our family, which I don’t mind because because that means my little sister had to give up her princess title. 😉 Emmie is now sitting up, smiling all the time and drooling like crazy! We did an impromptu session at my house a couple of weeks ago and I love these images of our little Cabbage Patch doll. Now that I’ve started rolling, I have some pretty lofty goals on getting personal sessions edited, so look for more images of my family coming soon. Enjoy!
The last time I saw Liam was at his newborn session and he was a tiny little guy. Now he has just turned 2 and has a little sister on the way! Katie and I decided to do a combo baby bump and mommy & me session since daddy couldn’t make it for this one. Something about this session just captures me. Maybe it’s because I am 37 weeks pregnant with a 3rd little boy of my own, and so interactions between a mommy and her little boy makes me weak in the knees. Liam went 100 mph the whole time and I’m pretty sure he said ‘choo choo’ for 45 minutes strait, yet Katie was able to have these special moments with him. I am so happy I got to capture them, because I know from experience that these moments are what get you through when you are completely exhausted from chasing a toddler and tending to a newborn.
I love this first image because it reminds me of one of those Pinterest images that I often get requested to shoot. We work so hard to get the shot with no luck because you can’t really force a two year old to do anything. But this image happened completely naturally and that is really what makes it so special.
