Tony and Jenna had their beautiful son Sam last April. Then when he was six months old, he came for a mini session in the park. This time, Jenna’s sister was in town and their whole family got together for some Thanksgiving love.

If you ever find yourself wanting to take pictures on stairs, keep in mind that if you do them straight on, some people look huge and some people are really small. If you turn everyone sideways, you can get a lot of different heights and good spacing by using stairs. It almost always pays off to think outside the box when it comes to angles.

Despite having traveled all the way from DC, Nina’s kids were all about some oinky pig action.

And it’s always worthwhile to sneak in a couples portrait.

Sam was a little under the weather but perked up and gave us some Sam-sized smiles.

People often ask about backdrops and where good places are to take photographs in their homes. In general a neutral colored wall (or even a brightly colored one) is a perfect backdrop. If you love your furniture that’s also a great option. Only a very small space is needed since the camera cuts out most of the surroundings.

Afterwards we stepped outside for some slightly snowy winter portraits.

Thank you so much Jenna and Tony for sharing your beautiful family with me!

Darcy started out by wanting absolutely nothing to do with the whole idea of sitting and smiling at adults making fools of themselves. She was 18 months and that’s a tricky age because they really just want to move all the time. Don’t tell anyone but we cheated and gave her a lollipop and then edited it out of the photo. #whateverittakes

People frequently ask if this or that combination of people is allowed or how many people can be included in a session, etc.  Life is too short for rules.  The way I have it set up is that the time belongs to you and you can include whomever you like for whatever reason you’d like. You say jump, I say how high.

I’m not positive but I think Cheryl was behind the color scheme and everyone did an amazing job. Choosing clothing colors can be very simple, even for large families, and makes a big difference in the final outcome. To learn more about how to choose clothing for your photo session click here.

This image makes me feel happy. It’s also my favorite pose for couples – women generally prefer when they take up a little less real estate in a photo and men generally don’t care. This pose also is very affectionate and that’s what we’re going for in a couples photo.

Thank you so much Cheryl and Lance for sharing your beautiful family with me! I hope you enjoyed the rest of your time together.