Ericka was looking for some Easter photos of her children and niece and because the weather was a bit on the chilly side that day, we met up at the Memorial Art Gallery.

Personally color matching like this is hard for me, but I LOVE it. The plaid with the light blues and white beautifully complement each other without looking overly matchy. Brilliant.

It’s easy to overdo a location like the MAG because it’s such a scenic space. It has beautiful lighting, several different backgrounds in a small area, and that peaceful water fountain, art gallery vibe. It’s listed as one of the top 5 Indoor Photography Locations in Rochester with good reason!

Ericka’s family was a joy to work with. The kids were beautiful, easy going, and had big natural smiles.

We did a couple of different groupings – the kids by themselves, all the kids together, Ericka’s niece by herself and just Ericka’s kids. When you’ve gone through all the effort to get there it’s a good idea to do all the things.

Thank you so much Ericka for sharing your beautiful family with me! You were an absolutely joy to work with.

Shannon and John recently welcomed this beautiful baby boy into their lives, and wanted to commemorate his first Christmas with some family photos.  Their green and red theme was perfect – you’d think this would be a common choice but it isn’t, so if you’re tempted to go for Christmas colors I’d definitely say go for it!

Shannon is working on a neurology fellowship at URMC and John works with the x-ray technology used in security systems at airports. They recently relocated from Baltimore.

Sebastian was absolutely perfect in every way. He was a chill sort of baby (just like his very calm parents) and wasn’t particularly interested in smiling but wasn’t unhappy either.  Some babies are like that and that’s great too.  We’re all about real life over here.

People often ask if I have a studio and I do not, on purpose.  Instead, in the winter months we either head outside, meet at your home, or go to a few great indoor Rochester locations. The Memorial Art Gallery is a great space for this – especially on a weekday morning when it tends to be quiet and peaceful, and/or around Christmas when they have lots of Christmas trees and lights around.

Thank you so much Shannon and John for sharing your beautiful family with me!

Jaspreet contacted me because they received difficult news about their beloved dog Ronnie and wanted some professional family photos to remember him by. We met at Churchville Park on a beautiful September evening.

This was their family’s first dog, and Jaspreet said that the loss was so hard on them, he’d be their only dog. I had a similar experience with my first and only dog. My heart went out to them.

Ram made the trip up from college in Ohio to say his goodbyes and for this session.

Jaspreet brought two outfits for everyone, which is a great way to add variety to smaller group sessions.

Sadly Ronnie was in a lot of pain and was having trouble walking so we kept the images within a small area at Churchville Park. Most parks have a nice variety of backgrounds even if you just turn in a circle.

Ronnie passed away a few days after our time together.

Thanks so much Jaspreet for sharing a little bit of Ronnie’s life and for the opportunity to get to know your family a little. I hope you’re all finding meaningful ways to integrate this loss into your lives.

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!

Gavin would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas.

What do you do when you want family photos and the weather is less than ideal? You get creative! Outside is always an option in the colder weather for the weather resistant people in the world (click here to see outdoor winter portraits), you can choose an open-to-the-public indoor location, or you can have photos taken in the comfort of your own home (which young kids really love since they’re already familiar with the environment).

If you are in the market for in home family christmas photos, one challenge is that you have to set up your tree a little bit early to have the time to choose your photos in time to send out Christmas cards, but it can be done! (Nicole is proof!)

Gavin is eagerly anticipating his first Christmas.

In Nicole’s non-mom life she happens to be a super human who restores the ability to function to people with thrown out backs, hips and any other joint you may happen to have. Her website is here and I cannot recommend her highly enough (says the person who could barely walk Friday and the next day could pick up her two year old again).

A little trick of the trade – most six month olds can’t quite sit up on their own and aren’t quite tall enough to have a Christmas tree background, so mom or dad’s shoulder make an excellent prop.

And what is Christmas without a little baby in plaid action? Who said boys weren’t fun to dress?

Thank you so very much Nicole and Steve for sharing Gavin with me! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year!

There are babies, and then there are fur babies. We take photos to remember the past which is especially important when we’re separated from someone we love. Jo and Chris decided to have family photos taken because their beloved dog Mana was diagnosed with bone cancer and they wanted to remember their time with her.

If you’ve ever lost a pet you know the pain runs deep. It was a beautiful idea to capture these memories.

Their adult son Nai also joined us for the session.

Chris and Jo took advantage of this year’s mini sessions at Corbett’s Glen in Brighton. If you’d like to learn how to win a free mini session in 2018, click here to subscribe.

Their other dog Loke also joined us.

If you’re photographing dogs, treats are a huge help in getting them to sit and look at a camera. It’s obvious when you think about it, but an easy thing to miss while planning out your session.

Thank you so much Jo, Chris and Nai for sharing your time with me. I hope your final days with Mana are filled with joy and peace.

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.

Wendy and I were pregnant with our first babies at the same time and took a Bradley Childbirth class together. At random times our lives have intersected – now she has three beautiful children. She contacted me because she wanted to catch them in this particular life stage, which is wise because I’ve heard they do grow up (I’m still in denial).

We met at their house where she thought the kids would be most comfortable. They have acreage in Chili so we spent some time in their yard as the sun was setting.

One of the things that draws me to location based photography is how comfortable people are in parks or their own homes. Having your photos taken may not be super comfortable, but it’s definitely more comfortable in a setting you choose. Kids especially respond well to being in their own home, in nature or in this case, both!

Wendy chose blue for their clothes because everyone owned blue shirts. Props for being resourceful! If you’re holding out on photos because of clothing, this is totally the way to go. It doesn’t have to be matchy – just in the same general color family. You can read more about how to choose clothing for your photo session by clicking here.

They did a sunflower project last year and this year the sunflowers reseeded themselves. They had quite a collection out front.

Sometimes when you see a photographer with a lot of black and white photos, it’s a red flag that the colors went wonky due to bad setting choices. I will totally admit that I screwed this image up in color, but really liked the way it turned out in black and white.

And it’s always a good idea to sneak in a husband and wife shot.

Thank you so much Wendy and Jamie for sharing your beautiful family with me!!! It was lovely to catch up with you all.

Jehan and Tim met right here.

I didn’t catch how long ago it was, but they have a 14 year old, so it’s been at least 15 years and it involved pizza. She wasn’t completely sure about how it would work to do a session in the spot where they met, but whenever you can add extra meaning to a photo I’m 100% on board. They give the images so much depth.

After a few shots in downtown Brockport, we walked around the corner to the canal.

The sun was a little unwieldy this time of day, so we stopped at this bench in the shade. The boys are completely enamored with the baby. I’m sure there’s no shortage of pink in their house.

Using an off camera lighting umbrella instead of “natural light” allows you to take photos at sunset without squinting. #winning

Then there was an exchange of manly hugs.

We walked down this staircase that felt slightly like an alley behind a restaurant with God knows what on the steps. I’m super impressed they were willing to sit here! The things you sacrifice for family photos…

It’s easy as you’re changing diapers and cooking dinner to forget about photos of just the two of you. It was important to Jehan to prioritize photos of just she and Tim.

The princess of the family.

Trent held this bit unwieldy foldy thing called a scrim for this image to create some shade. Thanks Trent!! (you’re hired).

Jehan did an amazing job with colors for this session. Her dress matches Alessandra’s and the boys are coordinated. Beautiful!

Thank you so much Jehan and Tim for sharing your beautiful family with me! Happy anniversary!