Diane and Adam were hardcore photography enthusiasts and braved a relatively cold nearly-winter day for some fall-themed family photos at Black Creek Park.  Black Creek Park is a great location for those of us living on the west side.  It has water, paths and a small bridge that make for a great location.

Themes, even if they’re low key, are a great way to mix up your photo session a little. Whether or not you choose a theme is completely up to you and is all about what makes you happy in life.

Within reason of course.  A hot tub themed session might be weird.  Or massage themed.  But you could definitely go with any kind of food, or most activities.   For more ideas for themed sessions, click here.

In this case, blankets and hot cider were where it was at. Diane brought an actual thermos of warm cider for the session, which had the added effect of keeping her kids super happy.

Diane was a really good sport while I geeked out a little bit about Adam’s civil engineering job in water sanitation. #environmentalgeek Right here.

Diane also has a super interesting job she loves working in the schools.

Thank you so much Diane and Adam for sharing your family with me. It was an absolute joy to work with you!

If you really want professional photos but find them a little bit pricier than you were hoping for, mini sessions are a fantastic option. They’re shorter sessions for a reduced cost and they typically happen in the fall. If you’d like to hop on the newsletter so you can be notified when you can enter to win a free mini session, click here.

Kim started out with a maternity session when she was pregnant with Averie, then had an in home session the following year, and after that discovered outdoor mini sessions and has been a faithful mini session participant every year since then. It’s been such a joy to watch her girls grow up.

One set of mini sessions this year took place at Corbett’s Glen, which is one of the top 5 outdoor photography locations in Rochester. You know this is true when you get there and can count more than 1 photographer a minute. Welcome to Rochester.

Adonis couldn’t make it to this years’ sessions because of work commitments so we took some images of just her and the girls.

In the photography world people often talk about candid photos and they mean different things by it. Technically candid photos aren’t posed at all, but with that approach you end up with a lot of outtakes and images that just aren’t stunning. A better way to get the natural look when you’re pressed for time is to get in a typical “posed” setup and then tickle your neighbor.

Or sometimes you can just tell kids to look at each other and it makes them smile because believe it or not, that’s kind of awkward.

Thank you so much Kim and Adonis for sharing your family with me again. It’s a huge honor. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

The quintessential leaf throwing activities of toddlerhood are usually thwarted in climates like ours by cold weather.  This year the summer extended into fall and we had some truly lovely days for photo taking.

Dan and Stephanie had never tried out family photos before and wanted to include all members of the family, including their fur babies.

We went to the Mendon Ponds Bird Song Trail where if you’re very very still, chickadees will eat out of your hand. That’s more or less a no go if you have a toddler and two dogs, but if you were to go on a given day, you’ll find statuesque people along the trail vying for a little chickadee style attention.

The Bird Song Trail is also a great location for photos because of the way the path descends down the hill.

There were several inches of leaves near the Sensory Garden and Connor could have thrown them for another three hours.

The dogs worked with us for one more image and then wanted to chase the leaves themselves.

In a spot near the parking lot there’s another hill that lifts you up to folliage-behind-you level.  Flat ground doesn’t work when you’re trying to add fall leaf color to your images.  It’s important to be up high enough to have leaves behind your subject rather than tree trunks.  However, since it’s a parking lot, you may end up editing out some cars.  Also because it’s fall in Mendon Ponds, you may end up editing out some people.  And maybe also some photographers.  Thank you Photoshop for being there when we need you.

And another happy toddler photo. Toddlers, and kids in general, much prefer being outside for family photos since they’re in their natural environment. Usually it’s less stressful for them and they can associate photography with fun.

Thank you so much Dan and Stephanie for sharing your beautiful family with me!

Beata and Joe have been together since they were 14 (or 13?) years old.  I remember this interesting fact from the first time I sat in her apartment when she was my graduate head resident and I was a resident adviser (RA) under her tutelage.  I had just started dating my now husband and was the worst RA ever (sorry Beata!).  Fast forward 10 years…

Beata got her PhD in psychology and now home schools her kids and teaches on the side. Joe is also involved in education, specifically assistive technology.

Beata was gracious enough a few years ago to be an arm model to help demonstrate what length of sleeves people of different body types should wear. You can view her head shots here, or learn what sleeve length will best flatter you by clicking here.

Our lives have crossed paths in so many ways – we even used to be neighbors until we moved out to the corn fields.

I am a little embarrassed to share these, but I will anyway… here’s a flashback from when Nadine was just five days old and Beata was gracious enough to share her with me for some newborn portfolio building.  I knew nothing at the time – poor Nadine!  I’ve learned quite a lot about newborn posing and especially newborn safety since then!

It’s easy to forget how small they start out and how fast they grow.

Thank you so much Beata and Joe for sharing your beautiful children with me. I hope 2017 is filled with an abundance of joy, love and laughter.