I was so excited to be able to capture fellow photographer, Diane Peer of Luminance Photography and her adorable little family in Eagle River this past summer! I loved how easy going and fun they were! Isn’t their little guy just stinking adorable?!
Crystal and her babies were so stinking sweet! I adored (and envied) how calm and kind they were and you could just tell they adored their mama and each other to pieces!
Another one of my absolute favorite families and my first time capturing their newest addition for some first birthday shots! Folks, wrangling your family together for a family session isn’t always easy, and not every image is going to be pure perfection of everyone smiling and looking directly into the camera- but life isn’t perfect, and I don’t want to capture perfect…I want to capture real! Tara and Jake, I adore your little family!!
The Davis Family are my most loyal family, Ive been photographing them for YEARS! I love that I’ve been able to see the kids grow up, along with being able to see their little fur baby too! (I may have a soft spot for pugs) :) We had so much fun walking around beautiful Reflections Lake in the prime of Autumn!
This family was one of the most adventurous families I have had the pleasure of photographing! We hiked up a steep Alaskan mountain trail to get these views!!
The love you see in these images is about as genuine as it gets- cutest family ever!
I wil say it over and over again, now that I have a son- I have such a soft spot for little boys, they are just SO precious and snuggly and love their mamas!! :) You can tell these brothers are going to be best buds!
This fun and laid back family joined me up at Flattop Mountain, and their adorable dog tagged along!
If you are every hesitant about brining your dog, don’t be… they add so much to a session and I realize that even though it sometimes makes the chaos of a session even more chaotic, they are part of the family too… so I am totally up for families bringing their fur babies too!
This is my beautiful sister and her daughter and I am so lucky that I get to capture snippets of their relationship every year! Little Cedar is equal parts sweetheart and firecracker who wears her heart on her sleeve, she just loves her mama with all her heart! All it takes is 10 minutes to capture some gorgeous lifelong memories-we literally walked down to my parents backyard and snapped these in a few minutes! Don’t hesitate on whether or not to get in front of the camera with your loved ones, it is ALWAYS worth it!
Never take for granted the moments that we have with our kids while they are little- give them those big juicy kisses on the lips, squeeze them as tight as you can and throw them up in the air as high as you can!
It is just so bittersweet seeing them grow and change...but to fight against time stealing away these moments with our babies, we can take back the power by really BEING with them, looking into their eyes and seeing them, playing with them and loving them with all of our hearts.
This fun extended family was on vacation from Oregon and Utah and wanted to get some pictures taken in our beautiful state! There is just something special about capturing extended families and seeing the love & relationships from all generations, they are quickly becoming some of my most favorite sessions to document!
I don't get the opportunity to photograph seniors often, but I absolutely LOVE this age! Isn't Andrea stunning?! She was up for anything as we hiked around flattop mountain in the wind! Cheers to a great senior year!!
This awesome family flew up from Reno to go on an Alaskan adventure and celebrate their parents 40th anniversary! They lived here in the 90's and thought it would be a perfect time to capture their family in the great State of Alaska! You could just sense the love and connection this family had, I loved being able to capture that for them!
How to capture your summer
Every year, I try to do a 100 days of summer project. Summer’s are crazy hectic, can sometimes feel stressful and always go by waaaay too quickly - but these personal projects are always a gift to be able to look back upon at the end of summer.
It never fails to make me realize all of the amazing memories we make, even on the most mundane of days! AND bonus...sometimes creating fun actives for the kids to do for the sake of a good shot, ends up being some of the most fun memories they will have throughout the summer!
My top rules on how to document your summer:
- Bring your camera everywhere, commit to it...
- Find activities that your kids enjoy doing, and they will be more willing to want their picture to be taken
sprinkler time = fun
- Don’t wait for the weather to be good to capture memories, fun can be had in all of the elements!
- Bring props, but make sure they are props that can flow well into the story of your day. If you are going to the beach, bring a fun hat, beach towel or blanket…if it is raining, have them use an umbrella… you get the picture!
summer hats create fun shadows
- Try to make a list of things you want to remember about them and capture that! i.e.: My daughter loves to bring me flower and/or weed bouquets and I know she won’t be doing that for much longer, so I made a point to capture it!
weed bouqet
- Which brings me to next point, WRITE things down-make lists, it is the Only way I get anything accomplished in my life! :)
- Create a scavenger hunt of things you want to find or things for your kiddos to find and check them off as you go- you can make the list as small or as big as you want, but I can guarantee that fun will be had by all in trying to accomplish checking items off of your list!
- Create a grid or an album of all the pictures you took! Your kids will love to look back upon all of the amazing memories you made throughout summer as much as you! This app make it super easy! https://thelenslab.com/collect
- If you feel like taking it to another level, print your favorites! I am a huge advocate of printing your images… my favorite consumer lab is: https://www.mpix.com
enjoy documenting your family! it is one of the most important things you can do! Be your families storyteller!
Being able to photograph newborns in the comfort of their now home is such a zen session, everyone is so relaxed and there is just a peacefulness in the air! They are some of my favorite sessions to capture!
I have been photographing the Turner family for a few years now and they are just the cutest! They are moving out of state and wanted one last photoshoot with our majestic views, so we decided upon Eklutna Lake... and of course, the weather was not cooperating! UGH! May in Alaska... they are a tough bunch though and we made do! I am so happy to have been able to capture some pictures of their last days here!
This family was up for a family vacation from the lower 48 and contacted me to capture some family pictures of them that had gorgeous Alaskan views... I feel pretty lucky that this spot is literally in the middle of suburbia, we didn't have to go far at all for this beauty!! I am so excited I was able to photograph them, they are as adorable in person as they look in their pictures, and can you tell I like to have fun during my photoshoots?! Laughter is a MUST!
This family just welcomed a new precious member to their family, and I think it's safe to say they are all smitten!
Greenhouse Sessions bring me life!!
This family was seriously the sweetest, we had so much fun wandering around the Mann Leiser Memorial Greenhouse, where it was warm!! :)
I could feel the love between the three of them, it radiated!
Come out with your kids OR your family to the gorgeous and warm Mann Leiser Memorial Greenhouse to get some fun and unique portraits done! Limited spots available!
I am beyond excited to be incorporating Family Films into my sessions! I am absolutely hooked on creating these timeless treasures! There is nothing quite like adding video to deepen the emotion that stills already evoke...freezing a baby coo, a child's laughter or giggle, their little voice or to just reflect upon your everyday with your family or loved one(s). Having these videos are a priceless heirloom that you can pass down to your family members.