Loyal Customers: The Follett Family

Ever since I started this little venture, there have been two main families, the Folletts and the Zachers, who have supported me year after year. Mark and I work together at Langley Secondary and our classes make us neighbors. In addition, having our first boys, Greyson and Benjamin only days apart, made it easy to connect with them as a family and, every time we get together, there is always so much to talk about!

After doing numerous shoots for this family, I love that now, when I get together with them, that I know a lot of the ins and outs of their kids, what Greyson and Pierson call their grandparents and all sorts of other tidbits that make me feel like, on those days, that I'm a part of their beautiful little family. These two are amazing parents and I am truly grateful to have been able to follow this family as they've gone from a family of 2 to a family of 4 over the past few years. Mark and Lindsay, as always, it was a pleasure and I hope you enjoy :)

 

The shoot started out a bit frantic as my child care plans fell through so I packed Benjamin and Jacob into the van and headed out to Derby Reach Heritage Site. By the time we got there Benjamin was fast asleep so, I parked right by a grassy area, left Ben sleeping in the van and brought Jacob out onto the grass in his car seat while I snapped the first few pictures. Funny enough, the light was great in this spot and my mom came and met us there to save the day and drive my boys home while we continued the shoot. A bit hectic but it all worked out!






At this point, we already had about 100% more shots with Greyson looking than our photoshoot at this time last year so things were going well!



I have a photo like the middle one of Greyson when he was about this age, which is fun and, having two boys of my own similar ages, I know that the photo on the left is a rarity - two children looking at the camera at the same time and looking somewhat happy ;)















These smart parents came prepared with toys etc and it worked like a charm. Nice thinking :)







A few of this beautiful couple - I love the shot on the left!




The photo on the left was only acquired via bribery - I gave each of the boys one set of car keys to play with and then quickly took them away and asked them to smile. It worked!



We headed across the street and, Mark and Lindsay had brought Greyson's bike with them which made for some great photos and entertainment for Grey!



Some more photos of this couple :) You guys are looking fantastic!




One last one of the family!





Mark and Lindsay, thank you again for making me a part of documenting your family as it grows and changes. I feel privileged and honored and must say your family keeps getting better and better, year after year :) I hope you enjoy and I look forward to many more great afternoons spent together and many more smiles from those beautiful boys of yours!

Hudson & Co: Langley Family Session

This session was very special (aren't they all? that's kind of why I love doing this sort of thing :) ) for so many reasons! I have had the privilege of sharing a church community with Keith and Melissa for the last 4+ years and, just over a year ago, was able to take maternity and newborn photos for this beautiful family! This is one of my first families where I've been able to follow them from birth onward and their little boy, Hudson, has grown into an amazing and handsome little guy!

We had a beautiful location and a beautiful day as well as a beautiful set of subjects so enjoy :)




Melissa planned for the shoot to be in the morning as this is Hudson's best time of day and she was SO right! He was so smiley right from the get-go and kept it together for the whole hour+ that we were there!



I brought some toys with me, just in case, but there was some stealth work required to get this giraffe out of his hands once I showed it to him....luckily a major meltdown was avoided :)





The sun was blazing but, I love this spot because there are so many shaded spots and even some of the wide open shots work as along as you're out early-ish in the morning, besides, a little sun-kissed look is nice every now and again!





I love the little smile Hudson is giving as he looks back at his parents and so nice to see such love between these two - pretty sure that bottom pic is one of my favorites of the day.



Candid moments might be some of my favs and the bottom photo definitely falls in that category. Keith and Melissa, you guys have great smiles and such great interactions. It was so fun to hang out with you guys for the morning.



Melissa came so prepared with multiple outfits for her and her boys and it came in handy. It's always nice, through a long photoshoot, to have some variety in wardrobe and their second wardrobe looked just as great in photos as the first. Here are a few of Hudson before, during and after the wardrobe change and snack break :)



Heading over to the barn, ready for round two :) Hudson totally posed himself on that wheel!



Knowing that, once you have kids, it is rare to have photos of just you and your spouse, we decided to get a few of Keith and Melissa while Hudson ran around for a bit. They're pretty photogenic, don't you think?



I'm pretty sure I was 'mooing like a cow,' 'barking like a dog' and all manner of other things in order to get the smiles out of Hudson in this location. Wierd but totally worth it :)



In transition to the next location... A few moments spent upside down, a snuggle with dad and a moment fixing the tiny TOMS. I have to admit, Ben may need a pair of those shoes now, they were so cute!



The bottom right photo might be a bit of a glimpse 14 or so years into the future ;)



Last but not least, we decided to head down to the water, which is admittedly one of my new favorite locations - gorgeous sand, not many people there (except for a few fishermen here and there) and lots of room for little kids to run around.



I can't believe what an amazing smile Hudson was still giving us at this point - way to go buddy :)



During the 20ish minutes we were down by the water, the fishermen that were there caught two salmon so Hudson got his photo with one of them and, it was a great thing for him to focus on during some of the last family photos!

The last ones of the day...



Being a bit of a perfectionist, when I went through the photos at home after the shoot, I wished I had been able to get a photo of Hudson walking along the beach where he's not too dark and the mountains are exposed properly too. So, I emailed Melissa and asked if she or Keith and Hudson could meet me (& both boys) back at Derby Reach the next day so Ben & Hudson could play but also so I could try out a different setting and see if I got better results. They were super great about it and we went back and had a fabulous morning. Ben had so much fun playing and Hudson was perfectly happy to let me take his picture. By the time I got there he had already got himself pretty dirty but it totally didn't matter because it gave me a chance to capture him in his element :)



What a character :)



He has some seriously cute dimples and great smiles.





Just before Keith and Hudson left, Hudson was handing out smiles, left right and center, plus there was a big barge that went by that kept his attention and gave me a chance to snap quite a few shots!



I didn't quite expect to take so many of him on day 2 so, Keith and Melissa, you'll have a few to choose from but I couldn't resist - he was in such a good mood!

Finally, a shot I was happy with where you can see the gorgeous mountains and this adorable little boy :)



Keith and Melissa, you are wonderful servants at our church and your family is a blessing to me and so many others. Melissa, you have such a wonderful easy-going, friendly, thoughtful nature and Keith, your ability to connect with others and reach people in our church through your personality and preaching is so appreciated. It really is no wonder that Hudson is such a happy, easy-going guy. Thanks for letting me follow the growth of your family and I look forward to our continued friendship.

Beautiful Belly; Maternity Session @ Derby Reach Heritage Site

There are few things more beautiful in life than the way a baby grows in a womb for 9 months with little to no help from us at all. I truly believe that entire process is one of the best pieces of evidence for the existence of a God so, when I was asked to photograph this beautiful baby belly I jumped at the chance!

Kaelynn was 37 weeks pregnant at the time and, lucky for her, still nice and small - a fact I'm sure she appreciates on those hot summer days. From the minute we met, we hit it off and had a great time chatting on our way to the shoot. We headed to Derby Reach Heritage Site and, even though I've been there before, we found some new spots and the summer morning sun was good to us!

Kaelynn, I know you've been waiting patiently for these so, I'm happily taking a break from a movie I rented, to satisfy your curiosity. Enjoy!





Kaelynn was so easy going the entire shoot and moved from sitting to standing to lying pretty easily for being 9 months pregnant! Her co-operative nature and ability just to have fun during the shoot sure made my job easy and we got some great shots!





Sometimes the best shots happen when the subject doesn't know they're being photographed, I think I was just testing the light out in these locations with these shots but they ended up being some of my favorites! She has such a peaceful look on her face. I love it.





Just as Kaelynn was willing to do anything to get a good shot, I think I was lying on the grass at one point for some of these shots as well. Totally worth it :)




Now for wardrobe and scenery change #1. It was great to have a few wardrobes to choose from and I applauded Kaelynn for finding 3 great outfits so late in the pregnancy as I know what it's like when you're down to the last few things that fit and you're wondering if the baby will come or if you'll have to buy some more clothes to tide you over. I think she looked great in all her choices!




The long-awaited belly shots. These were some of the ones that Kaelynn was looking forward to!





I love her expression in the bottom photo. It says it all!



Being a farm girl herself, it was great to be able to get some shots with the whole barn in focus.







These sillouhette shots turned out wonderfully - something I haven't done before but would do again - they really show off the belly!




Out of the uncomfy jeans and into outfit #3. We decided to do a few more shots by the barn and then head down to the water!




The photo on the left below might be one of my favorites. Kaelynn, you are truly glowing!




Kaelynn was really hoping for some shots with her feet in the water so down to the water we went!




I always say how much I love it when clients come ready with ideas of what sort of shots they want and Kaelynn was super creative. She wanted to do some shots with the name of her soon-to-be baby girl, Cierra, in the sand and we made it happen. A great idea and beautiful name!



I love these ones - so natural and such gorgeous scenery too!






Finally we went right into the water for these last few shots. It was perfect weather down by the water and the wind worked well for us too.




Kaelynn, it was such a pleasure meeting you. I'm so glad April put us in touch and gave me this opportunity spend an afternoon with you and your baby to be. That little girl of yours is going to be well loved by you and so many others and I look forward to hearing of her grand entrance into this world. God Bless you and your baby belly!