I love summer sessions and I love family sessions!  Every family is different and has unique dynamics and I love the challenge of meeting the goals and visions of each one.  That sometimes means individual and smaller group shots within the session.  Options include individual head-shots, couple shots, sibling shots, and so on -- whatever their heart desires! Here are some favorites of this special family. 

Mom is a fighter -- and she is fighting for her children with special needs.

It's always fun to take portraits of twins.  These two are fraternal, so they don't look exactly alike; they also have very unique personalities that I try to capture as well. 

I had the privilege of taking a few portraits and candids of this beautiful lady and her two girls.  

Rocking that hair!

Autumn got very attached (and eventually obtained) this little fella.  (Glad I had my long lens for this one!)

A little Photo-shop fun with her eyes to add to the mystique. 

I was privileged to do a photo-session with this family while visiting central Michigan.  Their daughter, Natalie, was approaching her 4th birthday, so we decided to incorporate her favorite stuffed toy and moved from two locations.  Of course, Mom & Dad had to be featured as well as Grandma!  We got just enough photos for a beautiful album.  

Every year we get dandelions in New Hampshire, but this was our first spring in Wisconsin and I've never seen so many dandelions in my life!  In fact, they have a dandelion festival nearby in their honor.  Though not the world's most beautiful plant, they can still make for beautiful portraits.  I decided to take advantage of our abundance and take a few shots of my youngest son.  He was more than willing to comply and I just love the results!

This was an extra-special session for me as it features my 5th child and 3rd daughter.  I can't believe that my Y2K baby is all grown up and has graduated from our homeschool!  Maya is one of my more active kids and we were both excited to incorporate some of her interests and activities into her session.  I try to do that with all my Seniors and it helps when they bring special props to my session, so I made sure we had some meaningful items.  

For locations, we were able to use several locations in and around Ashland, Wisconsin (where we moved to the previous year.)  It was great to incorporate the quaint downtown, pretty parks, and beautiful Lake Superior!  Of course, the most important goal is to highlight this beautiful Senior as she says good-bye to her school years and enters life as an adult with a big future ahead.

Maya wanted a little tribute to her favorite musician, Toby Mac. 

We went downtown for some "small-town urban" shots.  Maya rocked that leather jacket and glasses! 

Little means more to Maya than acting.  She's been in many plays since early childhood and her passion continued through her high school years.  Here is a sample of her favorite performances and a tribute to the roles she played in them.

The lilacs were just gorgeous this year and are a perfect backdrop that I've used often with Seniors.  

This is the first time I've used white lilacs and I love the results. 

Whenever possible, I like to add a sibling in a photo or two.  Maya and her sister, Hannah, in the lupine.

I end her series with this pretty shot overlooking Lake Superior.  

2018 was a whirlwind of activity.  I made some good business connections and opened my very own office downtown.  It's been fun and amazing to explore our new town (Ashland, WI) and finally find some community (after a slower start, including some serious health problems that developed with my daughter in the early summer.) 

Happily, I was able to take my first trip to Las Vegas (and first plane ride in over twenty years!) in order to spend time with three of my sisters and later take a long trip to Michigan in order to celebrate my daughter's high school graduation and enjoy a family reunion.  Through it all, my camera was clicking and I'm happy to share some favorites from all four seasons in 2018!