yesterday i received a call from a friend reminding me of the brief time here on this big earth until we are united with our heavenly father. sure there’s all those clichés, but why is it an idea that we so quickly forget… that is until we are reminded again?
i have to smile through the tears as i post these next few pics. they were taken about a year ago celebrating marriage and family. though i typically decline extended families, the lord knew what he was doing all along. what makes me laugh is the fact that usually i have to get the kids to stop goofing off… not necessarily the dads.
{ in memory of jerry pell }
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Filed under: fab families
it’s not everyday i get to photograph dads.
so the question is… what do you do with one big tall daddy and his kids? i stood there a minute and thought to myself… aha… you hang them (or maybe i should say you try to)!
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i still remember vividly going over to her house in kindergarten. she had the complete set of my little ponies – stable included which equated to an instant friend. to my luck she moved down the street, and without her my childhood would have been non-existent. i grew up at carries… literally… with my own chair at her dinner table included. she had the sisters i never had – both older and younger – and even a baby brother which we often enjoyed dressing up like a girl (much to the dismay of her dad!). we spent hours roller skating around her basement to ricky nelson, playing barbies, trading stickers, creating fort after fort, and let’s not forget the evening games of kick-the-can which turned into bloody murder when it got dark. she was the ‘bestest’ friend any girl could have.
fast forward a few years - measles outbreak. everyone needs to get an updated vaccine. so my mom being a nurse decided to bring the vaccine home and give it to us herself. long story short – i freaked out and decided to “run away”… all the way to our front porch that is. i lasted out there a few hours… right until the lights started going out. when i returned inside my dad and i had a little talk. there’s really only one sentence that i remember about what he said to me that night. he dropped the bomb and it went something along the line of… “if you don’t get this shot, you won’t be able to go to carrie’s house for a week.”
that was all he needed to say.
so without further ah-du, i introduce to you my always smiling, wonderful friend carrie and her beautiful family…
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Filed under: fab families
can you find the ham in this family?
families like this are the reason i do what i do. need i say more?
loved them then… love them now!
that’s a wrap!
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… get out of it!
it’s the first question everyone asks.
i give out some advice, and typically nobody takes it!
so i’m just going to assume that maybe you’re like me
and you need the visual version.
hold on tight…
here are some myths about what TO wear:
1. everyone needs to wear the same color top & bottom.
2. white photographs well.
3. too much going on is distracting.
in fact, the opposite is true!
1. matchy matchy is out… coordinating is in!
2. layer, layer, and then layer some more!
3. accessories and funky things make the look!
if all of this is still too much to take in, here’s the easiest motto to go by:
let loose and let your kids dress themselves!
if you think it’s the ugliest thing you’ve ever seen,
i guarantee you i’ll love it… and who doesn’t want a happy photographer?!
anyways, i love this family and we wanted to reflect the personalities of their vibrant kids and the fun they enjoy together.
we raided the closets and laid everything out on the bed….
and ta-da…. drum roll please…
you should have seen the look i got. i wish i had a picture of IT!
it’s not easy steppin out of your comfort zone, but i guarantee you… it’ll be worth it.
oh, and one last thing…
when i say ‘just one more’…
you should know by now that i really mean 100 more
and i don’t want to hear excuses like “my eyes hurt”… got that andy?!!
* fyi * i added a new category at the top entitled ‘what TO wear’ *
{clicking on a category takes you to all the posts for a specific type of shoot}
for those of you who follow these rules -
your session will be tagged into this limited & elite group of people who got it goin on!
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Filed under: fab families
whenever i hear that quote - this - is the family i think of.
i just love how each of their unique personalities shine through.
can you feel the energy? to say the least… it was a good time had by all 
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Filed under: fab families
i always laugh at how many tries it takes to get “that one” family shot. but for some reason it’s not “that one” which i typically fall in love with. it’s the real ones along the way to get to “the one” that get me every time.
Filed under: fab families
i’ve gotten to photograph so many wonderful families this fall, but one thing that i always love to capture is first time families. while editing these, i came across these favs. i know i’ve been behind lately with new posts, so i’ll keep on rollin…
i met this pretty gal back in my early college days. let’s just say that boys brought us together and after we all realized that none of them were worth fighting over our friendships blossomed. girls! (i’m praying for all boys!) anyways, we still laugh at those days… and even more so at those boys we all wanted!
all i can say is that she’s as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside – and she’s going to kill me for saying that. there’s nothing better than watching her be a mother and seeing her family grow. she’ll forever go down in history as being the closest thing to martha stewart that i’ll ever know.
Filed under: fab families
so, i’ll admit it’s not the prefect picture…
but i think it sums up what being a family truly is. the good, the bad, the happy, the sad… some days you never quite know what you’re going to get. in many ways it reminds me of sunday mornings as a kid. we still laugh about those good ‘ol days.
i can hear it now…
…”you’re wearing that?”
…”can you iron this mom?”
and my all time personal fav:
…”do your hair pretty” (which guaranteed a pony tail if i heard it – i love you mom!)
that all goes without saying… it still makes me smile as i watch young families file into church all done up – followed by the thought in my head… been there.
… and it wasn’t always as “pretty” as my hair. :)
