Capturing pictures is easy. Capturing personalities, not so much.

Which is why one requires a good afternoon to make pictures that give you a small window into a family’s soul. An afternoon spent playing and singing and dancing and swinging. If you’re lucky, you will catch a glimpse of their world. A world where you need to sit still and watch and listen, or you’ll miss the bits that matter.

If you’ve been following my work, you know I’ve been thinking about giving classes and mentoring. After going back and forth, endless discussions with my husband/motivator/devil’s advocate, and endless discussions with myself, I thought perhaps I should give it a go. And what better way to do that than in a giveaway!

I had the pleasure of meeting Paola and her family at the studio recently for a family shoot.

Aren’t these the most gorgeous pair of kiddos?

I met Oliver when he was just a wee slip of a lad.

He grew up to be a chubby, bubbly, smiley little boy who looks like he’s going to be breaking a lot of hearts very soon 

When I arrived, he was waiting for me with his furry friend.

This rolly polly dolly makes me yearn to have another.

This job is dangerous 

Jan and her boys (now with one more!) have been my clients since the beginning of the adventure of my professional career as a photographer. It makes me so happy to photograph them each year, and to watch her family grow.

This little guy gave me a run for my money :) 

When Casey contacted me for photos, she only had one venue in mind: The UW Huskies Stadium. Being hardcore fans, they wanted to have pictures there with their two boys.

Sometimes, all you need is a Mommy and Me session to brighten up your day. And this little miss was ALL brightness and smiles and wonderfully cute expressions! I could’ve kept shooting if not for the disappearing light.

Little O came into the studio with his best friend – a guitar! He has so many faces and so much character!

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Preemies have a special place in my heart because my second child was a preemie. She was impatient to visit this place called Earth she’d heard so much about, so she decided to drop by, very literally, at 29 weeks.

I’ve been photographing Amy a couple of years and when she told me she was expecting again, I jumped at the chance to document her third - and possibly her last - journey to motherhood.

I met Erica at a local moms group a few years ago, and since then, they’ve become one of my favorite fams to shoot because B and L are probably the cutest, most loving brother and sister duo you’ll ever meet :)