Fall family photos are well underway, and the Stockard family was the first of many fabulous clients this year.

I often see a common theme regarding having family portraits taken: stress, crazy, kids are antsy, mom is about to lose her…mind.

As a mom who regularly loses her…mind over homework, brushing teeth, picking up toys, I really don’t want to lose it doing something that is supposed to capture that one moment in time where we are one big happy family. The last time I checked, no one in the family was every happy when mom was not happy.

For this reason, I try to keep sessions as stress free as possible. I walk into every family portrait session with the expectation that every kid involved doesn’t want to be there. Because they don’t. I work with parents to plan a session that would appeal to their family. I take your family’s idea of a good time and turn it into an opportunity to capture great family photos.

With the Stockard family, Hardin was the focus of our planning session.  Asking any child under 6 to sit still and smile is a recipe for disaster, especially for the younger.  So I don’t.  Instead, we took Hardin on a nature walk. 

Hardin explored the yellow flowers and purple thistles and was mesmerized by the tall amber grass blowing in the wind along with his beautiful blond hair.  He got excited by the butterflies flutter around and had the greatest time with mom and dad. 

Not a tear was shed and we took some fabulous pictures.