The M Family | One Year Session at Longwood Gardens, PA

This was my first session of 2017 and if this session indicates what is in store for me this year, I am so excited!!  We spent the morning at Longwood Gardens, and it was one of my most favorite sessions yet.  It was the perfect combination of lifestyle and documentary and I just loved meeting this family.  Little kids don't like to sit still for long and this location is perfect for that.  There is lots to explore and see and we don't have to "sit still" for more than a few seconds here and there.  I love exploring the children's garden with my clients... and my own two little ones! <3

The O Family | Longwood Gardens Family Session

Longwood Gardens is my absolute favorite place to shoot in the winter.  It's always gorgeous and always changing so it never gets old.  You also can't beat the weather :)  I did a family session for the O family to document baby Prim's 6 month milestone.  We took plenty of family shots too and had fun doing a mix of posed, documentary, and more lifestyle photos.  Enjoy! 

The M Family | Longwood Gardens, PA

I met up with the M family at Longwood Gardens to do a casual extended family session.  We had a bright and sunny day and we had fun exploring and catching up since our last session together.  I really love capturing grandparents and their grandkids and it adds so much to your session when they are included.  There was lots of tickles and lots of laughter at this session :)

Twins at Longwood! | Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA

I love that I get to work with this family multiple times each year.  This past fall, we met at Longwood Gardens and explored the conservatory.  It was a hot, humid day so the conservatory was a perfect spot for a session.  The girls were excited and we were able to get lots of fun, playful shots :)  Stay tuned, because the next week I did an extended family session with this family.  It's up next on the blog!

The S Family | Longwood Gardens - Kennett Square, PA

We were so lucky that we didn't have rain for this session!  We had Longwood Gardens to ourselves this morning and had a wonderful time being silly and exploring.  We even had an outfit change at the end to get into some of the cutest play clothes I've ever seen!  :)  I went to school with this mom and grew up in the same town, so it was fun to reconnect after all these years!  Her daughter was the cutest toddler and I loved her giggles!

Zooey One Year | Longwood Gardens Family Photographer

As I sit here sipping hot tea and debating about plugging in my space heater, I thought it would be fun to look back at a session from August.  It was SO hot this day and the heat index was over 100.  These guys were such troopers and we embraced the heat, enjoyed the morning, and cooled off at the end in the children's garden.  I love working with this family each year!  They have been with me since I first opened and am so happy to have connected with them.  I've loved watching Dylan grow from a toddler into a preschooler, capturing Zooey when she first entered their family, and now her one year old pictures :) 

Noah is One | Longwood Gardens Family Photographer

I worked with Noah and his family for his newborn photos and I was so excited to see them again for Noah's first birthday.  We spent the evening exploring Longwood Gardens and even enjoyed a bit of cake ;)  It's amazing how much babies change in the first year... but also how much they stay the same.  I love getting to see all of these babies grow up! 

As we are | Longwood Gardens Documentary Family Photographer

Mom's first line in her email inquiry to me was, "I'm looking for photographers who can capture our family as we are."  She said she loved "candid shots" and "real moments." My heart sang when she chose me.  We decided to do a sunset shoot at one of our favorite places - Longwood Gardens. 

I arrived as they were eating dinner, we took walks, we played, we looked for airplanes, and we ran.  Fast.  There were no formally posed photos... there were no fancy clothes.  There were shy moments, snuggly moments, yogurt moments, and moments that had us all out laughing.  They were perfect moments... real family moments... just as they were. 

Towards the end of the session, I took a picture of Ellie's hand resting on her mom's hand.  Ellie was tired and we were walking towards the exit.  I stopped to show Mom the back of the camera and said, "As a mom, this is one of my favorites."  They won't always sit on your arm with their diaper peeking through; their hand won't always be small enough to rest on yours.  We were well past sunset and the image has a good bit of grain.  But memories and little moments don't always need perfect light.  Mom said to me, "You got it!  That's just want I wanted: to capture us together and Ellie... just being little.  Because, she won't always be little... she's so much bigger than yesterday!"

I love all the sessions I do, but this continues to be one of my favorites.  I love sunset, I love families, and I love real moments.  True documentary photography is where my heart lies.  

If you are interested in capturing your family, as you are, I'd love to do that for you.

The S Family | Longwood Gardens Family Photographer

I always love when I get to work with this family.  I went to high school with these cuties' parents and I am so honored that they have chosen me to capture these memories for them.  It's amazing how much their girls grow up between each session.  I've loved being a part of this chapter in their lives.  For this session, we explored Longwood Gardens early one morning.  The girls love going here so we made sure to find some new locations for them to explore.

Cousins at Longwood Gardens | West Chester Family Photographer

At the end of last fall, I did a secret "cousins" session. We wanted to surprise their grandparents so I didn't post any of the images from that session yet. These three were so cute together!  It was fun to explore the warm conservatory and splash in the water a bit.  It was also really fun to make the big kids laugh for a change :)

The H Family | Longwood Gardens Extended Family Session

We had torrential rains off and on this day, but it was nice and dry in the Longwood Gardens Conservatory!  I absolutely loved working with the H family on this extended family session.  We did some posed portraits and captured some natural moments in between.  It had been a while since they had visited Longwood Gardens so we enjoyed checking out the various gardens in addition to the holiday displays.

The T Family | Longwood Gardens Chester County PA

I love Longwood Gardens in the fall and it's one of my favorite spots to shoot at with young toddlers. There is a lot to see and plenty of paths to explore. We had a beautiful fall morning a few weeks ago and little A was probably the fastest nearly one-year-old that I ever had the pleasure of chasing around!