Happy Friday! Getting family photos isn’t even easy for me. I hire my sweet friend Gina every year for a session and even after years of doing this, my family still doesn’t always love it!
Some ways we have learned over the years to make it more fun and easy for our pre-teens…. 1) Promise dinner after the session 2) Organize a shopping trip where they get to pick out the outfit they love and feel comfortable in. (I typically pick a color scheme and tell them they get to pick out an outfit within that scheme!) 3) Make it a short (we love mini sessions) 4) Bring in all the dad jokes and use them 5) Help them understand that they will appreciate and even be able to use the photos for the future and that it is a gift to mom. My husband always preps our kids by telling them that this is a gift to me. For some reason that seems to help!
What about you? Any tips you can share with me for the future? We are always looking to add to our list!
This past month has been crazy. I have been editing, blogging, e-mailing and then momm-ing. Piano after school, Soccer and baseball collided but we couldn’t do either because of an end of the year program at church! Just laughing my way into bed thinking about how busy May always is! Anyone else feel this way about their schedules?! Please send someone to help me say no….
You know, the ones that really, really know you? I hope you do. Because they are the people that are there for you, know you at your best, and worst, help you along when you are limping and celebrate joys as you are winning.
Friends. They are the best people and the ones that you need to carry you through life.
I was blessed to go to a small liberal arts college. It was a school that as an 18 year old, I wasn’t particularly thrilled to be going to. But my dad was a professor at the school and because of that, I received a pretty hefty discount and so my parents told me that if I attended for just one year to save on debt, they would help me look for an art school my sophomore year. I went in thinking that was just what I was going to do, but by the end of my Freshman year, there was no way I was going to leave. I went in not knowing anyone and came away 4 years later with the best friends I could have in life.
not long after we graduated, my incredible planner friend, Angie, started putting together girls weekends and throughout the years, it has stuck. Every year a different location is planned and each girl tries to make it. There are just a few rules… No kids and lots of relaxing! It has evolved through the years as we have grown and changed, and I am sure as we age it will continue to change. We have traveled to places in Iowa, MN, and Wisconsin; and each big year a big birthday celebration happens. (Stay tuned this November as we take flight to celebrate a big birthday for all of us…)
This weekend we hit up Crosslake, MN and spent the weekend at Ivy Lane Lake House. Be sure to check them out if you are looking for rental cabin! We ate, walked, rested and re-connected! It was incredible.
I just love these women and their hearts. It is hard to imagine my college life being anywhere else as it has shaped me into the person I am today, and what an incredible gift that is!
All photos taken and shared to me by Angie Lundeen
Yep Friday again and 10 things about me, and then you!
1) My mom used to cut and perm my hair when I was a child
2) I was a studio art major in college and used to develop 20×24 photos on Ilford paper, I loved it!
3) I love the smell and feel of freshly washed sheets.
4) I thought I would grow up to be a teacher because both my parents were teachers. I found out later, I’m not really that great at teaching.
5) I recently learned how to make home made soft pretzels. Probably something I shouldn’t know….
6) I got a tattoo when I was 19 and haven’t ever regretted it.
7) I used to lothe camping, but over the years my husband has made me learn to love it.
8) I love a good cab. Red wine is my favorite.
9) My e-mail inbox has over 10,000 e-mails dating back to 2007, but I can’t seem to get the energy to even want to work on clearing them out!
10) My favorite day of the week is Monday. I know crazy! But both my husband and I work weekend jobs and we take Monday’s off, its quite possibly the best!!
Now you, tell me something about you I would never know!
1) I LOVE summer and waterslides and have been going to @noahsarkwaterpk as long as I can remember. 2) When I was 14, I knew I was going to be a photographer and never looked at any other profession. 3) My kids always ask me what my favorite color is and I usually say all of them, because who can have just ONE favorite color?! Do you?! If so, I’d love to hear it and why!! Happy Friday!
Including siblings in your newborn session… yes or no? My answer is always yes.
It might feel a little chaotic in the moment, but those are often the images you end up treasuring the most—the real connection, the tiny interactions, the beginning of a new family story.
I’ve loved watching the Luong family grow through all three of their children’s newborn sessions, and those sibling moments are always some of my favorites.
If you’re wondering how it all works (and how we make it easy), I wrote a full blog post about it! Check it out in my stories
No one said you had to do newborn photos inside! Taking lifestyle newborn photos outside and making them true to your style makes them even more meaningful and significant!!
