Family Photos 2012

In October we scheduled some professional family photographs, and they were the first ones we've done since Cora was 12 months old.

This was our first time working with Ilde Cook of Shehewe Photography, and it was amazing!!  I first met Ilde over four years ago when Brennan and her daughter Ava were in Mother's Day Out together. That year when the kids had a little Thanksgiving feast at school, Ilde shot this picture of Brennan and me and emailed it to me:

I still love that photo.  I doubt Ilde even remembers that first photo, but check out this one:

History repeats itself!  Seth's placement could use a little work, but Brennan had a few years on him.  :-)

Ilde is a master at making kids laugh.  Brennan hates having his photo taken, and I was sort of dreading the whole experience.  But Ilde is a-mazing.  She used crazy props - including a whoopie cushion - and she captured some true joy in my kids' faces.

Initially we were supposed to do our photos outside at a farm (or farm-like area).  It was freezing that day, and we decided we would be cuter without forty-six layers of clothes.  So, we opted to stay at our house instead.  I am so glad we did!  I love that Ilde captured and preserved elements of our everyday life.  

Being in our home and working with someone who really knew how to work with kids ended up making this one of my favorite photo shoots of all time!  Plus, the weather warmed up just enough at the end of the afternoon that we were able to do some pictures in our backyard just before we lost the light.  

Everyone knows someone who takes great pictures.  But not just anyone is brilliant with small children.  Honestly, it takes a special person.

If you find someone who can do both, you get near perfection.

This month I get to benefit even more from Ilde's gifts.  I got my Canon Rebel 3Ti last month (finally!!!!) and Ilde is going to help me get started with it.  I'm taking a small class with her and her husband, Jim, in a few weeks, and I am super excited to begin moving towards taking portraits instead of just snapshots!  The photos on this blog should start getting much, much better in the coming months!  :-)