These guys are no strangers to the Pinkle Toes blog and every year, their session is full of vibrant color and personality! It was a hot, humid morning when I went to visit them near Houston for their photo shoot, but we all stuck it out and even got a surprise visit from a puppy dog that really helped to bring a smile to the face of the youngest little guy. My favorite image from this session can be found HERE.

This family is like family to me. I find myself saying that about the majority of the people that I work with, but only because it’s true. My career as a photographer has unwittingly allowed me to be privy to some of the most intimate bonds among parents and their children, I see people when they are equally joyful and vulnerable because of that joy. And you don’t spend every year since *before* these little ones were even born photographing those interactions without becoming part of the family. Occupational bonus. I can’t put into words how much of a privilege it has been to watch these girls grow up before my eyes and in the process, become such close friends to their amazing parents. I tear up thinking about the very first phone call I had from Zeke all those years ago and comparing that to the gigantic smiles and huge hugs all around when I saw everyone again in Denver just a few weeks back. And then to get to work with the gorgeous Flatirons outside of Boulder, Colorado as my backdrop??? Blessed? Fortunate? Sublimely grateful? #allthefeels and yeah, definitely going to have to make Denver a repeat destination for family photography every summer from now on ;-). Who’s in?

As per usual, I had a hard time picking a favorite from this family session, so for grins, I’ll just go with THIS one.

Earlier this summer, we celebrated the anxious anticipation of the birth of these twins. And then a few weeks ago, I finally got to meet these girls! Any parent of multiples can tell you that raising newborn twins can be quite challenging and when you’re trying to do that while raising a toddler, things can seem pretty crazy at times. But this mommy and daddy were made for the job and they just took everything in stride, which made my job to document their lives with twins + a toddler all that much more fun. #1 bit of advice to anyone juggling life with twins is to maintain your sense of humor, as in exhibit A below:

We really did have to laugh because just as we would get all three kiddos calm and happy and picture ready, inevitably one would need something else. And it was perfectly okay for all of us to take plenty of snack breaks during the photo session ;-).

Oh, look at that perfect little newborn swirl. Sigh…

The two images of dad up there were snapped in quick succession. I didn’t realize I had gotten both of his PERFECT expressions until after I got home and flipped through the images. His face says it all, lol!

Oh, bless their pupster, who just wanted to be in every.single.picture. we took! Loved it!

We were finally able to convince big sister to be in on some of the family photos and truly, she was just as sweet as she could be to her baby sisters. It’s a lot to ask of any new sibling to accept a new baby into their home and she’s working through that times TWO. I saw mom and dad do an amazing job of making sure she was getting plenty of love and affection in spite of us oooohing and ahhhing over the babies and that is pretty spectacular. But personally, my fav big sister picture came at the very beginning of our session HERE.

And wow…how any newborn mommy can look this radiant–let alone a newborn mommy with twins–is beyond me.

I do love that we were able to give mommy some quiet snuggle time with just the babies.

I also love how each parent somehow got a clone ;-).

Everyone in this family of FIVE gets gold stars for doing a fantastic job throughout their photo session for sure!

So, a few years ago, I happened to experience on of my most favorite photo shoots of all time with this beautiful young lady and a butterfly ;-). I could not get over the fates at work when, as I was planning a spur of the moment trip to Denver, her mommy contacted me to let me know they were in Colorado and could we work out a new photo session because they now had a baby boy! Turns out that she is just as sassa-frassy as she’s always been.

It also turns out that baby boy is just as adorable as his big sister!

I was very excited to get to work at this crazy colorful spot in downtown Denver…loved it’s modern look with jagged lines and cool shapes. But it wasn’t without it’s challenges. Quite literally after I had taken but a single image, it started to rain on us :-(. We ducked under the cover of various overhangs, hoping it would pass. Eventually, the rain did let up…for a while.

Fortunately, this family doesn’t take long at all to warm up to the camera, so we were able to work quickly and still get amazing interactions with everyone in a short time. So, I wasn’t terribly worried when we saw the clouds rolling in again.

My favorite part of the session comes in the following series of images. Little guy is just learning to walk and he actually took a few steps on his own while I was luckily snapping away!

The looks on their faces says it all! He was so proud of himself and his sister was just as happy for him! It was precious! And sure enough, just as we finished those last couple of images, the storm *really* hit…it was like a Texas storm! Crazy lightning and a torrential downpour that wouldn’t let up! I was so happy we were able to squeeze in some amazing images with them before the storm sent us scattering to our cars ;-).

A little while back, I had the pleasure of spending a few days (technically, it may have only been 24 hrs) with an amazing photographer, good friend, and past workshop attendee, Sabrina Gebhardt Photography in Fort Worth. As part of our adventures together, we photographed another amazing photographer, good friend, and past workshop attendee, Lauren in Dallas. As excited as I was to explore downtown Dallas, I’m not going to lie…the heat almost did me in completely! I live in Texas, but I just wasn’t prepared for the way the heat radiated up through the streets and sidewalks. We were super duper lucky to find a cool little building to duck into for a few minutes 😉 and believe me, we were ALL grateful for a little bit of ice cold AC. Lauren’s kiddos did amazingly well considering it was the end of the day and so hot outside and I loved being able to incorporate the city into their family pictures this time. THIS one made me laugh ;-).

I also really loved having Sabrina there with me. She and I were saying how invaluable a second shooter would be at family sessions. This is common practice in wedding photography, but I can definitely see a need for it here, too. It was so cool to see all of the different perspectives she was able to get, even though we were both photographing the same people in the same location. One HERE and one HERE for example.

Here’s Sabrina in action:

So fun to get to go back and relive that whirlwind mentoring time with Sabrina and Lauren’s photoshoot in downtown Dallas! We had a wonderful time and I truly loved talking shop with Sabrina and watching her grow her photography business!

I met them a couple of years ago when they were expecting their very first baby. They had planned this lovely “babymoon” in Austin and oh, my goodness, it was like we chatted forever about so many things after we finished our session. I love when you get to feel a connection like that to a family. Naturally, when I saw them again for holiday pics at the end of last year, I was ELATED to learn they were expecting again. She mentioned in passing that they thought it might be twins, so I kinda fell on the floor when it was confirmed a short time later. I mean, can you EVEN believe there are two babies in there???? My favorite maternity portrait HERE. She was positively glowing when I visited them a few weeks ago. I cannot get over how amazing and happy she looks thanks to some inspiring health changes. And it’s been such a wonderful thing to watch them on their journey to parenthood and now into twin parenthood. They are going to do amazingly well and big sister is going to LOVE those sweet babies so much. I cannot wait to meet them and of course hold some twin babes again ;-).

Beth is a beautiful person with a radiant smile. Her son’s laughter is completely contagious. And her hubby is so incredibly patient while letting us play at our photo sessions. And everyone was beyond patient as we tried to get this photo session actually to happen! Every now and then, I’ll travel to the Houston area and usually, it’s not a big production. But it seems like for this trip, each time I would pack up and get ready to leave, there would be torrential rain and historic flooding. So, about a month after we had actually planned to do this photo shoot, we were able to get together. I’m glad we waited it out because we could not have asked for more amazing weather or more beautiful blue skies!

Flowers = gorgeous. Mosquitoes = annoying. But everyone is still smiling!

Ohhhhhh…that one up there through the jasmine? Look at his look…his smize…the protective love he has for his mommy in those eyes and in those hands that still have a trace of baby chub.

And I was LOVING the colors and patterns here!

Mr. Man decided he wanted to play hide-and-seek with us. I’m certain you won’t be able to find him…

Meghan Trainor look-alike, no?

Favity fav from this session is a tie between that jasmine photo and this one HERE.

Seriously, he can have anything he wants. Those sparkly eyes! His coy smile! What a charmer!

I was lucky enough to get to visit another friend when we were in Charleston, SC: Jody! I first met Jody years ago in North Carolina for one of my workshops and we’ve been able to get together a couple of times since, including the Pinkle Toes Workshop reunion in Charleston last year. Anyway, Jody really wanted to have a lifestyle family photo session in their home as a way to preserve this time their lives as a family. As a photographer herself, she totally gets the need and desire to have images like this of her own family, but it’s definitely not something you can do by yourself with a tripod. She said over and over to me that their home wasn’t perfect (whose is???), but it was full of life and love and that’s what she wanted to make sure they documented. Perfect. Love it.

Well, a few days before I was supposed to head out to the coast, Jody said they had come down with the flu, and I mean, a knock you on your bum for days at a time flu. We pretty much gave up on making this shoot happen and we were both incredibly disappointed. However, by some miracle, they rallied! Quite literally the day before I was supposed to leave, everyone managed to put on a few smiles for a couple of hours so mama could have her lifestyle photo session in the home she loves with the people she loves. Every single person in this family deserves a huge gold star for their efforts to do this session…every one! I cannot believe they did it and even looked healthy and adorable in the process. I’m not one for pushing a family through a photo session after being so sick, but in this case, I think it worked out okay ;-).

The first image above is from the “getting ready” process (Jody talks more about that below) and I’m really quite glad to have been there for those moments. I also rather enjoyed playing auntie to Jody’s eldest daughter and fixing her gorgeous, gorgeous long hair for the shoot.

Now onto the baby girl of the family, who is like a little doll baby and obviously quite adored:

Okay, this is their middle daughter in the heels up there. And she has such incredible personality! And she spent pretty much the entire session wearing her mom’s heels and it could not have been more perfect.

Ohhhh…I believe I spy some gorgeous Danielle originals up there!! ;0) Danielle happens to be a friend of ours also (as well as a sorority sister of mine ;-)…small world!

Speaking of small world…in chatting with Jody’s hubby, I learned that he lived in the same small Texas town as my husband AND his sister and I went to the same college at the same time. What???? By the way, this poor man was sick as a dog here as well, but man, he put on a good show. He was just amazing to do this for Jody and his girls!

The three moments above = swoon.

Ooops…swoon again over the couch snuggles.

Are they not a perfect and beautiful and loving and fun-loving couple????

Okay, I’m pretty sure we can all agree that Play-doh is the bane of any mother’s existence. But Jody is not just any mother and she actually lets her girls play with Play-doh AND joins in. Wow! I think I just lost first place in the Mom of the Year contest. Who am I kidding? I was never in first place 😉

I LOVE that Jody has filled her walls with pics, by the way. The beautiful images on the stairwell are by Alice Keeney.

We ended the session like THIS and by far, it was one of the most memorable session story times I’ve ever photographed. So Jody started reading Someday and I was happily snapping away, minding my own business, enjoying life and all the things that come along with it, when out of the blue, that sweet little children’s book just grabbed me by the heart and squeezed the breath out of me so hard, tears started streaming down my face and I could not control it. Jody gave me no warning that this book was going to send me into this emotional tailspin and I’m not sure if I can forgive her for that (okay, maybe I can). Oh. My. Word. If you are a mommy and you haven’t gotten Someday for your child(ren), you need to do so stat. Just make sure you have some tissues nearby. (I may or may not have bought several copies before I even left the driveway after her session).

And now, Jody’s take on the photo session:

1) Tell us a little bit about your family… We are a family of 5. Mom, Dad and three (yes.. THREE) girls, ages 8, 6 and 2. Lots of estrogen!
2) What made you decide this was the time to do a photo session? Were you marking any special occasion, etc? I’ve been a Pinkle Toes blogstalker for a while and attended Michele’s workshop in Charlotte in 2013 (which, FYI, was a game-changer for me and my business)! As soon as I heard that Michele was visiting Charleston, I knew I wanted to have our family captured by her.
3) Where was your session held and why? At home. We moved in to our house 3 days before our youngest was born and have existed in a constant state of blissful chaos ever since. I have never had an in-home lifestyle session and wanted to document this time in our family history (with my most favorite lifestyle photographer), when our girls are still little and there is just a tiny bit of baby left in each of them.
4) What did you like about your session location? Home is where we spend most of our time together, so I love the authenticity of having us photographed in our own space.
5) What was your favorite part of your session? It is hard to pick, but probably getting to play with Playdoh, or reading a book or snuggling with my girls!
6) Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session? If the kids would behave (the PCS is strong in this family)! [PCS = Photographer Child Syndrome and it is a very real thing.]
7) Any funny stories or interesting happenings during your session? A memorable morning indeed! Michele asked me to photograph her on the beach at sunrise in honor of the lifestyle and fitness changes she has made over the past year [I’m excited about this project!] . Since she was on such a tight travel schedule, and since I live near the beach, we decided the best time for the family session would be that same morning. So, Michele offered to help entertain the kids while I got ready and even helped style their hair. She is so sweet and generous with her time! I can’t thank her enough for the entire experience!
8) Any advice to other families before their photo sessions? Relax and have fun with it! Michele is MAGIC with her camera.
9) What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography? Where do I begin? There is something about the way Michele is able to make beauty out of the most ordinary things and the way she is able to capture the connections between people that I find amazing.
10) What do you hope your kids/family will say years down the road when looking at these images?

“Mom and Dad really do love us/me”
“I remember that house”
“I remember that book”
“Look how little we were”
“Look how young Mom & Dad are”
“I look so much like Dad/Mom”
“This is your great-great grandmother when she was little” – [There go my tears again! Thanks a lot, Jody 😉 This is so beyond perfect and the whole reason we do what we do, my friend.]

Continuing from yesterday’s post, after a few days spent in Georgia, we drove to Charleston, South Carolina. I was beyond thrilled to get to take my family back there after the trip I had last May with all of my photographer friends. I just couldn’t be that close to Charleston and NOT go back.

And, I couldn’t be in Charleston again without visiting with a family that I had been working with since this little one was a wee babe :-). A…it was just magical to reconnect with you and to see how she has grown up. What a beautiful child she is and I’m so glad we got to capture a piece of her childhood right here on the beach! It was a session I will never forget, my friend!

Oh, and you do NOT want to miss this balloon image HERE.

Wait. Can we talk about that amazing dress for just one second here?

Yes, please. And is that a goldfish in a balloon on that dress? Yes, yes it is. I want that dress. For my daughter. For myself. I want to be the person that created that dress. Okay, back to the photos of the adorable little girl, but this time, she’s in a towel, accessorized with a lollypop 😉

From Mama:

1) Tell us a little bit about your family… We moved to Charleston, SC from Texas about 2.5 years ago and we absolutely love it here. We are a family of three girls: Mommy, Harper, and LaScala (our King Charles Cavalier). We have lots of fun and lots of laughs through a lot of fun family adventures.
2) What made you decide this was the time to do a photo session? Were you marking any special occasion, etc? Michele was coming to Charleston and we are trying to commit to one annual spring photo shoots to capture our family as each year passes.
3) Where was your session held and why? Kiawah Island …. on the beach at the Sanctuary. [In case you can’t tell in the images, this is the most magical place on Earth. My family loved it, too! And thanks so much for THIS idea, A!!!]
4) What did you like about your session location? It is a perfect representation of a child’s dream playground. It just so happens its in our backyard, figuratively speaking.
5) What was your favorite part of your session? When Harper changed into her D&G dress and then sat down in the water to play. That was my last outfit change and I thought….its over! Looking forward to seeing the candid pictures. [I present to you, a D&G dress…in the water…]

6) Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session? Nope
8) Any advice to other families before their photo sessions? Just have fun and let kids be kids!
9) What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography? I love Michele’s work and style. I was thrilled when she reached out to us stating that she was going to be in the area. Like the consistency of a family photographer that captures life changes.
10) What do you hope your kids/family will say years down the road when looking at these images? Wow….what fun!

It was last year (and it feels like forever ago), when this Mama contacted me to see if by some chance, I would ever be interested in heading to Savannah, GA to photograph her and her sweet daughter. Once the idea was planted in my mind, I thought, “Why not?” and we started making plans for myself + my whole crew to head to Georgia over Spring Break. It turned out to be a magnificent trip all-around, but I have to say I quite enjoyed our afternoon together here. I ADORE Brandi’s decorating style and getting to witness these sweet little moments between mother and daughter was delicious!

Looking for their other kitty. There we go!

This one in the basket was cracking me up!

My personal fav from inside their home HERE.

Ohhhh…and then we got to go to the BEACH!!! Yaaaaassssssss!

How lucky is she to have a mama so willing to let her play and hang out on the beach and get dirty and sandy and splashy and run and do all the things that little girls should do as little girls?

From Brandi:

1) Tell us a little bit about your family… Amelie and I recently moved to Savannah and share a home with our two fur babies, Macy and Lacy. We enjoy all things silly and we are always on the move (mostly because at this age, she can’t sit still).
2) What made you decide this was the time to do a photo session? Were you marking any special occasion, etc? After a long and hard divorce, Amelie and I now reside by ourselves, without her father. We have taken professional family photos annually since her birth but for the last two years we haven’t. I wanted to make sure that these years were still documented, even if it was just she and I. I want her to know that she is and always will be loved even though her parents live in different homes.
3) Where was your session held and why? I was born and raised on the coast. Now that we are living near the ocean again, Amelie will be too. There is something so peaceful and calming about the beach and I want her to always remember where she is from no matter where life may take her as an adult.
4) What did you like about your session location? It was super laid back and casual, just like our household.
5) What was your favorite part of your session? That Amelie was able to express herself and be the crazy ball of wild energy that she is. I hope she never loses her adventurous and carefree spirit.
6) Was there anything you were nervous or worried about before the session? Not really…
7) Any funny stories or interesting happenings during your session? Can’t recall anything right off but we had a lovely time!
8) Any advice to other families before their photo sessions? Just go with it…if your kid is being wild and letting their personality show, let them. My child is a total ham and I found myself wanting her to calm down and be more relaxed during the session. Looking back, I realize I was trying to get her to behave more like an adult, but she’s still a kid. Let the kids be kids…soon enough they will outgrow it. Let Michelle document their youth as it is.
9) What made you choose Pinkle Toes Photography? I’ve always wanted our lives documented in the way only Michelle can capture. I’ve admired your work for years!
10) What do you hope your kids/family will say years down the road when looking at these images? “I remember that day, Mom! It was so much fun!”