Tag Archive for: family

Pittsburgh Family Portraits: Downtown Makes a Great Setting

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I recently photographed a family of seven in downtown Pittsburgh, an unlikely setting for any children’s portrait unless the city happens to be home, but this brave family with five kids was up for the challenge and let me say, they have my awe and respect! We started walking through the Cultural District and walking shots like this one are one of my favorite ways to keep a photo shoot moving so that the kids don’t get bored.

walking through the city

We came across this alley with an overhead lighting feature which made for a fun design element in this family portrait.

alley family portrait

There are a lot of nice spots for portraits downtown and I’ve learned many of them by photographing weddings. However, just recently, some of the parklets have started to close on weekends, so there are fewer options with greenery these days.

portrait at the train station

family walking

After all of our walking, the kids were getting tired, but I still like this shot of the family by the bridge. The facial expressions on the kids are comical – it’s not a portrait I’d hang on the wall, but it will be fun for this family to look back on someday!

on the bridge

As we headed back to our parking garage, we stopped for one last shot with mom and dad. Well done, mom and dad!

husband and wife

Cranberry Family Portraits: First Birthdays and Celebrating Milestones

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A first birthday is a great time to schedule a portrait session. Our babies learn and grow so much over the first year, so there is so much to celebrate! And while you’re at it, it’s a great opportunity to update your family portrait, which is exactly what this sweet family did. I’ll start of with this photo of the big and little sister – how precious to have a photograph of these two to look back on?

sisters

Bubbles are a favorite activity for little ones during sessions and this big sister was pleased to help with the bubble-making!

blowing bubbles

Little ones learning to walk is pretty high up there in my list of favorite things to photograph. So proud!

big girl walking!

And Cranberry Woods has these amazing paths through the woods that make for great and safe walking shots. No roots to trip on!

family walking holding hands

We stepped a little farther into the woods for this family portrait.

family portrait

This mama wanted to document her daughter’s first taste of cake and even made the cake herself! Very impressive!

first birthday

While this little sweetie was timid, she definitely enjoyed her cake!

cake smash

Lifestyle Sessions: A Great Choice for Young Families

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I’ve been blessed to photograph this two-year old sweetheart since he was 4-months old and it has been a treat to photograph his family over the last two years. I love their desire to document their little guy’s development and that they’re not coming to the session with an expectation that he’ll want to sit and pose. Because when you’re two, you’re always on the move, unless your napping that is. I’ve learned with my own sons that it’s best to try and capture the moment rather than try to force a vision and I’m seeing more families opt for less stress and go for a lifestyle approach. I think you’ll see, it’s more authentic and so rewarding to get shots that show our child’s personality.

boy swinging at Avonworth Community Park

We met at Avonworth Community Park off of Camp Horne Road. It has a great playground for little ones to explore.

on the playground

This little cutie loved the swings, so we spent a good bit of our time capturing him swinging with his parents taking turns pushing.

on the swings

mommy pushing son on swings

And then he wanted his friend Mickey to swing too!

letting kids play during portrait sessions

He also liked this tree which had perfectly low branches for climbing.

climbing on trees with dad

While lifestyle photography aims at capturing moments, getting a family portrait is definitely on my mental checklist. It may not be posed and depending on the situation, I might have a stuffed Mickey Mouse on my head! It worked.

lifestyle family portrait

sweet in-between moments

close up of mom, dad and son

What a great way to start the morning!

Multi-Generational Family Portrait at McConnell’s Mill

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After posting about a December engagement session at McConnell’s Mill, I didn’t think I’d get back out to this lovely state park until closer to spring. But a family wanted to get together for a very special portrait with the parents who started it all, their children and grandchildren. I suggested McConnell’s Mill because it is lovely all year round.
However for a family portrait of 13 in January, we hopefully watched the weather. We were hoping for temperatures above freezing and I was personally hoping for there to be snow because it is so beautiful to photograph portraits in the snow. These two desires were met thanks to a week of snowy skies and a quick rise in temperature before the snow had a chance to melt. What a blessing!

multi-generational family portrait

Here are the three sons. Just because they’re all grown and have families of their own doesn’t mean they are too grown up for a portrait together.

three brothers

And here are the smitten grandparents and their grandchildren.

grandparents and grandchildren

We also did individual family portraits. And I have to say, these kiddos were troopers!

family portait by the mill

family portrait on the lookout

family portrait in front of the covered bridge

And last, but not least, the ladies who organized this family portrait. Well done, ladies!

the ladies who organized this portrait

Pittsburgh Newborn Photos: Siblings Can Sweeten the Session

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In my personal experience, our oldest wasn’t super excited about the birth of his brother. He was indifferent at times and jealous at others (thankfully, they’ve since bonded and are best buddies now). And I’ve photographed other families who have had similar experiences. But when there are big sibs who are actually excited about having a baby, the newborn session just gets that much sweeter. I love to see this and it is a treat to photograph it. In the past, I’ve written about times when sessions were a struggle for big sibs and this recent session provides a great opportunity to write about times when including siblings in the newborn portrait just amps up the sweetness!

the whole family on the couch

adoring their baby sister

big sister and baby sister

taking care of her baby sister

One cute thing about these sisters is that they kept wanting to touch their baby sister’s face. Their mama kept encouraging them to touch her tummy or toes instead, but they couldn’t resist. So cute!

sisterly love

I can’t put my finger on it, but photographs of my two boys together have super powers over me. They completely capture my heart. I hope this mama feels the same way about this photo.

all three daughters

mama and her baby

father and daughter

This next photo at the door was taken there mainly for the natural light, but as I was editing it occurred to me that this could have been what it looked like when this mom and dad brought their third daughter home. So sweet!

the whole family

What a breath of fresh air seeing this sweet family in their first days with their three daughters! I’m blessed to be able to capture such a special time in a family’s life.