Rainy day
This. Beautiful. Family.
Where do I begin? 2018 was declared "The Year of Kindness" in my household. We have taken this idea of kindness and applied it in many different areas of our life, but one way I knew I could really make a difference was through photography. I ran my first ever, MODEL CALL, and I received an overwhelming response. I shut it down in 48 hours and am booked 2 months out (Yay for Tulip season! Who's with me?). This family responded to the model call, but my family sessions were already filled. Their story is brave, sad, and oh, so beautiful that I could not say no to them.
The shortened version, and the story that truly pulled on my heart strings is this:
They were fostering to adopt a newborn. At 11 months, their baby was taken from foster care, from them, and returned to her bio family. All their pictures over the last year have a baby in them (that both kids refer to as their baby sister) that they no longer see or have contact with. This family needed new pictures. Happy pictures. Bright and beautiful pictures to represent their NOW!
This was one of those sessions where we were planning one thing, and ended up with a completely different result. I love it when this happens, because it is always an unexpected surprise and it gives me new ideas for future sessions as well. We started this session planning around the snow. After rescheduling due to that lovely winter Pacific Northwest weather, we decided to grab our clear umbrellas and hit an indoor greenhouse.
Hello, FlowerWorld. Oh, how I have fallen in love with you!! It was our first time there and I cannot wait to go back again! The lighting was perfect. It was warm and dry inside with plenty of room for us to run and play. The kids were perfectly dressed, fed, and as absolutely happy as could be. (These are my kind of kids!!) And because of our timing there was no one there!
FlowerWorld has an open door policy for photographers and every employee we chatted with was unbelievably friendly. They were eager to see the kids running around and having a good time. It was such a welcoming environment.
We laughed,
ran,
and played
for a little bit, and well, as you can see just had a horrible time together. :) I think the kids had more fun with the umbrellas and 'hide and seek' than anything else, but that's really the point isn't it??
My goal is to capture the true YOU, the true smiles and emotions behind the scenes. After all the coordinated outfits are put on, hair is brushed and faces are wiped clean, I just want to PLAY! These two brought their A game. I am always amazed at how quickly kids can warm up when you talk to them and give them your attention. (Having a child the same age certainly helped! I knew all about My Little Ponies and Skylanders for an easy win!)
(I especially love that their grumpy face is totally the same!!)
I am so thankful our session was bumped due to the rain, and we were pushed inside. Pushed to try a new location and to play in different light.I had so much fun bringing these adorable bright colors into such a beautiful location. I can't wait to play with these kids again!!
