Pittsburgh Family Portrait

Here’s a fun backyard session from a few weeks back. And by backyard, what I should really say is gorgeous nature walk through the woods. And it actually is the backyard of this awesome nature-loving family!

But let me start with the kids, they are real charmers, even asking if I wanted to be in one of the photos. How sweet!?!

And here’s the whole family. Doesn’t it look like they were having fun? We kept the shoot light and low on the fuss factor. And for families with younger children, I think that’s really important. As soon as an adult on the shoot (photographer included) gets fussy and frets about stray hairs or posing, the kids disconnect and it becomes challenging for everyone. With that being said, props to this mom who had everyone ready to go, so the moments leading up to the shoot were low-stress and the kids were in a great mood.

They spend a lot of time down by the creek and we shifted into more of a lifestyle photography approach.

I really love lifestyle photography because it combines portraiture with everyday life – carefully planned to highlight our memories in the best possible light. As a photographer and a mom, that’s what I feel will be most precious to my family in years to come.