‘Mommy & Me’ Portraits with Amy & Arizona
Sun-drenched, wild fields never disappoint…
Combine a sunny late September morning with beautiful subjects and impeccably styled wardrobe and you get Amy and Arizona’s sweet and glow-y ‘Mommy & Me’ portrait session. These pictures were a dream to shoot and the editing process put my goofy “ahhh, so many favorite shots!” grin on my face. (It should be noted the same grin was worn behind the camera, per usual.)
As with most moms, we find ourselves usually the photographer of our families and therefore rarely in the pictures with our loved ones. (waving my hand frantically in the air over here…) This was exactly the case with Amy and as any mom knows, tiny humans grow fast. If we don’t take steps to ensure we are in the photos with our family, we will blink and those tiny humans won’t be so tiny any longer.
Amy and I started planning her and Arizona’s session in early September and talked about what she wanted to accomplish with the shoot. Lots of movement, natural setting, sweet gestures between mum and daughter and of course, killer outfits. Amy is a very fashion forward lady and her keen eye for both her and Arizona’s multiple looks took these portraits to another level.
Ladies, I cannot emphasize this enough: maxi dresses and maxi skirts, the more flow-y the better. Always. (OK, well maybe not always but at least 99.9% of the time they should be given very strong consideration.) They serve as a great prop (something to do with your hands when you pick it up, swish it side-to-side, etc.), they photograph beautifully and are the most flattering thing most any shape or age of woman can wear. Same is true for little girls, they are just darling. I present the following evidence:
When Amy and I were discussing locations, Amy first offered up Stony Creek Metropark. I agreed and started mentioning options there from the beach to heavily wooded spots to grassy knolls… Amy mentioned a field and I immediately thought of my favorite spot to photograph. Lo’ and behold we were both thinking of Shelden Pines, so that was an easy decision! Many moons ago, Amy ran cross-country in high school and they would occasionally bus the team to Stony Creek Metropark to practice. Shelden Pines is in the thicket of a number of running trails. She said the tree-lined lane was her favorite location to run. The lane leads up to what is left of the tennis courts in front of where The Shelden Family Estate: Greenhill Farm once stood. The history is actually quite fascinating and you can learn more and view old pictures of the home before it was demolished in 1980 by clicking here and here. It only made sense to take a few shots of her and Arizona back in that same locale and boy, they did not disappoint!
Overall, I am just in love with these photos and am so happy I was able to give Amy a tangible way to remember what life looked like as mum to an almost-three-year-old Arizona.
Amy was kind enough to provide the links to some of their wardrobe from this session in case you loved them as much as I did:
Arizona’s brown dress (not photographed but equally adorable)
Amy’s cream dress. (Note: Amy had an additional cream skirt underneath the dress to add volume and reduce the transparency of the fabric when it was backlit by the sun. Ladies, wear a slip under this dress. You can thank me later.)
Final thoughts: Mamas (and Dads!)- make sure you are in photographs with your children. Whether they are taken by a pro or a stranger at the zoo, take pictures of you and your tiny humans together. Don’t wait until your hair and makeup are perfect or only when you and the kids are all wearing clean and matching clothes- 364 days out of the year on average that will not be the case. And that’s ok. These pictures don’t have to be posted on social media for the world to see, no one but you has to ever know they exist if you wish which can make them all the more special. If you want something you feel comfortable posting on FB and having giant canvas prints of in your home, drop me a line and I would be more than thrilled to make those images a reality. Either way, just be in the photos. Because when you are 40, 50, 60…90 and you want to remember what those days felt and looked like with the family you love and cherish most in life, you won’t care if you were wearing yoga pants or a ballgown.
Be. in. the. picture.
-pja
xoxox
