There we were. A few days after Daniel was born we were in the pediatrician’s office for yet another jaundice check.  Since he was born the bilirubin levels had moved higher each day. It all ended up in a really tough night spent in the hospital for treatment, which finally got his jaundice under control. Looking back, it was no big deal. We’re thankful to have a healthy little boy. But, in the moment there is plenty of stress with almost no sleep. During these times everything is a blur, but there are also some really cool moments. One of those moments was the Deck family. Sitting there across the waiting room they also sat, ragged and worn out from the first few days with their little girl Piper. If this were a movie or a commercial there would have been a little scene where both sets of parents looked across the way, with bleary eyes, saw each other and gave a little head nod that says “Yep, I get it.” Honestly I can’t take much credit for even remembering that much, but Lauren and John did notice us and had a little moment of connection as they could very much relate. I’m sure we looked like we were auditioning for a zombie spot on The Walking Dead, so it was REALLY easy to connect to our ragged state.

It was very special for us not only to work with this family, but to simply spend time with them. I (Kyle) really loved getting to be around Piper and make silly faces at her to make her smile. By the end of the session I was holding her and hanging out while Kimberly snapped a few shots of Lauren and John together. Could I have a better job?

I often try to put myself in the shoes of our subjects. There are many families we work with that admit they have never had family photos taken. Sometimes it is hard to prioritize investing time and resources in having professional family photos, and honestly that is partly due to the unknown of the final result. -What if I don’t like the way I look? What if taking the time for a photo shoot is stressful? I don’t know how to ‘pose.’-  All of these are valid, and common objections. Our goal with a photo shoot is to of course make great images, but also to have fun. The longer we have worked in photography the more we take a step back and work to get more ‘unposed’ moments.

We especially loved that the shoot was on long time family land, where Lauren and John were married. How cool to see this growing family together in a place that is so special to them.

I hope you enjoy these images from this sweet family!