An evening at home with the Schroeder Family, Atlanta Family Photographer

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Songs, swings, and so much JOY!

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You can imagine my excitement when I found out I was going to be able to photograph a family with a 5 year old and 3 1/2 year old triplets. I love chaos, and big families, and lots of activity, and I knew it was going to be so much fun! While it was all those things, it was so, so much more. Each child was their own perfectly distinct personality that complimented the family dynamic. Of course there was a lot of activity, but as I watched Mom and Dad pushing the children on the swings, the kids were all singing, and it was completely calm. The swings would occasionally all sync up as the kids belted the melodies. The swings themselves were like the strings of an instrument, chords made of individual notes gently strummed by Mom and Dad. Okay, maybe that's a cheesy metaphor, but I really could have listened to this family sing and swing all night. I'm never not amazed by the families I photograph.

I know it's not easy to open your home up to have your daily life photographed. It's also not easy to get into the frame with your children. But, when you do, you give your kids the gift of being able to see how you jumped with them on the trampoline and how you wrestled with them on the couch. They get to see the ways you loved them with snuggles, and books, and color coordinated cups, and they will be able to see the joy they had through it all.

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Roland's First Days at Home with his Family

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Welcome to the world, Roland.

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Roland James Poulos, born in the wee hours of the morning on the twelfth of April, 2017.

We've spent lots of time on the couch this week, lots of hours past noon in our jammies with messy hair, lots of time just being. The girls are both smitten with their new baby brother, and he's pretty much a real life baby doll to Charlotte. She wants to hold him and carry him around always. She can't help but move him around and sing to him and touch him. She loves to put her finger in his mouth and gets the biggest kick out of how it feels when he sucks on it. Winnie has a more subtle affection for Roland. Her favorite thing to do is to come up and give him kisses, so many kisses. She also likes to point out his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, poking them as she tells me each part. She loves to put his pacifier in her mouth and always makes it a point to show me she has it by pointing at it and smiling. They both speak to him in a voice an octave higher than their normal speaking voices. Charlotte always says, "Hi, little guy, " and Winnie just says all these sounds that are too soft and sweet and high pitched to understand. They were both pretty grossed out by his dried out umbilical cord, even though Charlotte cut his cord after he was born, and they keep their distance during diaper changes. Roland is sweet and sleepy and oh so cute, and he's pretty lucky to have these two big sisters. We're beyond excited to have him as part of our family.

I've really enjoyed participating in monthly blog circles as a way to connect with other photographers around the country. This month, I am linking to some Lifestyle Photography in Tulare, CA. Go check out the work of Megan Boggs and follow the blog circle back here.

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An afternoon at home with the Ku Family, Atlanta Documentary Family Photographer

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Full house. Full heart.

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This session was a gift for a doting grandmother. Three families from all over the country gathered together in their childhood home, and I got to document it in all of it's chaos and joy. I thoroughly enjoyed watching all of the different relationships unfold as they played with balloons, sparklers, worked on a fairy house, played Octonaut Uno, and had a pillow fight. I know many photographers shy away from extended family sessions, but I have to say that they are some of my favorite. Coming from a big family and having grandparents that were such a big part of my life, these sessions stir up something in me that makes me so grateful for the opportunity to photograph them. I'm always so interested in watching all the activity and observing the many different ways of connecting; aunts, uncles, cousins, grandkids, spouses, nieces, nephews, brothers, and sisters. Grandma was all smiles and snuggles, and really, so was everyone else. While this session was meant as a gift for Grandma, I think ultimately the gift is for the grandkids as they will grow up with visual proof of how very much their grandma loves them.

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