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

---

Songs, swings, and so much JOY!

---

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.

---

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

---

Full house. Full heart.

---

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.

---

At Home with the Ceass Family, Atlanta Documentary Family Photographer

---

The routines of a toddler

---

During this session, just by following this family around, I learned so much about Eli and the way he goes about his days. So much of a toddler's day is scheduled around routines, and I loved watching Eli as he confidently moved through his day, doing the things that he does every day, the things that define his days. As we walked to the playground, Eli got a stick, just like he always does. On the tennis courts, he moved through his round of toys and stopped by a lonely puddle before heading to the slide and swings. Up and down and back and forth until it was time to throw a rock and some pine straw in the stream. The routines kept coming when we got back home in forms of snacks and Elmo and throwing away trash and feeding the dog and cat and continued with games inside and outside and always another "one more time." Following parents as they follow their child's lead with responsiveness and connectedness is a privilege I do not take lightly.

When I photograph a family, I am always thinking about what the child will want to someday see of what their childhood was like. Of course I want to show them how absolutely loved they are, but I also want to be able to show them the games they played, the work they did, and the special routines that shaped their beginning understandings of family life.

---