Amber & Family - Fall 2023

I was EXTREMELY excited to have another opportunity to photograph this family because of how special they are to me!

Oh, my goodness, I felt so special this year because of how many repeat clients I photographed! Ray and Amber aren't just any couple though, Lee and I consider them very close friends of ours. Ray and Lee met while they were in the academy training to be firefighters back in 2019. They developed a strong enough friendship that Lee invited him and another member in their recruit class to our wedding! Ray and Amber attended our wedding before I even knew who they were, and I have a picture in our gallery with them in it. Fast forward to when Amber and I also developed a friendship because Lee and the rest of the group would get together frequently and the girlfriends and wives would also mingle!

Lee and I got along with Ray and Amber easily, and we even got to experience starting our families together, which I felt is what brought us closer together. Amber and I had our first kids a couple months apart, and our second within the same year of each other. I offered to do her maternity pictures when she was pregnant with Nolan, and though it was at the start of my photography business, I walked away with some of my favorite images to date!

I was asked to do their family pictures this season which would include Amber's parents and her sister! I've met them before, but it was nice to see them again! One of the locations they really wanted to photograph was at a bridge close to their house. It was a pretty cloudy day, and I did let them know it may be darker than I usually go for because of the way the tall trees create a canopy overhead, but I was able to choose a place on the bridge that didn't cause too many shadows on their faces.

After we spent a good bit of time on the bridge making sure all the essential groupings were captured, we went to Amber and Ray's home to photograph them on their land, and I think these were my favorite in their gallery by far. I think it best represents my style because I was able to get more light on their faces and I didn't have to worry about any weird shadows. We took photos on their driveway, and it was great lighting! I was able to focus on Amber and Ray as a family with the boys, and was able to capture their silliness and their personalities even more!

Just when they thought we were done, I told them I would LOVE it if we took some final shots on their field. This is what makes my photographer heart happy. This was EXACTLY what I love as far as locations go. It was an overcast day, the sky was unobstructed by trees, and the background was light and airy. The overcast day helps to soften the light on their faces! The sky being unobstructed by trees close to where they were standing lets in so much available light. And the background being light and airy helps to avoid any heaviness in the photo. These are all the things I'm thinking about with each session! Like a checklist, and if I need to, I will modify.

I was excited to go home and start working on these pictures for our friends. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be the one to photograph them in this season in their lives! I never expect or assume that people in my life would ask me to be their photographer solely because they know I do photography. The market is very saturated right now, and there are so many great photographers locally. So, when I do get asked, I don't take it lightly, and the excitement I feel (even with the pressure I put on myself) makes what I do so, so worth it.

I love you sweet friends!

Here are some highlights from their session!!