What’s better than a warm evening, playing near a babbling brook with your family? Not much! This beautiful family showed their genuine love through play and touch, and even jumped into the frigid stream at the end!

After my sessions, I like to ask the family what they thought about it and how it was for them. Often times they come into it somewhat nervous, not sure of what to expect, and are typically somewhat stiff with their movements and interaction. When we’ve finished, however, family members are relaxed, playful, loving, and much more comfortable. Dads often mention that it wasn’t as bad as they expected and kids say they had fun and we’re often best buddies by the end. Those who return to me yearly often look forward to our games and time together and it makes me so happy to develop those relationships year after year!

Preparation for sessions can be a lot of work and cause stress to the family. Finding the right clothing, worrying about how their children may behave, wondering if the weather will cooperate, etc. My goal as the photographer is to make the process from start to finish as simple and stress free for my client as possible. I’m here every step of the way, assisting in every way necessary. Some clients ask for minimal assistance in their preparation like wardrobe and styling, while others allow me to do most of the prep work for them. I’m thrilled to help in any way necessary, so no matter how much or how little assistance you need, I’m there for you.

Let’s talk about how this family prepared for their family session with Maeta Grace Photography, Red Wing lifestyle photographer. While they had family photos done in the past with another photographer, it had been several years. Mom was very familiar with my work and knew to expect lifestyle, real-life images. She and I discussed nearby locations that would work well for the time of year and discussed the ideal lighting of golden hour. I offered my client closet to her to utilize for herself. She chose this vibrant beautiful dress she felt confident in after trying on a couple of options. Basing the rest of the family off her dress, she sent me clothing options for the rest of the family after doing some shopping, and together we decided what would work best together, looking at patters, colors, and textures of the clothing. We wanted a bright, vibrant feel to go with the gorgeous location.

The evening of the session, we met at this gorgeous location and discussed what to expect during the session, encouraging the family to be present with one another and just enjoying their time together, not paying attention to me or focus on what I was doing.

The kids were overall wonderfully calm and cooperative, and they clearly they found their groove and just needed simple prompts from me to get these magical in-between moments.

Finally, at the end of the session, they were all willing to get into the cold water until all our toes were numb and give me one last bit of snuggling.

My sessions don’t end until you get to the car. I always continue to shoot as moments develop while walking back from the locations and sometimes they’re some of my very favorite. So authentic and real.