Oh how I just adore the family I’m blogging about today. I’m lucky enough to say I’ve been photographing the Gorman family for 2 years now! I truly can’t believe how much the children have grown and changed since I first met them.

It goes without saying, Abigail and Josh are always a pleasure to work with. It’s hard to not love clients like Abigail who has so much love and excitement for her family. Dad and husband Josh is just as great. He is always keeping everyone laughing with his sense of humor and he adores his family so much.

When Abigial emailed me to take their photos again, I immediately began counting down the days to our session! And as for the day of the shoot, I had a great time! They had a pretty great time, too.

“I love that my kids love Ashleys style of picture taking, she is very personable and she doesnt waste time! With such a large group of kids keeping things moving is a must with us, having to much down time where kids can get dirty and do who knows what is never a good thing. Ashley has always given us more photos then we can afford to chose from, I love that we have options and poses that we get to scan thru!” says Abigail.

Okay, enough text. Check out the fabulous Gorman family!

 

Check out tips and tricks for your upcoming session on my blog!

So we meet again, dear blog readers!

The topic of discussion for today is none other than the cutest little boy, David. If the name or face look familiar to you, it’s because I’ve photographed this family before. Because my last session with this family went so well, I knew it wouldn’t be any different this time around. And I was right! Check it out for yourself:

I was over the moon when I got a email from Lisa saying she wanted to book a cake smash session. When I asked her the theme and vision, she had told me she wants it to be like the movie coco. I about went crazy and threw in the idea of doing a taco smash session instead! Mom was totally on board and I have never been more excited about a photo session in my life. We of course still had to include a little cake 😉

As expected, Mom and Dad did a wonderful job preparing David for our session. They brought all sorts of props and the cutest outfits to incorporate their culture. I mean how is this not the cutest session you have ever seen!

Having hungry kids at a photo session is almost always a recipe for tantrums.

While, ideally, you want to schedule any shoot with your children around meal times, this doesn’t work out for everyone. Even if you have planned your shoot to fall between meal and snack times it is always best to have something on hand just in case. Here are some healthy snack ideas that won’t leave your kids a sticky mess.

1. Apple slices and grapes.

Fruit is always a great snack and when you want your kids to remain mess free, apples slices are the best option. Apples tend to not be as messy or sticky and are easy for kids to eat without getting juice all over them as they would with other fruits. Grapes are also an easy snack to pack on the go and kids love. If you have younger kids be sure to half them before you head out the door.

2. Veggies sticks and hummus.

For a fuss free healthy snack slice up a variety of veggies like celery, sweet peppers, carrots and cucumber and pack some hummus for them to dip in. Combining hummus and veggies will help your kids feel full so you won’t have to worry about them asking for more minutes later.

3. Trail mix.

Trail mix is a super easy healthy snack idea you can have fun with. Combine nuts, dried fruit and whole grain cereal.  Use your imagination and you can make a variety of different trail mixes to keep things interesting.

4. Whole wheat wraps.

Use some small tortillas to create turkey, lettuce and cheese wraps. You can cut these into bite size portions to make it easier for your kids to eat. If want to cut back on the bread products leave out the tortilla and wrap the cheese and turkey in the lettuce.

5. Home made muffins.

Most prepackaged muffins are filled with artificial flavors, sugar and other ingredients you don’t want to give your kids. For a healthier alternative, try making your own muffins. Banana walnut, zucchini, oatmeal raisin muffins and even apple cinnamon muffins can be made to cut back on the sugar and increase the nutritional value. Plus, muffins are easy to transport, don’t need to be refrigerated and cause little to no mess aside from a few stray crumbs.

Why you should hire a professional photographer to do your events

If you’re on the fence about whether or not to hire someone to photograph your event, consider these reasons:

Let’s say the event is a family reunion and you want to get a group photo of the whole family. You could do it yourself, but one of two things could happen then. A) You have someone take the photo for you, leaving a family member out of the photo because they had to take it. This could possibly offend that person or make them feel awkward for being excluded. Or B) You set a timer on your camera. This can be problematic because there are so many people in the photo that you will need to take several images to make sure everyone is looking and has their eyes open. You will have to take two to three times as long to get the photos done because you’ll have to keep resetting the timer, and you still might not have gotten the shot. Hiring a professional will eliminate all of this stress.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to go around all night taking selfies with my phone or camera with all of my friends and family members. I would much prefer to relax and enjoy the moment instead of trying to capture it. The quality of the photos will be much better than the selfies. Also, trying to take a selfie with a group of people is next to impossible when trying to get everyone inside the frame.

If the event is a birthday party, you don’t want to miss out on visiting with guests or helping your child open presents or cut the cake because you are too busy trying to take the photos. You want to be part of the action, not stuck behind the camera.

Another great thing about hiring a professional is that you don’t have to worry about editing and distributing the photos after the event is over. You just have to wait to receive them from your photographer.

Finally, it’s really a gift to have well lit photographs taking by a professional who preserve the memory of your event. Those images are going to be cherished by everyone for a very long time to come.