Jason, Olga, and baby Victoria

Jason met Olga while on a mission trip to Russia 10 years ago.  They didn't fall in love at first, but over time they developed a friendship that blossomed from there.  Theirs is such an inspiring love story.  I wanted to share it with you.   

After they married in Russia, Olga moved to the states to live near Jason's family.  They had a beautiful ceremony here in the states as well.  Baby Victoria was born several years after that after many years of waiting and prayer over her arrival.  What a blessing she is!

I chose to photograph their family in the small chapel in the Pioneer village at the Arboretum in hopes of capturing that spirit of prayer that surrounded Victoria's birth.  The setting was beautifully lit and perfectly peaceful.  I know this image will mean a lot to their families.

Victoria's adorable dress was a gift from her Grandparents.  After the more formal pictures were finished, Victoria donned her Halloween attire.  But, by then she was plum tuckered out.

Everyone Needs a Hand to Hold on To

Baby Victoria's sneak peak from her session is almost finished.  In the meantime, I couldn't resist posting this one.  It captured my heart!

Great Family Pictures

What makes for a great family portrait?  Are there tips to remember when posing and positioning the crew?  Sure, there are.  But, before any of the posing comes into play, one of the first things I do with a family is sit down with them and remind everyone to express their affection to one another during their session.  

In every pose there ought to be genuine physical contact between all the members of the family.  They should lean into each other, put their arms around each other, and touch each other.  They should appear relaxed and unposed.  

One way I like to pose a family is to focus on the siblings while keeping the parents an unspoken element within the frame.  In the last image below, you will see that I included just the arms and upper torso of the mom and dad using them to frame the two sisters.  This says "parents" and "family" without showing the whole picture.  This is just one way to be creative in your posing.  Even when being creative, it is most important to keep it real and affectionate.

My session on Saturday was a prime example of a successful family session.  Just look at how cozy these four are with one another.  You can tell just by looking at them how much they love and care for each other.

Of course it doesn't hurt that this family is so gorgeous either!  As a photographer, when a family pulls up to a session looking like this, you just know it's going to be a GREAT day!