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Jun 28 2015 
Summer Cake Smash // Anchorage Kids Photography
Little miss June is 1!! I adore this sweet family – they are absolutely the nicest people ever – but could they be any more gorgeous? I got to photograph baby June when she was just 3 months old, and we did the most beautiful fall outdoor session. So to celebrate her first birthday – we returned to the same park to let her play in the woods, eat some of her favorite snacks (blue berries) and smash a cake!
I would also like to point out that it was almost 80 degrees this particular evening – which is pretty impressive for Anchorage – and I was sweating my bum off – I am not used to shooting in such temperatures!!
On the plus side – mom and June got to wear super cute dresses with no worries about getting cold! Cause really – in Anchorage – that’s normally more of the issue…
But really – I die for these images. I love that we captured June just being herself. Obviously kids don’t normally find a cake sitting in the middle of the woods (and really kids – if you do, I would advise against just digging in… i mean – have you read Hansel and Gretel?!) – but every thing else truly was just June doing what she wanted to do! She is so easy going – happy and up for adventure! And her eyes! Oh my gosh – she has the most incredible eyes…
These are my favorite kinds of sessions. I adore this age – it’s pure magic. You can’t bring your own expectations to a 1 year old. They’re gonna do what they’re gonna do! And we are just along for the ride. But it’s always a beautiful reminder to slow down and see the world through the (adorable) eyes of a little one – to find the beauty and amazement in the smallest of things.
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Jun 09 2015 
Fairy Forest Tea Party // Alaska Children’s Photography // Styled Session
My good friend Vanessa has taught me the importance of making sh!tty first drafts. I tend to be an idea girl and not so great at the execution of my personal visions. And her point to me was simply – don’t fret about all those details – just go out and shoot and make something happen!! My forest tea party vision is a work in progress, and this revision is adorable. I first hit on this idea a year ago, when my youngest turned 1 – and really – trying to plan a styled shoot with a 1 year old is… tricky… So this year I employed the help of my fabulous friend Betsy and her daughter Addie, who is the same age as my youngest – not only to force me to make this happen, but also because she has an incredible eye for detail. Plus her daughter is freaking adorable. Trying to plan a styled shoot with 2 – 2 year olds and a 4 year old is equally tricky. But I think we pulled off some beautiful images – and the girls had a lot of fun. mostly. There were some tears, but if a 2 year old goes an hour without some tears they probably with grandparents. Just saying. Is this our final version? Probably not. I’m sure I’ll revive this again in another year – and maybe with 3 and 5 year olds we will create even more magic – but for now – I love this draft.
Kids have the shortest attention spans – I swear. You would think a real tea party in the forest with cupcakes and everything would hold their interest for more than 15 minutes. But it doesn’t. Plan B – tell the kids to look for fairies in the forest. That kept them for about another 5 minutes. Until they didn’t find anything and got bored. Next time, I totally stashing glitter bombs in the forest. Lessons learned…
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Apr 14 2015 
Telling a story // Alaska family photography
I was hanging out with my kids this weekend while my husband was out of town. A pretty chill Saturday – we had a birthday party to attend in the afternoon, so the kids had picked out their ‘birthday’ outfits and were looking pretty cute – and while we were playing I pulled out my camera and just had fun capturing a few details.
But here is the main thought that was going through my head while I was shooting: I wish I had someone here to photograph ME interacting with them! Because they wanted me to play and interact with them – and we were having a ton of fun, playing doctor, reading stories and just being.
So I’m telling their story here – rather than our story – and that’s ok, for a quick Saturday, but how much more impactful and precious would these images be with mom (or dad!) included?!
My oldest is obsessed with lining things up perfectly like this… Please tell me all kids do this…!!
And 5 minutes later – done – and moved on to the next mess…
Quick yoga break… Her forward fold is pretty impressive. Kids are so flexible!
While I had fun clicking away here and there, and I love some of the moments I captured – there is definitely the piece of Saturday at home with mom that is missing.
This is the story telling experience and imagery that speaks to my heart. These moments where life happens between the lines. Where we grow and play and just love each other with no agenda. Where it’s ok that the house is a disaster, because this is real. We are messy – we play and we don’t clean up after ourselves right away (because really, what’s the point with little ones?!). We probably have some fights, some tears and some pouting, and then some hugs and snuggles and love. It’s not always about every image being beautiful. It’s about every image telling a story. The story of our life.
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