Parent & Child Photography – A specialty 

I absolutely LOVE “love” photography. Love photography is generally weddings, elopements, engagements, and couples – all the things about romantic love. However, my passion outside of love photography, is parents with their children. I am a mom myself, and I absolutely cherish the photos of my kids with their dad above most things because these moments are fleeting, and these connections are so special. 

I know that this is titled “Mommy & Me,” and there is a specific reason for that, and I want to address that before I dive deeper into this. In short, yes, I do “daddy & me” photography. If anyone requested this session, I would happily offer it. However, I’ve found in my time as a photographer and a parent that it’s generally the mom behind the camera taking the photos. It’s often talked about on social media forums that moms feel like there are just a lack of authentic photos of them with their children and how saddening or off-putting this can make them feel. So, to give back to moms, to give them their special moments and memories, I specifically offer a mommy & me package. So, although during this article I will more often use the term “mommy & me,” please just know that the same can be applied to dads with their children too – and really ANY relationship, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. 

For a mommy & me shoot, there are things I begin considering before we ever start shooting on location. For example, I’m considering the age of the child, I’m considering the specific limitations that may come with this (meaning – obviously a child that can’t speak can’t tell their mommy why they love them), I’m considering how comfortable they are with the camera, I’m considering if an extra person should be present, I’m considering the tools I might encourage the parent to bring or the tools I may need to bring. These all can affect the way I shoot, where we shoot, the prompts or poses I plan to use, and much more! If a child is around 18M to 3Y age, I’m going to prepare to be walking a lot. There’s a good chance that common “look this way, smile!” prompts aren’t going to be effective. With children this age, I will be focused on small games, like hide n seek, peek a boo, tickle fights, silly words – things that are simple yet effective at creating those genuine moments of laughter. 

During a mommy & me session, I am going to do a lot more hands off shooting than I would for a standard portrait session. I mentioned earlier that with moms, its often expressed that they feel like there is a lack of authentic photos of them interacting with their child. This means while I will do some of the “common” poses, I will also step back and let the parent take the lead. Every parent/child relationship is so unique, and while something may work for one child, it may not work for another. No one knows their child quite like their parent. Sometimes a session is me basically following the parent following the child while the child leads the way. Sometimes it’s having dad stand behind my shoulder making silly faces so I can catch even the ghost of a smile of a little one who’s just not too keen on being photographed. 

Ultimately, these sessions are a fire in my heart. There is nothing I love more than getting home and pulling the photos off my camera and seeing the raw emotion, the pure love, and the sincerity of these moments I captured. I always consider how I would feel as a mom receiving the photos I am delivering. Every single parent deserves to have those photos with their kids. Those photos that every single time you look at them, you smile. Those photos that eventually your kids will look at, and they will remember how much love they have from their parent. Those memories and the feelings they stir up are priceless, they are unique, and they are infinite.