PHOTO + DESIGN

BY MAD

family session

Trabert Family + In-Home Lifestyle Session

Man parenting is hard. So much of it happens inside our homes, with nobody around to encourage us or cheer us on. It goes unnoticed and at times, feels very under appreciated. (unrelated: does anyone have tips for getting two toddlers to go to bed? Asking for a friend). As hard as it can be, it also brings an insane amount of happiness, joy and fulfillment.

These are just a few reasons in-home sessions fulfill me. I want to help parents see the joy in the hard times and remember why they do what they do… day in and day out. I love documenting families in their space. Kids feel more relaxed and I love watching them just be. Parents can be carefree and just play with and love on their kids. It feels more real to me.

I had a great time at this session. Thanks for having me Trabert family!

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Ellis Family + Fall Mini Session

This session was fun for me! It made me realize how much harder I have to work when I have toddlers and babies in front of my camera haha. These older kids were a breeze! Janna and I are related through our grandmas, who are sisters. It had been far too long since I had seen her and her kids, so it was great to get in touch again! I realize I’m not great and staying in touch with people. I just need more hours in the day. Anyone have tips? Or a time machine? I’m just so grateful that people actually keep hiring me to do this. Thanks Ellis family!

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Hancey Family + Brighton

The summer after my husband John and I got married, he felt that doing summer sales was the right thing for us. Neither of us were too sure about it, but  we packed up and drove to Arkansas anyway. It was not a very successful summer as far as sales went, but we met wonderful people! John still says to this day, the only reason we were supposed to go was to meet Nick and Lauren. Actually, we all lived in Logan, Utah at the time but didn’t meet until we were in Arkansas where Nick and Lauren were also doing summer sales. That has always seemed so funny to me. We love anytime we get to hang out with them! While we were at their house on Sunday for dinner, Lauren saw their family photos for the first time. I have never been with a client/friend to see their first reaction when they open their photo gallery, and it was so fun! She was so excited (her enthusiastic reactions are actually one of my favorite things about her)! Anyways, we love the Hancey’s and I’m so grateful they asked me to take their family photos. I love how they turned out!

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Walker Family + Big Cottonwood Canyon

I sat down to edit a sneak peek of this session and ended up finishing the entire thing! This family is just too gorgeous, I couldn’t make myself stop. Val and I know each other from design school and I love each time I get to see her and her family. Their sweet Gavin is growing so fast! He looked like such a little man in his outfit. He has grown so much since their session last year (see it here). Gav definitely has a future in modeling if he wants it. He had so much fun exploring, running, and was mesmerized by the river nearby. Hopefully we wore him out and he slept like an angel that night.

This beautiful family has an exciting announcement and they let me in on their secret a little early….

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Petersen Family + Cleveland, UT

I absolutely love when I get to photograph people from my home town! Cleveland is tiny, and off the beaten path and it will always have my heart. Brooke also grew up in Cleveland, moved away for a bit, and now she and her gorgeous family moved back and built a beautiful home together. I hope to move my own family back there someday. Brooke is so easy to work with and the whole family made this session fun and easy! Their oldest will be leaving on an LDS mission to Arkansas soon and he is pretty excited (his mom isn’t talking about it). I loved documenting their family dynamic how it is right now. It will be so fun for them to look back on when things have changed and the little ones have grown. Thanks Petersen family and good luck on your mission Brans!

I visit Emery County often, so if you are interested in booking a session don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions you have!

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Comer Family + in-home session

The Comer family. So sweet and laid back. It turns out, our families are at similar places in our lives… both been married 5 years with two kids almost the same ages. Down the road I’m thinking we could set up their boys with my girls! I think it would be perfect… my husband would probably fight me on it though. I don’t think he will ever let them date, but maybe he will make an exception for adorable Sonny and Wells?

I love the way Brinley decorated her home, so simple and modern. It was right up my alley! It really allows their personalities and love for each other shine through. And Brinley’s style! If it wasn’t for her cute kids, her overalls would have stolen the show! I saw so many qualities in them as parents that I hope I can emulate with my girls. Sometimes family pictures can stress parents out (especially when toddlers are involved haha), but they were just easy going, lovey, patient and playful the whole time. I could spend the rest of my life only photographing moms and their babies and I would be completely content. When you see the look on Brin’s face, you’ll see why. Pure love and adoration. It’s just so good! And it’s all that really matters.

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Behling Family + Desert Family Session

I’m lucky enough to call these guys family! Katie is such a sweetheart and I’m so glad my cousin Brooks brought her into the family. When she told me she wanted to do their session on the desert, I was so excited! She wanted something a little different, and I love that. It turned out to be a favorite, even if we did get pretty dirty doing it! Their two boys had a blast rolling in the dirt together. When the boys were done, I stole Katie for a few shots of just her. I love doing that for moms. She is gorgeous!

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Anderson Family + Green Canyon

We had to reschedule this family session due to bad weather. Jordan told me they were cursed and that it’s a running joke that it happens every time they try to do family pictures. We finally broke the curse, because it was the most beautiful fall day! The weather couldn’t have been more perfect! The Anderson family is the sweetest. I met them through my brother-in-law and they are just really great people. Jayson is so lucky to be surrounded by such beautiful girls. They were all wonderful, but their littlest Blake, was just the happiest little thing through the whole session. She won my heart for sure! I had so many favorites from this one, so I just threw them all in!

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Johnson Family (Part 2) + Rooftop Family Session

Are you ready to see this gorgeous family at their second location? As I was editing this one I was thinking, “This might be my favorite session”, but then I realized I catch myself saying that after every new family session, haha. It was so hard to choose favorites for this post, so I might share some more in the future. I love how these turned out and the location was perfect. It was a little chilly, but I think you will all agree it was worth it!

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Johnson Family + Memory Grove Park

I am in love with this family session! Jarom is my brother-in-law and his family is seriously so easy going, they acted like they take family photos every day! Serious naturals in front of the camera. They made my job so easy! Nicci has supported my love for photography from the beginning. I have taken their family photos since 2012, and let me tell you I wasn’t very good back then. I appreciate them sticking with me and always cheering me on. We started their session at Memory Grove Park in SLC to catch the gorgeous fall colors, and then we moved to a second location downtown that I’ll be sharing in another post soon!

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