It's officially that time of the year, where extended family all around gather to be near! It was so fun to take a walk outdoors with the Hawkes extended family to document the specialness of this stage of their relationships in family photos. My favorite moment of the shoot was when I asked if we should do a photo of the "originals" — they had a good laugh about it, but it is true. I absolutely love seeing how families have expanded throughout the years, but there's also something special about seeing the original family that started and then being able to compare that to the wonderful families that have grown and continue to change from it. So, in true fashion, I have the extended family photo at the top of this blog post and you'll have to scroll to the very end to find the originals — you're welcome!

I think one of the best things about being a photographer is capturing the special moments of a family’s life and then, a few years later, getting to see the family again – seeing how they’re the same and yet have grown into this new season of life. This is how I feel about the Fenske family. I was able to capture their intimate wedding and then capture their little lady’s newborn portraits’ days before the entire world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we are, now, already two and a half years later and they already have a two and a half year old. It leaves you with the constant reminder of how quickly time goes by and how important it is to be in the moments as well as capture the moments. ​Fenske family, thank you so much for trusting me to capture the special chapters of your family’s life. Much love to you all!

I think I have found a new protege. Little Ryan here was all about taking photos during his family's fall photos at Lake Rebecca Park. I often show my back of camera to littles during a shoot to help them feel more excited and comfortable about the process, but taking the photos was a particular favorite of his. "Picture! Picture!" he kept saying, with me encouraging him he could take one right after the next photo we did within their family.

I always love it when "kids" reach out to say they want to gift their parents an extended family photo session at Phalen Regional Park. What a perfect gift to capture this stage of life as a family! We had originally aimed for an earlier date but had to reschedule and in classic Minnesota weather, the second night's weather was better than we would have originally gotten. This family is a fun-loving crew and were game to get a bit silly amidst all the family portraits. So fun to meet you all, Jones extended family!

What's better than taking photos of your college friends? Taking photos and having a planned park picnic play date afterwards. We've known Brady and Alyssa for over ten years. We road tripped to a friends wedding together. We've experienced an apartment fire together (don't ask Brady to pray for dinner!). We were the ones who got to capture their announcement of adding their first born to the family. And this summer, our kids were able to first experience tubbing with them! So getting to capture this stage of their family life in a mini session at Highlands Park? Yes, please!