the Feathers family; Fall family photo session at Lincoln Brick County Park in Grand Ledge, Michigan

As a couples photographer, it is rare that a family of three or more pops up on my social media accounts or blog. I am always drawn to emotion though, be it a couple’s love for each other or the love of a family. As long as the emotion is genuine, I’m in my happy zone. I adore the realness.

In this matter, and in all other matters and situations, my time with the Feathers was a treat. Their Fall family photo session at Lincoln Brick County Park in Grand Ledge, Michigan was filled with love, laughter, and all of the facial expressions and connection I look forward to capturing in a session.

Believe it or not, this family session was planned fairly last minute. Hillary had mentioned halfway through September that she was considering having Fall photos taken, but we were not able to begin any of our planning until the end of the month. We scheduled the session to take place on October 10th, meaning by time we started talking about the session, it was already only a handful of days away!

Here is a brief run down of our quick planning for the Feathers' family photo session:

• September 15th - Hillary contacted me saying she may want family photos in October. I was about to leave on vacation, so we decided to wait until I was back in Michigan to begin planning her photo session.

• September 30th - Hillary sent me sample photos of what she was hoping to get out of her session. The photos were filled with pumpkins, trees, bright smiles, and a cute wagon. That same day, I sent her my investment guide and we discussed possible dates for the family session.

• October 2nd - I sent Hillary the name of Lincoln Brick County Park to see if the park looked like a location she would be interested in having her family session at. Neither of us had visited this park in person before.

• October 3rd - We confirmed that, online, Lincoln Brick County Park looked like it would be the perfect location for a fall session.

• October 4th - I emailed the contract and model release to Hillary for signing.

• October 5th - I went home to my parents’ house where my props are currently stored. My sister and I went through a bag of fabric I have for sessions and pulled out anything that even remotely hinted at “Fall.” A huge shout-out to Rosie (my sister) who suggested I take a look at an old straw-like rocking horse in the basement. What. A. Genius. I might not have had a wagon like the one in the inspiration photos Hillary had originally sent me, but this straw horse would be a perfect and unique replacement. The rocking horse has been in our family’s home as long as I can remember. I’m sure my mom is holding onto it in the hopes of one day having grandchildren, but for now, it serves as such a perfect prop for photos involving young children or toddlers. It has actually been in the back of my mind for a while now. I see it every once in a while when I gather other photography supplies from the basement, and I think to myself, “This would be such a cute prop,” but when the time came to put that idea into play, it didn’t cross my mind until Rosie spoke up. On this day, Hillary decided to pick up pumpkins for the session too.

• October 6th - I sent Hillary photos of each piece of fabric I had picked up from home. This way, she could see what colors the materials were and could coordinate her family’s clothes with the ones she liked.

• October 9th - Hillary texted me worried about the 80 degree weather expected the next day. She was wondering how we were going to pull off Fall photos when Fall clothes couldn’t necessarily be worn comfortably. I sent Hillary photos from Pinterest of coordinating colors and clothing options.

• October 10th - THE DAY OF THE SESSION! Hillary sent me photos of possible clothing items for each member of her family. As you can see in her photos, the clothing pieces she selected were perfect! I believe she bought her shirt on the ninth, but Craig’s and their little one’s clothing items were already in their closets. That means that on the DAY OF her family session, Hillary flawlessly completed what can typically be described as a stressful task.
  

All of this to say, Hillary and I planned the most amazing session in less than TEN days. So, if you’re reading this and thinking about how you haven’t had photos with your significant other, family, or even just yourself in a long time, it is never too late to dive in and take the leap! The biggest obstacle will be finding a photographer who is available when you are. Once you have a session booked though, it really can be easy going from there on out. It doesn’t have to be stressful. Everything comes together in the end when there is clear communication!

the fall family photo session

Lincoln Brick County Park was better than I could have imagined. If anyone wants to make a trip over there for their own session, hit me up! I arrived just a few minutes before the session started, and because I managed to miss the very-easy-to-see parking lot, I was able to drive around the perimeter of the park. There are so, so many other options for photo session locations within this park including the remains of the old brick factory the park is named after.

The section of the park we took photos at was in the very front. As soon as we parked, we looked in front of us to find a beautiful “hammock” area with rows of trees and fallen orange leaves. We set up the rocking horse and the pumpkins there so that they were close to the car for easy clean up after we were done. Everything came together so smoothly with this set and location. It was adorable, and while I do focus on couples and maternity sessions, I have to admit that I am definitely tempted to do mini sessions next Fall modeled after this session!

Once we finished up with the pumpkins, we moved over to a prairie-like section of the park where we took photos with the long prairie grasses as our backdrop. As the sun began to sink behind the trees, we were lucky enough to snag some warm light and rose-orange skies (see the cutest and silliest photo towards the top of this post) too.

I am incredibly lucky to have been blessed with so many wonderful sessions. Every time I write a blog post, I find myself saying the same things: “the lighting was perfect,” “there was so much emotion,” “their outfits were amazing.” It may be repetitive, but so far in my photography journey, it has been true. I can’t thank the Feathers family enough for providing me with the opportunity to say all of this again. Their session and their gallery (like their last one) was breathtaking, and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to see their love for each other continue to grow in the years to come.

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A few of my typical side notes:

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