the Shepard family, a three-generation family session in Grand Ledge, Michigan

This marks my third year of photographing Hillary and Craig’s family. It's crazy how fast time passes! My first session with them was for their maternity photos about two years ago. Second was for their first Fall family photos with their little boy.

And this time?

A full three-generation family session with Hillary’s side of the family!

Craig, Hillary, and Hillary's siblings Jake and Carrie bought this family session as a gift for their parents last Christmas. I know I am obviously biased toward photo sessions, but even before we met to take the photos, I knew this was a gift their parents would love. Sometime during the holidays, Hillary texted me a video of her parents opening up their gift card. Her mom cried when she realized what the gift was!

I didn’t ask, but I would love to know when the last time the Shepard family had photos taken together. Or, even just the last time (grand)parents Elizabeth and Paul had couples’ photos done! Given Elizabeth’s excitement, I’m guessing it had been a while! While I am a broken record in saying that there does not ever need to be a special reason to celebrate life, love, yourself, or togetherness through a photo session, I am also fully aware that it is not always possible to take photos “just because.” Even when it is possible, life slips by quickly, and it can be so hard to make the time to commit to a session.

Whether you are someone who takes photos regularly or someone who only takes them for very special occasions, photos are always something to treasure. You can never go wrong with taking photos or having photos taken of you. Even when they don’t seem special in the moment, I don’t know anyone who regrets having photos to look back on or to pass onto their future generations. I’m so glad that Hillary and her siblings were able to gift Paul and Elizabeth with this opportunity, because I know their time together at this session as well as their finished gallery will be something they each cherish going forward.

the three-generation family session

For their session, I met the Shepard family in Grand Ledge, Michigan. This has been one of my favorite towns to photograph in lately; nature-wise, it has everything. Tall grasses, old brick ruins, boulders and stone cliffs, and in Fitzgerald Park, the perfect grove of trees right next to a parking lot for family photos! We chose this spot for two reasons. First, Grand Ledge is a good halfway point between where I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and where the Shepard family lives. Second, Hillary and Craig’s son is just under two years old! A two-year-old typically does not stay interested in photos for very long, can be extra tired in the evenings, and can sometimes be a lot to visit new places with. With the parking lot so close to where we were taking photos, we were able to keep walk times down which helped to ensure that energies stayed as high as possible for the session!

With three generations to photograph, there were plenty of photo groupings to tackle. This was probably one of the fastest paced sessions I have ever photographed. We started with the entire family for a formal group photo followed by a couple of goofy ones. Next, we worked our way down a long list, making sure Paul and Elizabeth were able to have photos of as many family combinations as possible. We did Elizabeth with Paul, Elizabeth with Craig and Jake, Elizabeth with her girls, and so forth. The same was done with Paul. While I was hopeful, we would get through the list Hillary and I compiled together, I was still impressed with just how much progress we actually made and with how many family arrangements we had time for!

As I mentioned before, toddlers are not always interested in having their photos taken. I would say this was the case for Lincoln this year. Going through the Shepard family’s photos to choose which photos to edit, I found so many photos of a disinterested Lincoln. It was quite humorous! Toddler facial expressions are some of my favorites. Truly. One thing that Hillary and I have discussed a couple of times in the past is how one of the best things to do during a photo session with a toddler is to let the toddler lead it. If you push a toddler too much, they are going to cry or become even more disinterested. Instead, it’s important to interact with them in ways they will enjoy and to let them do what they want to do (within reason, of course)! It is always possible to work around a toddler and what they are interested in.

Two years in with Lincoln, and I would say Hillary and Craig have mastered this. When Lincoln was in someone’s arms for a photo but either not paying attention or looking bored, Hillary was great at playing a game with him. Lincoln loves to blow kisses, so Hillary would catch his attention, and ask him to blow kisses toward her or the camera creating the biggest giggles and smiles that we managed to see from him throughout the entire hour session!

Besides watching Lincoln laugh as he blew kisses toward his family, I think we would all agree that one of the best parts of the night was when Lincoln randomly decided he wanted to be the center of attention! Out of nowhere, this adorable boy walked out in front of all of us, smiling and jumping. My shutter went crazy trying to capture all of the adorableness. The cuteness turned to hilarious though when Lincoln decided to lift his shirt and walk around with it stuck under his chin. We were all dying with laughter watching him contort his body in different ways to see his stomach from above where he had his sweater bunched up!

It was a busy hour spent with the Shepard family, but clearly so much fun! Everyone looked great, there was a lot of laughter, and Lincoln put on a show for all of us. We had so much fun, and I’m so happy that I have been able to keep spreading this joy through new photo sessions every year. I know these photos are ones that the Shepard family will hold onto and look back on fondly.

---

A few of my typical side notes:

• Interested in buying your loved ones a gift card too? Gift cards are available all year round! Contact me to purchase one.

• Also, NEW for 2022's holiday season: a print shop for my nature + landscape photos! Visit my print shop here.

• Pábitel Photography is now on Society6! Visit my shop where you can find almost all of my nature + landscape work across a variety of great items for your home!

• I am currently booking all of the sessions! Contact me to learn more, or check out my services to learn more about what session types I offer.

• I am working on compiling this year's annual calendar series. Make sure to follow along on Facebook or Instagram for updates. The series is expected to be announced late-October.

• Download your list of my 10 Date Ideas for Guaranteed Fun in Michigan.

• View Shelby and Ben's intimate backyard wedding.