Our 2013 Family Photos

Remember the DIY “Love Letters” I created a while back?  At the photographer’s suggestion, they were props for our family of 4 to hold in our annual family photos.  It was a surprise to her that I geeked out and wrapped them in burlap with cute little bows.  Our photos turned out great this year so I thought I would share.

Kerri of Cherish Photography was our photographer this year.

I know a lot of photographers so it can be hard to pick one, but they all have different styles so I go with a photographer who melds well with my vision.  Kerri took our very first family portrait when Chloe was 3 months old and it was nice to include her again for our 3rd portraits as a family.

Decorating with family photos is a great personal touch and I love to keep a blend of new and old photos.  I know that as a Realtor that I’m supposed to tell you to keep all personal touches out of your home, but I actually completely disagree with that dated idea.  A bright orange wall may not appeal to the masses, but when you’re selling a family home, it’s awkward if it doesn’t have a family feel at all.  I may take that a bit to the max when we are living in our home (and not selling it), but it’s what makes a house a home.

Enough about that, here’s how our photos with the “Love Letters” turned out.  If you’ve read my photography posts before, you know that I believe in setting a scene and letting kids do what kids do (without expecting anything in particular), but in this situation we did make our best attempt at cooperation.  It was difficult to get the letters in the correct order with two little girls bouncing around and wanting to hold particular letters.

Of course we were all looking different ways constantly, but Kerri managed to get some super cute photos out of the chaos!

This one is one of my favorites with Chloe hugging the O and Cora coming in for a snuggle.

What you’re supposed to do to help the photographer is keep looking at the camera and let the photographer get the kids’ attention.  We broke that rule because we were having fun in the silliness.  Or at least I was.  I’m pretty sure there was plenty of eye-rolling from Jason who is still waiting for the day that the girls behave as expected (hahaha!).

I love that Kerri held on to these shots that may have been outtakes to many because they are so classic and so us.  Chloe bopping Jason on the head to entertain everyone?  Classic.

Cora making off with a letter? Classic.

We even changed things up for a moment by picking the girls up which made for some great photos as well, just not as fun as letting girls be girls.

Nope.  This is us.  Jason trying to control the situation.  Chloe actually controlling the situation.  And Cora being a complete goofball – she’s always the comedic relief.

Of course my little model took some gorgeous solo shots.  Seriously, I’m definitely biased, but she’s ridiculously gorgeous and photogenic.

We had some serious sweetness as things were winding down.

There were plenty of non-love letter photos as well that we will be plastering the walls with in some new galleries.  I’m loving that we have so many big spaces for photos, even though the large scale can be challenging for creating great layouts.  They also allow for huge prints or galleries.  It’s been a challenge to decide what to hang where to keep the clean feel we’re after and also the warmth that family photos bring.

Like our outfits?  That for me is the most difficult part of family photos.  Getting everyone to coordinate without being matchy-matchy and not doing the white & denim look every year… but I think we got it!  We only bought 1 dress, 1 shirt, and a few accessories.