This photo was taken on my oldest daughter's first day of kindergarten
Was Your Last Photographer kind of a - well… a jerk?
A bad experience with your photographer can ruin the joy of your photos
"We won't even look at our (wedding, prom, family) photos because the experience with the photographer was so awful that it brings back bad memories every time we look at them." 
I've heard this a lot, and it makes me sad. Bossy, pushy photographers that just line everybody up for the "shots" and don't have patience with people having a good time. They are shouting at people to pay attention, get in their positions and smile so they can get through their shot list. My word!
The memory and emotions that go along with your portraits are just as important as the portrait itself. One of the best things I hear from my clients is "Every time I drive by where we had our portraits done, I smile remembering how fun that day was". That's true for me too. I am fortunate to drive by so many places where we've made great memories together. That matters as much to me as it does to you.
A good photographer takes their time
In order for me to create a family portrait that expresses how you feel about each other, I need you to tell me what everyone is like. What are we capturing? What is your favorite thing about each of your family members, right now? Johnny may be pushing his luck - and your limits - but objectively, you're proud of him for learning to stand his ground - even though you wish he wouldn't do it with you! Lol. These are the things I want you to remember every time you see your portraits.
For me, raising good kids, that I enjoy being around and who make the world a better place by their very existence, is the most important thing I've done in my lifetime. It was also the hardest. The daily struggle to get them up, fed and to school on time; keep the house clean and make sure everyone had clean clothes; figure out what's for dinner and help them with their homework; bathe them, read stories, get them to bed and try to conjure up enough energy to enjoy some time with my husband before I fell exhausted into bed, just to wake up and do it all again the next day.
Warm fuzzies every day
I wish someone had encouraged me to stop and reflect from time to time - or at least more often. To pull myself out of the moment of just getting everything done in a given day, and really stop to think consciously about the end goal - we are guiding and teaching our children what it takes to be happy, healthy, kind, and well adjusted human beings. That is why I put big beautiful portraits on my clients' walls. So in the middle of their harried day, when their kids don't want to eat dinner OR do their homework and you can just forget about the bath - they can walk by that portrait and take just a second to think, "Oh yeah, there's my little angels" and remember that all this is part of the process of raising those delightful people that you are going to enjoy spending time with for the rest of your life. They are amazing and they are going to do amazing things in their lifetime.
Creating a wall portrait that truly reflects your family's personality is what I love to do. It's self-preservation for your kids, and a great reminder to you that you're all just perfect.
The taller one on the left is my youngest. As I write this, she just graduated from college and is traveling in Ireland. My oldest is on the right. She lives in Oahu and enjoys surfing, being a nanny and has her own small business putting her artwork on repurposed clothing.
Photos you love to look at
Call me when you're ready to create your own daily reminder of how wonderful your family is right now as well as a future gift to yourself; so you can look back and vividly remember this time in your family's life. Trust me, wherever you are in your parenting process, in the future you'll reminisce, with extreme fondness, about how simple this time was.
And in case no one has told you today, you're doing an amazing job!