Fall Family Fun! - Belmont, NC Family Photos

I just love doing photos in the fall. The scattered leaves, gorgeous colors, and cooler temperatures are perfect for photo sessions. And when the humidity finally drops in the Carolina's, well...you just WANT to be outside!

The day of this fun family session was no exception! We couldn't have asked for more perfect autumn weather as we headed out for a nearby hiking trail around Lake Wylie. I had never shot there before, but the lake views and charming bridges made it a wonderful setting for a family session.

You probably recognize these adorable little guys from some of my earlier sessions with them. They just get cuter each time I have them in front of my camera. And this mama knows how to put outfits together for pictures, because they always look fantastic!

We had an awesome time at this session and ended our photo hike with the brilliant orange reflection of the sun setting on the lake in the background. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day!

Happy Easter! - Lake Wylie, SC Family Photography

For Easter this year, my family was dressed nicely and we hadn't really done a family picture since my maternity photos last fall, so I decided to give my new interval timer a try so I could get in the photos, too! After a number of crazy outtakes, we finally had something that I thought I could use.

These photos won't ever be able to replace our yearly professional photo session, for many different reasons, but this was a perfect way to document the moment and for me to get in the picture with my family!

Matera Family Peach Blossom Session - Fort Mill, SC Family Maternity Photography

I was lucky enough to have another glowing mama-to-be to photograph among the peach blossoms! Ariel and her family are dear friends and it has been such a pleasure to watch their oldest grow up. In fact, a few photos that I took of him when he was only 3 months old are in the first ever post on this photography page! Now I am so excited for them that this wonderful family is adding another precious little guy to the mix.

Ariel is just gorgeous in her vibrant green dress and I can tell that little Mr. M is over the moon about the idea of being a big brother!

Did I mention that Ariel is super crafty? She made this adorable banner to help them announce that they were having a BOY! How cute is this?

I know they all can't wait to meet their newest family member in a few months! And I am so excited to get to meet him, too!

Estes Family Peach Blossom Session - Fort Mill, SC Maternity Photographer

I had such a great time with the Estes family at their Peach Blossom family maternity session! This beautiful family was anxiously waiting for a baby brother to make his appearance. In fact, they all got to meet their brand new little guy just a few short weeks after this photo session.

Little Mr. W was so excited about being a big brother! And I think his parents were just a little excited, as well. You can tell from the interaction between father and son in these photos just how close this family is. Their fun personalities shine through, as well.

Chao Family Peach Blossom Session - Fort Mill, SC Family Photographer

For the first time this year, I decided to host a day of photo sessions in one of the local fields of peach trees in Fort Mill, SC. I was so happy that the peach blossoms and the weather both decided to cooperate on session day! It was a beautiful day and the peach trees were in their full glory.

The Chao family was one of my returning clients who took me up on a spring session among the trees. Each year that I see them, I am constantly amazed at how much their son has grown up. It was such a pleasure to see him walking between his mom and dad!

This family has such love for each other and it comes out in every photo.

Lakeside Family Photos - Lake Wylie, SC Family Photographer

I am just a few short weeks shy of my due date and I am definitely feeling it! I really limited my fall sessions this year because of this, but I just couldn't miss out on a fun session with one of my favorite families! The Smiths love their time on the lake, so we decided that a nearby lakefront park would make the perfect location for their photos.

The park has a beautiful fence with a section of climbing roses. When I saw the evening sun filtering through the glossy leaves and vibrant flowers, I knew this was a perfect spot to stop for a few shots. Kim always does a fantastic job outfitting her boys for their sessions, and this one was no exception. We joked that the twins look ready for a modeling job after this!

Every year when I do photos for this family, I end up with new favorites! I just love how these photos turned out. What a way to close out the year!

Train-tastic! - Belmont, NC Child & Family Photography

I am so privileged to have a number of families who have been with me since the very beginning of my business. If you've followed me long, then you know that Marty, Kim and their adorable twin sons are one of those families. They are definitely Speechless VIPs, and I am so honored to feel like I have watched these boys grow up over the last few years!

The boys were happy to help me when I told them to tickle their mom and dad. I'm not sure who laughed more, the twins or Marty and Kim!

With this gorgeous mom and handsome dad, it's easy to see why the boys are so cute! As a side note, I just love Kim's boots! She always does a great job of choosing the clothing for her family for their photos.

I just love these individual shots of the boys. We do something similar to this at each of their sessions, and it's so fun to compare them and see how much they have changed.

This family session was held in Belmont, NC, which is a great area for family portraits. The kids always love the train and the nearby park and variety of restaurants make it convenient to have a fun night out after the session. This vibrant red brick wall was also a wonderful feature to include as a backdrop for their photos.

 Every great photo session should end with a little leaf fight... I think so, anyway!

The Best Christmas Present Ever! - Lake Wylie, SC Child & Newborn Photography

I just finished taking down all my Christmas decorations, and I'm already missing the warm glow of twinkling lights. Looking back at this session that I did before Christmas helps to bring back that festive holiday feeling.

Parents Michael and TJ got a wonderful early Christmas present this year, a beautiful newborn baby boy! Welcome, Baby E!

You can tell Little Miss R enjoyed modeling her beautiful Christmas dress for me in front of their tree.

Their gorgeously decorated Christmas tree made a fantastic backdrop for family photos during the holiday season. I just love the lights and ornaments in the background.

Baby E enjoyed all the excitement of his first professional photo session and even smiled a time or two.

Little Miss R is already taking her duties as a new big sister very seriously. I just know these two little ones will grow up to be fast friends!

Albert, Jennifer & Little Mr. A! - Fort Mill, SC Family Photographer

I'm sure you remember Albert, Jennifer & Little Mr. A from their family session last fall. I love catching up with my repeat clients each year and this beautiful family is no exception!

If you can't quite place them, then I'm sure the photo of this little guy with a leaf will help jog your memory. He was completely fascinated by them last year, and that was something that hadn't changed!

Since I remembered that little Mr. A loved having fun things to hold and check out, I brought some shiny, shatter-proof ornaments with me this year. He loved twirling them around and throwing them in the grass!

I couldn't get over how much this little cutie had grown up since I had seen him last! He was standing tall and buzzing right along with Mom and Dad close behind.

Little Mr. A has the sweetest disposition, he is such a happy little guy!

This is one of my favorite images from the session. I just love those sparkling brown eyes and sweet smile!

And since Mr. A was having a ball with those over-sized ornaments nearby, I was able to get a few photos of just Albert and Jennifer together while he played. I know that it's always nice for busy parents to get a couple of pictures of just the two of them.

Trey, Liz and Little Mr. W - Fort Mill, SC Family Photographer

Meet Trey, Liz and Little Mr. W! This family was so much fun to photograph at their urban family session and this little guy definitely kept me on my toes.

This was my first time shooting in downtown Fort Mill, SC but it won't be the last! As you can tell from the photos, we had so many great locations to choose from in a small area. I felt like a kid in a candy store trying to decide which spot we would try next!

This was also a perfect location for this family session because Liz is originally from Fort Mill. She and Trey are both native South Carolinians!

Mr. W had a great time running around and laughing at my crazy antics during the session. He was pretty stoic for the most part, but a few tickles from mom and dad brought out a big smile. He gave out lightning fast kisses and hugs to both his parents and the was off to see what else he could find around this spot.

Trey and Liz met in college at Clemson and are both die hard Tiger fans! Don't they look great together? I'm so glad I had a chance to get a few pictures of them alone, because once you become a parent, pictures of just the two of you are all too often a rare thing.

You can see that Mr. W got his piercing blue eyes from his momma, whose eyes are also gorgeous! I think he must get his serious face from his daddy.

Mr. W was a natural model. He posed perfectly on the steps for a fraction of a second before he was up and running again.I think these are some of my favorite photos from the session, I'm obviously a sucker for a sweet smile!

This little guy had a great time popping up out of the basket that I had brought with me. Thankfully, it slowed him down just enough to get a few cute shots. One of his favorite songs is "Rumor Has It" by Adele and he sang part of it for me during the session. I have to say, his singing was pretty impressive!

Mr. W was full of energy and super adorable! I had such a great time photographing this family!

I also designed some cute holiday cards using the photos from this session, so be on the lookout for a peek at those in a future post.

Fall Family Fun! - Lake Wylie, SC Family Photographer

Nothing says fall like mums, pumpkins and bales of straw! You'll recognize Josh, Amy and little Mr. C from some of the other sessions that I've done for them, but I have to admit that this session is probably my favorite so far!

When Amy told me that she wanted to do a fall family session, I knew just the place! I love these gorgeous yellow flowers in the background, but they don't stay pretty long. Luckily, our timing for the session was just about perfect and we had perfect weather to go with it!

Amy did a fantastic job choosing outfits for her family to match the setting and complement each other. I love how the orange just pops off of the background!

Mr. C's first Halloween is also coming up, so he had a fun shirt that we worked into the session. He is one happy little guy with the sweetest smile and bright blue eyes!

I love my vintage Pepsi crate and take advantage of any chance to include it in a session. Mr. C thought it made a great place to hang out for a few minutes while he checked out the surroundings.

I took a few "snapshots" as they were getting ready to leave, because how could I resist capturing that adorable expression? Mr. C may be little, but he already has a big personality!

I also designed some fabulous fall cards for Amy using these photos that I'll be sharing soon!

Happy Mother's Day! - Clover, SC Family Photographer

I hope each of you mommas out there had a fantastic Mother's Day! In honor of Mother's Day, I have a fabulous extended family session to show you on the Speechless blog.

If parts of this family look familiar to you, then you've been paying attention! That's right, those gorgeous blue eyes and adorable chubby cheeks belong to that cute cowboy whose newborn photos were just blogged a few months ago. Does the time fly or what? I didn't think he could get any cuter, but obviously I was wrong!

His momma Amy wanted to do an extended Mother's Day session with her sister's family so that they could gift family photos to their Mom. I can't think of a more meaningful gift than that!