Family Pictures at Sunken Gardens in Rochester NY

3 Month Old Pictures

Family pictures with a 3 month old aren’t always this easy. This little love was content to observe the world around her and accept all of the snuggles from her wonderful, albeit tired (she is only a 3 month old after all) parents.

Sometimes we shot candid family pictures of the three of them, other times we tried to get her to smile. There’s a magical power that most mom's have. It’s the ability to make your own 3 month old grin in her second portrait session. It was the first time I’d seen it happen in real life, and my heart can’t take the sweetness.

I mean, seriously, look at these - can your heart handle it?

3 Tips for Great Family Pictures with Pets

Candid Mini Sessions in Rochester NY

We love our four legged friends, so why not have a day to let them shine in family pictures?

Pets are always welcome at our family portrait sessions, but for this candid mini session event we put the spotlight on them. Four dogs and a stuffed cat showed up on this hot, buggy summer night! The mosquitos were definitely NOT invited to these pet mini sessions, but they came anyway.

Maybe next year we’ll see some birds, rabbits, or even frogs, who knows! Who would you bring?

Want tips for great family pictures with your pets?

1) Bring treats!

2) Expect a little chaos, and don’t panic. (it’s ok! It makes the candid family pictures even better!)

3) Tire them out before your family pictures! Run them, play with them, get them moving.

Family Pictures in Rochester NY: Fairport NY Photographers

It’s not often that we’re able to take a same day booking for family pictures, but the stars aligned for this family!

Patricia and her family are moving. You may recognize Lara from her senior portraits last summer.

Lara is headed off to California, her brother to Wisconsin, and their parents are moving south to follow a job opportunity. There was a very small window when they would be together for family pictures in Rochester NY, before splitting up to 3 different states.

Their house was already mostly packed when I arrived, but that didn’t matter. We were able to capture family pictures by the tree the siblings grew up playing in, the garden dad nurtured for years, and the home that saw them through so much. 

Having just moved myself, I know all the feels that go along with it. Memories of the past, excitement for the future, and so much in between. Thanks for letting my document the last days of this chapter for your family! 

Do you have any big changes coming in your life? We’d love to capture this slice of life for you. Reach out and start the conversation, don’t wait until the last minute!

Family Pictures in Fairport NY

Candid Family Portraits at Home

It’s such a treat when an Instagram relationship moves to IRL (in real life). That was the case with Joanna, founder of TotsinRoc. After many months of following each other, comments and liking, we finally scheduled a play date. Her boys loved showing my little man all of their cool toys.

It wasn’t long after that when we found ourselves back together, capturing some candid family portraits in their backyard. We captured memories of them together on the swings, near the stream, even mom and dad in the front yard. The whole gang had fun with their family pictures, and I’m fairly certain everyone slept well that night!

We’ve had such a great time getting to know Joanna and her family, and we can’t wait for more adventures together!

Give TotsinRoc a follow today! You can find their adventures @totsinroc on Instagram and at facebook.com/TotsinRoc

Candid Family Picture Mini Sessions

Kings Bend Park: Pittsford NY Photographers

When we set up these family mini sessions in Pittsford NY, we had no idea how just how great the turnout would be, thanks to Joanna from TotsinRoc.

10 wonderful families came to play while we photographed a mini session for each family. We captured candid family pictures of them playing on the playground, as well as updated a posed family picture for their walls.

On top of all the fun we collected canned goods and non perishables to donate to the Perinton Food Shelf. At the end of the event, we were able to donate 3+ bags of food!

We couldn’t have done it without TotsInRoc. We were so thankful to work with her on setting up these candid mini sessions - and on her birthday no less!

If you want to get in on the action, we host these mini sessions all year long, so go check out our event schedule and sign up for your favorite today!

Family Pictures in Webster NY: Fairport NY Photographers

When we first talked about her upcoming family pictures, she mentioned that the patriarch of the family wasn’t doing well. Everyone would be in town, and they wanted to capture the family together.

We had a beautiful sunny day for their portrait session, and everyone, even grandpa was all smiles. Why wouldn’t he be, surrounded by his legacy? What a fun family portrait session! They even made special shirts to commemorate the day and attempted to recreate a family photo from the past. 

We ended their family portrait session hanging out down by the lake in Webster. 

Where’s your favorite place to wind down with your family?

Family Portraits with Vintage Cars in Fairport NY

Family picture sessions are never dull when your Grandpa collects old cars. Why yes, we did shoot this family portrait in his barn!

This particular Fairport family is part of our family portrait membership, and they come to our Candid Mini Session events on a regular basis. But we also get to take family pictures that are all their own every year too.

This was such a fun family session. More proof that you can make great winter family portraits! What hobbies would you include in your session? Tell us in the comments!

Candid Family Portraits in Highland Park: Mother's Day Mini Sessions

I know every family photographer says it, but I mean it - our families are the best!

Because of rain, we rescheduled our Mother’s Day mini sessions in Rochester twice. When rain threatened again the third time, we nearly canceled it altogether.

But some of our candid mini member families said “Let’s play in the rain.”

And so, another mini session event happened despite the weather.

Honestly though, how cute are these family pictures in the rain?

Rochester NY Lifestyle Newborn Photography at Home

You saw them in their announcement photographs, and then again in their maternity pictures. So naturally we’re thrilled to share with you the newest members in to our candid mini session event series - Laura, Kevin and their beautiful baby, Luna.

Her first family portrait session was perfect. She slept and ate her way through her debut appearance in front of our lenses. We look forward to capturing her growth at every milestone, as well as so many little moments in between.

Welcome to the world Luna, we are so glad to finally meet your little face.

What Type of Family Portrait Fits you Best?

Fairport NY Family Pictures

You sit down and google “family pictures in Rochester NY.” 

The results come back with a list filled with different descriptions by different family picture photographers. Do you want family portraiture? Candid family pictures? Documentary photography? What is a lifestyle family portrait?

You get so overwhelmed by this decision that you give up your search for a family photographer, again. 

So how do you know what style of family pictures you like best?

We can help you out here. Most photographers will describe themselves using at least one of three main family portrait styles:

 Traditional Family Pictures:

This is essentially an all encompassing title for a photographer who takes family pictures. But there’s a little bit more to it. 

A traditionally trained portrait photographer often focuses their efforts on quality posing and controlled lighting in their family portraits. This often happens in a studio setting with lights, backdrops and perhaps props or sets. However, not every traditional or fine art family photographer uses a studio. 

Oftentimes an extended family portrait falls into this style of family photography. The resulting images tend to focus on the family smiling and looking at the camera.

This may be the simplest category to explain, but it is often one of the hardest to master.

A posed, smiley family portrait is considered most traditional.

Candid Family Portraits in Rochester NY:

If you’re looking for the opposite, or real, authentic, unposed images, then you are looking for a documentary family photographer. Strict photographers in this realm won’t add any light to a scene, but rather evaluate what is available and use it to show emotion. These sessions are usually longer and allow for the most freedom of movement. They can surround an event, or just capture a “day in the life” at home. This is a newer, but growing genre of family portrait photography.

Real life, real play and letting moments unfold are what the documentary side of our membership is all about.

Lifestyle Family Portraits in Rochester NY:

If you want something in between the two, then perhaps you’d best enjoy a lifestyle family portrait session. Lifestyle photographers enjoy a bit more freedom in their sessions. They’ll often choose the location and general position of a group, but then they give they family a little freedom to play using prompts.

This allows for natural moments to occur, such as laughter, hugs, and play, while still controlling the situation in terms of light and background.

Typically lifestyle family pictures are taken in a natural environment (whether inside or outside) rather than a studio. This type of photographer may opt to use lighting, or not!

Lifestyle family portraits are the best way to describe our Signature Family Sessions.

We gave her the location and gave her some ideas - she created the lifestyle portrait.

And Then There’s Us: Lori & Erin Photography

When you love all three options, and you just have to have all of the above - you join our family. Our candid mini session events are part of a membership that essentially uses all three of these family portrait styles. How, you ask?

We plan a variety of fun events, at the perfect times for your family. Then we photograph them. It’s that simple.

We do our best to plan these events to optimize the lighting and space while you come and enjoy a real life event, in a real world setting.

Sometimes we step in and interact with your family to get a posed portrait. Other times we give you a prompt for a something that feels more like lifestyle family pictures.

Sometimes the events are specifically planned to create a more posed portrait, such as our Pandemic Portrait themed event.

In the end, we give all of these family moments back to you. Consider us your personal, “all in one’ shop for family photography in Rochester NY.

So if you can’t figure out which category a photographer falls into by peeping their portfolio, just ask them. They should be happy to give you a better idea of who they are and how they photograph a family portrait.

Find out why our membership makes sense for your family here.

If you’re ready to learn more about the Lori & Erin Family, we can’t wait to welcome you.

Fairport Family Pictures in the Fall

There’s a general feeling that families should hire a photographer only when their children are little for family portraits.

I understand the reasoning. Families get busier when the kids are teenagers, and tend to forget that these moments are passing at a rapid pace. But yet, so much growth happens in those tween and teen years that deserves to be photographed.

Take this family for example. Before the youngest, Hannah (we took her senior pictures too!), heads off to college, this family of five was due for some fun and an updated family portrait. I love this hidden boardwalk in the heart of Fairport, and the flowers that night did not disappoint.

So yes, right now IS a good time to take your family pictures. Especially when one of those grown up kids is now a high school senior and they’ll soon be leaving home for college. This time is important, and deserves its own family portrait session to remember it by.

Family Pictures in Honeoye: Rochester NY Family Photographers

One 5 year old, two dogs, their parents and tons of room to run. Which is exactly what was necessary to photograph this five year old at his yearly family portrait session. They’ve been one of our amazing member families involved in our candid mini session events for all five years of his life. (What is this membership?)

After all this time, we know that playing is the way to his adorable smile. He also knows what to expect from us, and very rarely hides his face from our cameras. It’s one of the reasons that taking advantage of the candid mini session events makes sense.

We let the silliness happen, and we photograph their family pictures as they really are. That’s the side of him that his family wants to remember when he’s grown, so we capture it while we can. Enjoy this glimpse into their family!

PS - If you feel so inclined to check out that big inn behind them in the last photo, that’s Greenwoods Bed & Breakfast, and they’re the newest owners. Check it out, I promise you’ll want to want to take a little getaway after you see it!