Playful Family Portraits at Egypt Park and Lollypop Farm

We love when families approach us using words like “candid, playful, fun” when they describe what they want out of their family portrait session.

During the session, we let the little one lead the way, and that meant starting on the playground. We made silly faces, looked for frogs, ran around and even visited the horses over at Lollypop Farm. It was a great day, and so special to have all the family in town!

I’d be happy to hang out with this fun loving group any day!

Apple Picking Family Pictures: Victor NY Family Photographer

It’s one of the quintessential fall family activities. Go to the apple farm, chase your children around the field and while you’re at it, pick some of New York’s finest apples straight from the trees. Honestly, it’s a little bit chaotic for us to photograph each of our member families that day (because the farm is huge!) but it’s the best kind of chaos ever.

Hayrides, petting zoos, and laughing kids spoiling their dinner with apple cider and donuts. It’s childhood at it’s finest. And it’s such a privilege to give these memories to them. When our families look at the book we’ve created for them at the end of the year, these particular pages always give them (and us) a few chuckles.

If you still don’t know what our portrait membership is all about - there’s an easy way to learn more. JOIN US at our next event on October 27th, at Chase Farms. Come in costume, get a pumpkin and chat with us about it!

Family Portraits in the Eastman Museum Gardens

This amazing family is part of our portrait membership program. Seeing them grow each year and watching the kids grow into their fun (and adorable) personalities is a major perk of the job of a Family Photographer in Rochester.

They played hide and seek, peekaboo, and they laughed and hugged. Their family pictures at the Eastman House went swimmingly. It was a great day for a beautiful family.

Personal Brand Photography for Photographers: Rochester NY

Branding Photography has been an exciting challenge for us. Building this area of our business has taken time and a lot of planning. Thankfully, we haven’t gone it alone. We’re so grateful to have had the opportunity to collaborate and work together with Sarah in our own think tank of sorts.

But photographing another photographer, man that can be scary. We recently traveled to Syracuse to capture personal branding images of Sarah and her team. Our session had a few goals - but mainly we wanted to show them as fun, playful and colorful in both their office and at home.

It’s safe to say that working with them was anything BUT boring and colorless. See what I mean?

Senior Pictures, Victor NY Class of 2020: Meet Connor

He told me he was just a simple, casual guy. He loves his truck, chemistry, yard work and hunting.

Oh, and he’s also into woodworking and has a little shop in his basement. He was very modest about it, but I saw what he’s made— and don’t let Connor fool you, he is very talented!

It was a pleasure exploring Boughton Park with Connor for his senior portraits. We utilized the natural settings of water and trees but also found a broken down bridge that made a cool backdrop. Check ‘em out and say hi below!

-Lori

In Between Portrait Membership: Tie Dye Night candid family portraits

Oh what a lovely, messy night we had! The threat of rain didn’t stop us from creating our new shirts with our member families. These candid family portrait moments are always different, each event changing with the season.

There are some events that are now traditions. Apple picking (which is coming up soon!) being one of them. But this was a new one for us. Tie dye is such a common “summer time with kids” activity, that it made sense to include it in this years lineup.

Big thanks to Dana Sharp (one of our awesome members) for leading the group and showing us all some tips and tricks in creating great tie dyed shirts for the whole family!

Curious as to what these “members” are that we’re always talking about? Check out our membership information, or come to our next event to find out more!

Spring Family Pictures in Rochester NY

Does it feel like just yesterday it was spring? I mean…those flowering trees, right?

I miss those trees at Highland Park so much right now. That and the cooler spring days, now that summer is full on here with all of it’s humidity in tow. But that’s ok, because I have this adorable family’s portrait session in Rochester to remind me of spring and all it’s amazingness.

Playing guitar in the magnolias, running down the paths, flying in Daddy’s arms - all beautiful moments in the beautiful backdrop that Rochester NY has to offer.

Summer has some pretty gorgeous things to offer too, so if you’re looking to update your walls with family pictures - we’re here for you. Enjoy this glimpse into a gorgeous family portrait session at Highland Park!

Rochester NY Engagement Photography: Carol and Jeff, Turning Point Park

Carol and Jeff love to be outdoors, biking, hiking and being together at Ontario Beach Park at sunset. So it seemed like a no brainer to schedule their Rochester engagement session at the beach. But when we got there, we realized quickly that we would not be alone. Us, and the rest of Rochester had flocked to the beach for one of their most popular Concerts by the Shore on this particular summer night.

It was chaos, and we knew right away that this was not the idyllic sunset-y story we wanted to tell. Rather than fight the throngs of beach goers to make their engagement session happen on the beach we all decided to change the story and head down the road to Turning Point Park.

I am so glad that Carol and Jeff are expert level pivoters, and willing to go with the flow, because what we ended up capturing was pure magic at golden hour in Rochester. See what I mean?

Candid Family Picture Mini Sessions in Fairport NY: Picnic at the Playground

Going to the playground with Lucas is one of my favorite things to do. It’s an everyday moment and a simple joy. But how often in these moments are we as parents thinking of everything else going on in our lives? Or maybe we’re so busy chasing one child around with our phone camera, that we didn’t see the other climbed the rock wall on his own for the first time? How often do you notice their giant candid smiles as they run or slide down the slide?

These moments, they’re what’s real. I cannot tell you how amazing it feels to capture these moments for our portrait members every single month. The family pictures they receive don’t have you chasing your kids with your camera. They show you on the slide with them.

Someday friends, these candid family pictures will be more priceless than you can imagine today. This single thought is what keeps us motivated to capture your family pictures in Rochester NY.

I look at the pictures below and I actually feel every smile. And I smile back. I hope you do as well.

~ Erin

Our Fairport NY Headshots and Personal Branding Session: Behind the Scenes

Yes, we are photographers, so you might be thinking, why didn’t you take your headshots and branding pictures yourselves? The main reason is that it’s pretty hard to get us both in photographs together. But there are other perks to hiring someone from outside your circle.

We choose to work with Sarah Heppell Photography out of Syracuse. Along the way, we discovered some unexpected benefits of working with Sarah and her team.

  1. Outside Perspective on our Business. As much as we love, and are good at, helping others create a plan for their business headshots and branding sessions, we struggled with planning our own. Even though we have a strong social media presence and regularly have new photos to post (granted, more of clients than of ourselves), we had trouble focusing in on what would help people connect to us. Going through this process helped draw that out of us in a way that hasn’t been done before.

  2. Efficiency. We think of great shots all the time, but shooting them one at a time would be an inefficient use of time. By brainstorming several locations and themes in advance, we captured them all in one day, and now have several months worth of content to share. It was more work upfront and requires planning, but worth it to have so much ready to go, especially during the busy summer season!

  3. Fresh eyes. We stare at the walls of our offices all day long, so it can be hard to see them in a new way. Fresh eyes from someone who hasn’t seen them, we knew Sarah would see things in a different way.

These are all the things we offer our clients, and Sarah was able to offer them to us. So pop on over to Instagram to see how we are using these photos, and if it gets your idea factory running, give us a call or check out how we can do the same for you!

Maternity Session in Highland Park: Rochester NY

Margaret knew that if this session included only one picture that it would be of them together, focused on her belly, holding onto a pair of baby shoes.

Well, mission accomplished.

The world around them at Highland Park in Rochester NY may have been crowded with families, other photographers and flower enthusiasts, but Margaret and Jacobus were quiet and peaceful together as we captured this moment in time for them.

There’s a moment in time when everything becomes real for new parents, and sometimes that happens when they see these maternity portraits. It’s an honor and privilege for us when it does.

Congratulations in advance Margaret and Jacobus - we can’t wait to meet your little bundle of joy!

Candid Family Portrait Mini Sessions at a Greenhouse in Fairport NY

At Lucas Greenhouses, soil is not considered dirt until it falls to the ground. Well, with ten families in attendance at our planting party there was no shortfall of dirt. There was also no shortfall of fun and real life moments with family - my own included.

My own arrived in full super hero attire…to plant flowers. You guys, this is my real life. When your four year old insists on wearing a cape in public, you let him. And we captured it, because someday that tiny, every day moment will mean everything to me.

This is what our membership does. If this moment resonates with you at all, then please come talk more with us - your family is worth it. Your memories are worth it.

~ Erin