Lighting is key in any photo session.  And then there's the colors of the place we'll shoot, and the weather, and whether or not your child has eaten or napped or has a runny nose.  

The thing I always start with is the light.

Because, depending on where we go, that will affect a lot of the other factors.  Not the runny nose.  That's just a fact of childhood.  But light is hugely different based on time of day, and where we're shooting.  And time of day will affect whether your child has slept, or eaten, or needs to go to sleep.  We can only control so much, but I love to be able to offer families sessions at a reasonable hour.

A lot of people, understandably, want to do family sessions in the mountains, with long views behind them.  Which is, obviously, gorgeous and timeless, and perfectly Colorado.

Mosquitoes can be annoying, but, in my opinion, they're worth it for such a gorgeous location.  This photograph (above) was taken in late June.

Below is an example of a mountains photo session in the fall.  These photographs are from late October.  We met at 5pm, and did a lot of shooting in the shade before going to do some with a small view of the mountains.  The sun never went low enough to get long views, but I still love the mountain-feel of these photographs.

My feeling is, you can't go wrong with a photo session in Colorado.  There are so many gorgeous places.  Just be aware that lighting may affect where we can shoot, and what time of day will work best.  You've got to consider your child's schedule, and what's best for their mood.  An unhappy child isn't going to have a great time during a session. Let's do everything we can to help them have a wonderful, fun photo shoot!  That's a huge win, in my book.

Of course, I love a wooded area any time of year.  And not just for the mid-day joy of it.  Here are some winter and fall sessions in the woods.  The light is always gorgeous, and there are so many fun things for kids to explore and find.  

The above photograph is from early November.  The photograph below is from late November.

The long of the short of it is: any time of year is the perfect time of year for a photo shoot.  Just be flexible about where to go, and trust me.  We'll find ourselves in a stunning location with beautiful, love-filled photographs of you and your sweet family in this moment of time.

A lot of women ask me if they can invite their mom to their Bonding Session with me. If you want to include your mom in the session -- if she's willing to wear all black and dive in deep with love and connection -- I say: bring her.  Don't bring her to sit in the studio and watch your session.  Bring her to be a part of it.  To snuggle you and your babies.

These multi-generational photo sessions have been some of the most beautiful, most love-filled that I've had the honor to capture.  It's really moving to see grandmothers loving their grandbabies, and also loving their daughters.  And what a gift to see all of that in one frame.

I specialize in bonding photographs -- that is, photographs of mams and their children bonding with each other.  Sometimes that looks calm and quiet, and sometimes that looks rather rowdy and chaotic.  There's no "right way" to bond, no "right way" to look when you're bonding.  So you're thinking of coming in for a session -- what might it feel like to have all of your children in the studio with you?  Let's be honest: a little chaotic?  A little loud?  And that's ok.  Even if the session doesn't go the way you imagine.  The most you can do is get your sweet ones here, in front of the camera, and play.  It will be just what it should be: an honest reflection of your love and theirs.

I love this session because it really shows how kind of chaotic and "messy" the shoot was -- there were no boring "cheese!" moments.  It was wall-to-wall play.  And the photos capture something much more interesting and authentic.  The love is absolutely there, but so is the chaos.  Just like in "real life".

This session, below, is a completely different vibe.  Much quieter and calmer, but the feeling of their family, the way they work together, play together, exist together, comes through so beautifully and so clearly.

There's something to be said for doing a session with just one of your children -- your newborn; your last baby; or maybe you're focusing on breastfeeding.  But there's also something to be said for piling them all in, bringing the whole crew, and just letting go of order and predictability.  Because this is parenting.  The beauty is in the disorder.

Having a newborn is a complicated phenomenon.  The sleep deprivation.  The changes in our bodies.  The hormones.  The way our bodies and brains shift to make mental space and begin to bond with the tiny mammal that just joined the family.  I have two children, 7 years apart, and I felt like a first time mom after both births.  They were extremely different births, and therefore wildly different postpartum experiences.  But after neither birth did I feel like throwing my body in front of a camera.  Both times I felt protective of my body, and my baby.  I wanted space to heal and bond.

When you get typical newborn photographs, the photographer often requires that the baby be young enough to put to sleep easily.  The newborn is meant to look a certain way (and most importantly, the baby's eyes are meant to be closed).  I do not fall into that camp as a newborn photographer.  I consider the full "fourth trimester" -- the four months after birth -- to be newborn, and all of it is worth capturing.  These are seminal months of motherhood, and it still feels new and incredibly meaningful long after the first few days.  I don't limit newborn sessions to those first ten days of life.  And part of that is because I want you in the photographs too.  The photos are meant to tell a story about your love for your baby.  And that story isn’t necessarily a simple one.

One of the things I love about photo sessions is how they freeze our lives in place.  Years from now, we'll be able to time travel back into these brief moments with our children merely by looking at a beautiful photograph.  Oh yes, that’s what it felt like to touch her feet.  To smell his soft curls.  To lean my head against hers.

And it’s amazing to see not just one moment in our lives captured, but a series of moments over the years.  Clients who’ve come back to the studio more than once get to see more than one of those bonding moments, those deeply special connections.  Look how small her hands were next to mine.  And look at his squishy little round cheeks.  Was he ever that small? 

Photographs can be such a gift, and it’s my joy to get to take part in the process of freezing those memories.  A physical representation of your love for your children growing, maturing, expanding through the years.

I've photographed this sweet mama and her son every year for three years, since he was 8 months old.  It's been really touching to see him grow up, and to see his mom evolve as a parent.  Their sessions are always such a beautiful representation of their love, and their evolving relationship, and I really treasure getting to see this sweet boy growing up.

Nothing stands still in childhood.  Things change minute to minute, day to day.  And we change with it.  You can see in these photographs how these two have evolved.  It's absolutely stunning.  How can so much shift in just a few years?

After so many years, things still surprise me in my work.  When I started doing Bonding Sessions, I thought the most important relationship I could focus on would be the mama and her babe.  

Photographers need to have a specific offering -- it doesn't really work to just say that we offer everything in the book.  If we do, our work becomes watered-down and uninteresting.  We're not taking a perspective, we're just trying to fit ourselves into every situation possible.  I took this task of finding my niche very seriously.  I created Bonding Sessions as a way to focus incredibly singularly on the bond between a mother and her child.

I started with a very narrow concept of what a Bonding Session would be.  At first I just wanted to just do babies and their moms.  Little babies.  I wanted to do pure skin to skin.  Nursing.  Early bonding.  I didn't think it would work to have more than one child in a session at a time.  I wanted everything totally simple and pure. 

​But as I got more into the work, my scope naturally widened a bit.  I realized that I could capture those beautiful bonding moments with toddlers and their mothers too.  And then I started welcoming more than one child at a time, and my vision of what my work could be kept expanding.

Sort of by accident one day, I ended up with a 12 year old in the studio with his mom and newborn sister.  So I told him to join.  And then those photographs turned into some of my all-time favorites.

I couldn't have imagined how tender this young man would be.  I couldn't have predicted the joy he showed at being with his young sister, and the pride he'd take in getting to hold her.  It was really touching.  It affected me as an artist, and as a person.  To see this love.  This was something I wanted to welcome in more.  Whenever I could.

One of the most important things I've learned through all of this work is not to close myself off.  To stay curious.  To let myself believe that I really don't know what might come of the time in the studio.  Because I just don't know.  Love and bonding is a mystery.  That's part of what's so completely stunning about it.

​Another surprise for me in this work was realizing that inviting the mother-of-the-mother into the studio with us has been a deeply touching addition as well.  Yes, you may bring your mom or mother-in-law.  Yes Grandma can join.  The beauty here is its own brand of perfection.

During the Pandemic, this mama's (below) mom came to visit for the first time since her granddaughter was born.  And the grandmother was only staying in Denver for a few days.  So we met outside to photograph the three generations together for the first time.  It was emotional and really beautiful.

(Note the difference in the background in these images: because of the Pandemic, we were outside in the yard.)

Do you have a rough and rowdy, playful family?  Do you worry about how that will translate on camera?  Are your kids high energy?

​Stepping into the studio might seem like something you're not prepared to do.  How will the photographs turn out?  What will your children do?  How will you keep everyone sane and happy?  How will you make it look like your family has achieved that kind of calm that you're always seeing in other families' photographs?

I think quite a lot of moms come into the studio kind of stressed.  Kind of over it.  Kind of burned out.  Because motherhood is an absolute crapshoot.  We're dealing with a constant stream of challenges and issues we didn't imagine the day before, or maybe it's the same stuff over and over.  It's complex, it's grating, it's frustrating.  We're holding the emotions of our children in our hearts at all times, and it can be truly exhausting.

But in every session, I find that there are always always always moments of real deep beauty.  Because children flash in and out of deep emotions with real clarity and fluidity. All you have to do is meet them there.  Don’t worry about where they’re looking (many a photograph has been ruined by a worried mom pointing at the camera so their kid will look at me).  Don’t worry about the kids’ faces.  Their faces will go through 1000 emotions in an hour, and I’ll take 1000 photographs.  It’s much more challenging for a mama to be in the moment than for a child to arrive in joy or play.  The barriers for them are so very low.  A goofy look from you, a sound they didn’t expect, a fart joke.  They’ll arrive at joy.  You just have to be prepared to meet them there.  Give them a soft place to land.  If they spend most of the session testing your boundaries, then we’ve got a typical kid on our hands.  So don’t sweat it.  Join in with fun.  We’re going to get those beautiful shots.

One of the things I absolutely love about these photographs is the kinetic energy.  Nothing (and no one) is standing still.  They were constantly moving and shuffling around, showing their bonds with their siblings and their mom.  It was 100% play, and I was there for it.