Family Photos – July 2018

When we have a new baby we take family pictures pretty regularly. I like to have them during birth, newborn, three months, six months, nine months and at 12 months. Yeah it’s a lot but babies change SO MUCH during that first year!!! It’s something we’ve done with every baby and I LOVE having so many images of our sweet babies at each stage!

We weren’t able to get Spear’s 6 month pics right at his 6th month…he was about a week into his 7th month but I feel okay about it and it worked out well since he was a little slow to sit up on his own. Lindsay, with Captured by Colson, was so sweet to meet us first thing in the morning for our session. It’s THE best time for pics during the summer with little ones. It wasn’t hot (although those gnats found us by the end of the session ha!) yet and the kids were all happy and peppy first thing in the morning.

I’m also a big believer in using bribery for photos. I brought along a pop-tart for each kid and they knew if they did a good job then they’d get their pop-tart in the car on the way home 🙂 Spear isn’t able to be bribed yet but lucky for us he’s super happy all the time and his smiles come easily 😉

When we decided on these pictures I had a MISSION. I wanted all of us to wear colors that flow with our home (hence all the gray and white) as I really, really want to get either one large family canvas or a few smaller ones. I have a spot in our dining room that has always had a blank wall and it’s just been waiting for our family to be complete so I can get a canvas made! Y’all know I’m SUPER SUPER indecisive so I really could use some help on this decision!

Option A) Choose a horizontal family photo from this session and have one large canvas made (in color) for the wall.

Option B) Choose one photo of each child and one of either our whole family OR just Zach and I. Have them all printed on canvas…I’m thinking it’d be the family or Zach and I one in the center and be vertical then the four individual canvases be horizontal around us.

I’d LOVE to hear your thoughts and which photos you think I should use!!! I’m going to number each photo to make it easier to reference them 🙂

Up first…our big boy!

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{2} Possibly my favorite!

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{4} Another possible favorite!

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The boys 🙂

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I do my best when scheduling the pics to combine things as much as I can…with Tess’s birthday being end of July it was perfect to have these be her 4 year pics too!

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{31} For sure my favorite of her!

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The girls!

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I LOVE the sister bond they share (and the dirty feet…I just think it’s so SUMMER) 🙂

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Our biggest girl! She loves the camera 😉

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{45} I think this is my fav!

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{54} So many awesome ones of Kye!!!

{55} (love the serious!)

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{57} Hands down my favorite!

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{62} Silly daddy 😉

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Sweet Siblings

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{71} I think my favorite

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Time for the family!!!

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{75} Britt is kinda making a stink face but otherwise this could be a fav?

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{77} If I did just one big family one I’m thinking this would be it?

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{79} Another possible contender…Spear is making a silly face but it’s also pretty cute!

My very first idea for our canvas was to have a photo recreated that we actually took at Tess’s 6 month pics of our family just very natural and in the moment. We did recreate them for Spear’s 3 month pics and I really liked how they came out but the colors don’t go well with our house (although we could use one from this session and do black and white?) These are my least favorites of the three times we’ve done this pose! The gnats were coming out and we just weren’t as natural as I had hoped for!

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I LOVE that Lindsay takes the time to get photos of JUST Zach and I together! These all turned out so great that it’s actually what inspired our idea for the option of having one of these in the center and then the kid’s individuals around it!

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{87} Z loves this one b/c it’s kinda sensual right? haha!

{88} Possible favorite!

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{93} Another possible favorite! I like the house behind us!

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{96} Another possibility!

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I like to try to get a few Mama pics with just me and the kids as they are great for blogging purposes!

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I had wanted to get a couple pics of me solo for my big blog anniversary but the morning got away from us. Kye had to get to his video game camp and Zach had to get going to work. By this time the kids were pretty over it and we were all pretty hot and sweaty (and so over the gnats haha). I realized we hadn’t taken any of me solo and figured “Oh well no biggie.” But Lindsay was so great to say “no let’s do it real quick!” I loaded the kids up in the van (with their prize pop tarts) and blasted the ac. I did a super quick mini-freshining up and we literally snapped these right beside my van in like under 3 min.

These are the kinds of shots that REALLY showcase how crucial it is to have a professional photographer. She posed me, got the shots, and I LOVE THEM.

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Whew guys I know I have a TOUGH job on my hands in deciding which ones to have made into canvases!!! I’d LOVE input and help both deciding if we should go the route of just one large family photo or do 5 smaller ones plus which images to use for each! Chime in!!!

If you’re looking for a phenomenal photographer then I cannot recommend Captured by Colson enough! As Lindsay says herself “I’m blessed to photograph gorgeous weddings and serve my beautiful couples + seniors. Bringing a joyful and comfortable vibe through the business of photographing slices of life and monumental moments is what makes your experience with me unique. I am genuinely interested in hearing your life’s story, and documenting it well through our time together.”

We simply cannot thank Lindsay enough for all she does for our family and the amazing photos we have to cherish forever!

Here is a comparison of the older three’s 6 month photos here:

Kye (bless that precious bald baby!)

Britt (I remember taking these and then Kye tested positive for strep after, bless him!)

Tess (oh my goodness I forgot how awesome her hair was!)

As well as comparing Tess’s four year photos to Kye’s four year photos here and Britt’s four year photos here!

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Emily Parker

Hey Y'all, I'm Emily! I'm a stay at home mom and consider parenting to be my passion. Disney is my happiest place and I love making memories as a family together. I'm a big believer in transparency and share all of my real-life moments as a mother of four.

My work has been featured on Love What Matters, Today Parenting and Babywise.Life. I'm also honored to be a member of the Babywise Friendly Blog Network.

You can read more about our family on my About Me page. Also be sure to follow along with me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!

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