Lifestyle Shoot 2016

A few weekends ago we had family pictures taken. I like to do them at least once a year, but would really love to do them several times a year. If you are a living, breathing, human raising children- you can understand how getting them done at all is like winning a marathon. Because lets be honest, it's a  freaking rat race getting everything ready for show time. It is like that for everyone, right?? Not just me?

About a month 2 weeks before our pictures were scheduled, I ordered outfits for the girls and myself. Matt being an engineer, has a plethora of shirts to choose from, have you ever seen them in anything other than a polo or button up? Lol!!  But every lady needs something new if they're being photographed. Do you remember that back in May we moved from our old house to our new one?? Yeah... So I had the clothes sent to our old address.  Not only was I cutting it close to having them even make it to the correct address on time, but by having them sent to the wrong address I was pretty much ensuring that they would never make it. They did, however. About 4 weeks later.

We scheduled our pictures on a Sunday evening, in our backyard. It's my absolute favorite part of this home, and I wanted pictures of the girls being themselves- nothing really posed, just two wild ladies outside playing with their chickens! Jeanine, our photographer specializes in lifestyle photography, which is exactly what I wanted. She must be half unicorn or something, because the girls love her and she is able to capture my heart on film! If you are in the Dallas Fort Worth area and need a photographer, let me know- she's amazing!

So the Sunday of our pictures, after going to church, I had a few hours left to find something for us three to wear. Yes, you read that right. The DAY of our pictures, I was running around town trying to find something for us to wear. Praise the Lord for Nordstrom and Gap. Wren's dress. Elle's dress. I knew they'd both love them, and get a lot of wear out of them this fall.

Miss Jeanine was here for about 30 minutes, which let me tell you is about all a toddler and a preschooler can handle. It was just the right amount of time- don't think you have to have an hour or more. I believe less is more when capturing kids, young ones especially!

A few tips I have for getting your pictures taken with littles:

Have outfits picked out in advance! Having a backup outfit isn't a bad idea either.

Don't schedule the shoot during nap time, bedtime, or any other time your kids are normally cranky.

Give your kids (and yourself) a snack before the pictures- make sure they aren't wearing the clothes for the pictures while eating!

Have a drink. Haha! I'm serious. I hate getting pictures of myself, so I had just a little glass of sparkletini before we were about to start ;)

Here are a few of my favorites! Hope you enjoy!