I always love shooting a fun family session, but it’s even sweeter when I’m working with friends/past clients! It’s cool to be able to watch a family grow in front of your camera and compare year to year! The Swanson’s also happen to be friends who live in our neighborhood. Both of our families have two boys that are the same ages. They also have the sweetest little baby girl and no, I’m not pregnant or planning to be, so the family comparisons stop at the two boys. ;-)

For this session we shot at the gorgeous Palmetto Bluff community in Bluffton, SC. While I had heard great things about this place before, this was actually my first time visiting. This place is BEAUTIFUL. Like, every single house looks exactly like the houses I pin on Pinterest. :-) The community has such a unique/homey/Southern vibe to it. And they have the absolute cutest chapel on site! I would absolutely LOVE to shoot a wedding there sometime, so if you know of anyone planning to get married in Palmetto Bluff, send them my way!

Speaking of getting married, Anna is a fabulous wedding planner! If you are looking for someone to help plan your big day or at least just coordinate on the day of, I would highly recommend checking her out! Her biz is called Rustic to Ritz events, and she is oh-so-very-talented. I have had the pleasure of working with her on a wedding day, so I can vouch for her professionalism and attention to detail!

Now on to sharing a few of my favorite images from this session… These kiddos kept me busy, and as I reminded Anna and Mark, these ages are always tricky to photograph but I think we got some great images! What I love about photographing young children is they have so much personality, which is easy to capture in a photo. As a parent, you have to set aside the expectations of a “picture perfect” moment where everyone is smiling directly at the camera in the perfect pose because that is just not realistic with kids! I love capturing kiddos with their silly laughs and the moments that you will look back on down the road and truly cherish.

Although we had a cloudy evening, it made for some great diffused light out on the dock! The water was calm and no one fell in, so I call that a win! ;-)
This photo captures each of their personalities just perfect! As Anna stated, “Silly – Sweet – Wild.” :-)