Category: families

rachel + tom + thomas // Backyard Family Session

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I’m a huge fan of backyard family sessions. Your home is absolutely a part of your story and I love getting to incorporate that element of your family life. Your kids are more comfortable in familiar surroundings, your pets can be involved if you want them to be, and if you need to take a quick snack or potty break, everything you need is right there! I also think that it will someday be incredibly special for your children to have photos in and around their childhood home because it’s part of their life story, too. <3 You don’t need a huge backyard or Pinterest worthy decor – all you need is some beautiful light and we can make magic.
This backyard family session last summer was extra special to me because it was for the family of our studio manager, Rachel, who you’ve most likely had contact with if you’re an Ayres Photography client. She’s the best of the best and it made me so happy to capture these moments in time for her and her sweet family! How adorable is baby Thomas?! I blogged his newborn session here —-> https://www.ayresphoto.com/families/baby-thomas-in-home-family-session/ – can you believe how he’s grown?? Still the cutest ever.

father, mother and baby outside smiling at camera
father lifting baby who is looking at camera
family laying together in a hammock
baby boy looking at camera and parents smiling at each other
mom sitting on bench laughing with baby sitting in her lap
black and white close shot of family laying on stomachs in the grass laughing
happy baby boy sitting in grass and smiling at camera
dad holding baby while mom makes him laugh
mom holding baby and kissing his cheek
family laying in the grass together
mom dad and baby in a hammock together
father holding young son who is smiling at the camera
black and white close up of baby boy looking amazed and mom and dad laughing
mom and dad laying on stomachs with baby son sitting on grass
close up of baby boy looking at camera while climbing in a hammock
husband and wife sitting together on bench laughing
close up of parents holding baby boy who is smiling at camera
baby boy sitting in grass and looking coyly at camera with parents behind him
dad kissing mom's cheek as she laughs, baby in dad's lap
baby boy in a large hammock close up
mom and dad holding baby son who is looking at camera
mom and son looking at camera together
baby boy sitting with parents on the lawn
dad kissing top of baby's head
parents smiling at their young son as he looks at camera
birds eye view of baby laying on his mother's leg
husband and wife kissing in hammock


Have I convinced you that in-home/backyard family sessions are the way to go?! I hope so!! Send me a message to set one up!


 

Happy Mother’s Day // An Ode to Mamas

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There’s really nothing in the world quite like being a mother, especially in those first fleeting years of your child’s life. Experiencing their first steps, their first words, their first bike ride. The first time they touch grass and feel the wind on their face. Seeing the world through their eyes; in the simplest and most extraordinary way. The way they dance like no one is watching, because they don’t care if anyone is (or maybe they hope that everyone is). The way they experience their emotions to the very fullest and purest extent. The way they look at you like you’re the only person in the world who matters. You know that look, because it’s the very same way that you look at them.

It’s nearly impossible to put the joy of being a mother into words, but, it’s also incredibly hard work. As a team full of moms, we know at Ayres that the #momlife struggle is real. It’s filled with high highs, but at times, some pretty low lows. The balancing act is never perfected, try as we might, and it likely never will be. And we know that’s okay, and it’s normal, and it’s all a part of this life. Being a mom is the most important and most difficult job you’ll ever have. No matter how much you love your children, there will always be moments when you think to yourself, “I am not strong enough for this. I am not smart enough for this. I simply am not enough.” But, we’re here to remind you that you ARE enough. Just the fact that you have those types of thoughts is proof in itself. Proof that you love your child so immensely that you want to, need to and strive to be the best mom that you can be for them, even if it means questioning your entire process sometimes. And that is all your child will ever truly need.

At the end of a long day, when you’re completely exhausted, you have food in your hair and an overflowing kitchen sink, when you (somehow) managed to check two boxes off your To Do List but then you added four more, when the laundry didn’t get done, and you don’t remember when you last washed your hair, when you’re on the edge of a complete meltdown… your sweet babe will put their arms around your neck, and snuggle their face into your cheek. They will look at you the same way they always do – like you are their sun, their moon, and their stars. And you will remember exactly why this life you lead, the one that sometimes feels like hardly a life at all, is completely 100% worth it.

So, here’s to all the moms out there, and to all the incredible moments that make it all worth it. Happy Mother’s Day, mama. You got this.


Looking for some more beautiful family moments??