Fall Family Maternity Shoot

In case you haven't noticed, I love me some pictures over here. I realize that I might jump in the frame more than the typical parent, but pictures have always been important to me. We were able to capture some maternity photos for both A and little nugget, so it was only right that we did the same for baby boy.

There have been so many times that my sister and I will look through pictures of us as kids and rarely see our parents in any of them. The pictures we have are usually of monumental events and not the everyday moments. I know it was a different time back then and digital cameras weren't even a thing, but now with technology at our disposal, it's something I like to take advantage of.

We wanted to incorporate all of us into the pictures but with two active little guys and a dog, we knew we needed to just go with the flow. At one point we weren't sure who was more interested in finding sticks, the boys or the dog. There was even a time when Coaty stole a stick right from little nugget's hand. I mean, he is a dog after all and my pup loves chewing on some sticks. While all of that was going on, Eric and I took it as an opportunity to capture a few moments by ourselves. You know, just let the kids and the dog figure it out.

When Eric went to see what was going on with the stick debacle my sister got a few shots of me. I wanted to laugh so hard because I could hear yelling for the dog to come back with the stick, I think someone tripped, and all I kept thinking was, great there goes the knees of their pants. Once all was calm, I was able to block all of that out and have a moment embracing this growing bump and reflecting on baby boy making his way into our family.

Since we invested in a nice camera, capturing moments like this always makes it worth it to me. There are two people that I know if I'm not behind it I can trust using it. That would be my husband (he takes 98% of my pictures) and my sister, who I love roping in for some shoots.

I know when I shared my favorite picture my sister captured on my Friday favorites post, many of you asked if this was something she did on the side. That's such a compliment, and I think if she really wanted to she could. The way we've worked it out is, I get the settings situated on the camera for the look I'm trying to achieve, then she goes to work. I think like anything, our pictures have gotten better with time and the experiences we've gained from doing them. We still have a lot of trial and error moments, but I love attempting things and always pushing to see what we can get. What I love that she does is, she isn't afraid to get down on the ground, get up on a ladder, take things from a different perspective—which is why I love her eye for it. My boys are also great with her and will listen to her, well most of the time. I also love that I get to have these moments with her, I know she'll tell me if something doesn't look right, I can tell her to take more or as little as we want or try something else, and not have to feel pressured for time.

I was so happy we were able to capture some fall moments. Both A and little nugget were really summer babies so it was nice to not be sweating like crazy and have a different season to enjoy. Our leaves still haven't peaked but we didn't want to wait too long to take them, so we worked with what we got.

We have some fun outtakes with the boys and even our dog, Coaty. I'm thinking about doing a follow-up post to one that I previously did when I shared tips on preparing for maternity photos. I think it could be fun to share some insight into taking pictures with kids and sharing some of our silly moments.

I came across this quote that I really liked and made me think that the next time we go to take family pictures (hoping we can possibly squeeze some in for a Christmas card) we'll have another little one in the frame.

"The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do" ~ Andy Warhol