Some families become part of your photography story…and then, somewhere along the way, they become part of your life.
I’ve been photographing this family for at least 15 years. Long enough that the two oldest have graduated and become #CKSeniors, long enough to watch careers begin to take shape, and long enough that our own family has grown right alongside theirs.
And now, somehow, we live just down the street from each other!
Maddi, one of their oldest, is now a para at a private Christian school where her three younger siblings attend. Parker is pursuing his career in carpentry, and the younger three—Lilly, Jacobi, and Briella—are now a sophomore, an eighth grader, and a sixth grader. It feels a little surreal to write those ages because I can still picture so many of the earlier chapters I’ve photographed for this family.
That’s one of my favorite things about being a family photographer. I’m not just meeting a family once and handing them a gallery. I get to come back. I get to see the kids grow, celebrate graduations, document new seasons, and hear what everyone is pursuing next.
And every single time I photograph this crew, my cheeks hurt by the end of the session.
Not from posing. From laughing.
There is so much genuine joy packed into this family that our sessions inevitably turn into a whole lot of smiling, teasing, catching up, and laughing our way through the photos. At this point, I don’t think any of us could imagine a session together without it.
Our families have grown up alongside each other, and now we even live down the street from one another. What started as a photographer-client relationship many years ago has become one of those relationships that makes me incredibly thankful for this little business of mine.
Because these are the photographs I never want to take for granted.
The kids who were once little are suddenly closer to graduating. The seniors I’ve photographed are building careers. Younger siblings are moving into high school and middle school. Families change, seasons change, and somehow photography gives us a way to stop for a minute and remember what this particular chapter looked like.
I’m so thankful this family has trusted me to document so many of those chapters.
And I’m even more thankful that these days, I don’t have to go very far to see them again. 🤍
Here’s to many more years of family photos, neighborhood hellos, sore cheeks, and laughing our way through another season together!
