Grant, Party of Five: Family Photos

It is that time of year again, when we need to renew our family photos. Since Nori-Ann was born, take portraits together has been a favorite past time of ours to gather, capture our family and our dynamic, and then have memories look back on. 
And each session, we sure have grown!
The last photo session we partook in was for our maternity shoot, in April of 2018.

Dress by Pinkblush

                               

 I loved everything about these photos and my great friend, Sabrina (here) did a great job capturing our growing family beautifully. 

 

 Even though Noah was there gestational, our walls still felt bare (no literally they are after we painted the whole house and I said I wouldn’t put the old ones back up until we took updated family photos. And here we are one year late

These beautiful photos were captured by Dani of Dani Parada Photography. Though my personal style has changed a bit, I wanted the portraits to reflect the same. I’ve fell in love with rust, mustard yellow/turmeric’s and the like, and wanted to embrace the warmth and softness of my visionary lifestyle. 

Mommy Tip:
Bring your little ones favorite snacks so they can be comfortable.
 It's ok to let them roam and the photographer can get some candids of them.
Happy babies who get to frolic and won't become hangry, win win!   

I first started looking for inspiration on Pinterest. I tell everyone, all the time, it is a visual Google and perfect for inspiration! There’s ideas for poses, color palettes, locations and so much more. 

I went looking for color palette/outfit  ideas and I was not left empty handed.  

Outfit Inspiration by 100 Layer Cake-let

I’m already minimal/capsule style gyal with pops of boldness and with a tad of eccentric, but I knew I wanted denim for sure, white and gray as a base and went from there. I saw sage greens and olives, navy, black, and camel; which were all colors worthy of consideration. I would recommend sticking to 2/3 neutrals and 2 bolder colors and I did just that. 
For the bolder colors, I picked dusty rose (Nori-Ann’s dress ) and rust (Noah’s jumper ). 

 Outfit Details:
Norvaris sweater

Jeans: Old Navy 

Boots: DSW

My sweater

Cami: Zara 

Jeans: Levi’s 

Mules: Madewell (an investment piece I’ve been coveting and now that I’m not worried about keeping them pristine for photos, I can wear them mad, and I have plans to. Literally, a list of outfits just to wear them!)

Nori-Ann’s dress: (linked above) Zara

Boots: Old Navy 

Nathaniel’s Henley top

Jeans: Target 

Boots: Carter’s 

Noah’s jumper: (linked above) Amazon 

Shirt: Target 

Moccasins: Amazon (needed cheaper, hard bottom ones, quick, and these did the job). 

I got that out of the way, I did a quick Instagram search. Literally type in your city or county (or one you are familiar with and don’t mind driving to) and then photographer right after. So hashtag, slide all them letters together and boom! (ie: #fakecityphotographer).

Ask about their policy, get to know them a bit, and scope out who is within your budget and available for your schedule. 

*Please remember, these pictures, are an investment, so treat them as such and respect the photographers price. Don’t be afraid to negotiate, but if you want JC Penney prices, go to JC Penney. They have to pay for their own equipment, fees etc. 
Ok, photography civil rant over. 

                             

We found Dani, scoped out her work, I checked the tagged post to see what others said about her (reviews and accreditation) and how well she photographed not only different locations and event, but what mattered to me: families, outdoor, and people with my complexion as well. 

     



   

Next was location. I knew I wanted outdoor again, but wanted to have an abandoned road behind us. Dani found a park I’ve never been to, for us, but the day of, there was torrential rain and we had to change locations the day of! Yup, you read that right. 
We almost ended up at a coffee shop or museum, but we settled on a park (almost 2 hours away) but we were determined and was sticking to our scheduled plan. 

Make sure you check for fees, location safety and weather. Always have a plan b! 

 All in all, I hope you loved these photos as much as we love them and don’t be afraid to comment at the end which ones were your favorite. Now I have my work cut out for me, to go try and find  my “top 8” for our gallery wall. 

-xo Natasha