Guys, I’m feeling all the things sharing Lindy on the blog today!!!! Excited, happy, nostalgic, honored, and a little sad. Why? Because the absolutely lovely Ms. Lindy has been with us for … well basically forever haha.
Lindy’s brother Alex brought their family into the SJP world as a class of 2018 senior (be sure to check out his session, he killed it too!). And Lindy joined us on the model team her Sophomore year and it’s been amazing to hang out with her and create images over the past two years. Getting to meet and create for her friends, have some fun in the rain & snow, and finally finish out this last year of high school with her to create her senior portraits.
Below is a peek into all the fun we’ve had with Lindy. I’m thrilled to have been a part of her senior experience and know she’s off to do amazing things in this world.
Merry Christmas ya’ll! I hope yesterday, and this whole week has been stocked full of Christmas magic. I’m not actually here (for real) this week but I keep a few family’s annual family portraits under wraps until after the holiday so they have the chance to unveil the images first to their friends/family in their Christmas cards. And I just couldn’t wait to share these with you so I (insider information) scheduled this post weeks (hmmm actually like a month) ago!
I’ve had the honor of photographing these kids for the last 6 years and there is absolutely nothing I love more about my job than having return clients like this. I posted a throwback to our past images last month on our facebook page (HERE) and it’s amazing to me to see how much they’ve changed. I’m beyond thankful this family has trusted me with their images year after year.
One of the biggest challenges with so many years of annual portraits is to create something new. I try to make sure we are selecting new locations each year but my real challenge is selecting updated poses that are still flattering, natural and show some connection. This year, we opted for what I call a ‘cross over’ location where I knew we could get some ivy for a more natural look (the family’s usual preference) but that this location would also give us the chance to mix in a more urban look with the steps. This was a new roll of the dice for them and I’m so glad Lori trusted me to go with it and guess what …. after the fact they were wishing we’d made it a whole family year so we could update the wall image with a more urban look! So glad they liked the new direction with these.
The first year I made this solo was hard. It was quietly hard. I’m not sure if I cried (I was making it a good memory for my own baby after all) but I can still remember the feeling of being right on the edge. Of it being all wrong, making my momma’s dessert without my momma. I could steal a corner out of the fresh batch without a playful scold of ‘heeeeyyyyyy don’t do that!’ (which we both knew she never meant as it would be followed by, “well then give me a taste”).
This is the dish I associate with my momma and Thanksgiving, one of her favorite holidays. A holiday for family and food (her two favorite things). I continue to make this because it IS her now. It brings her as close to our holiday tradition as I’ll ever be able to. We talk about Grandma Patty as I make the dish with my girls. This year B, our oldest, will actually be able to do a lot, if not most, of the work while I likely just try to reign in the chaos that is O, our youngest, who I’m sure will just be trying to stick her hands in all the things!
I shared this recipe once before on our blog, that first year I made it without my momma (you can see that here) because it is no secret family recipe and it would bring me (and my momma) great joy to know it warmed another home this holiday season. Pro “Grandma Patty” changes to this recipe which I recommend 100% (and didn’t do this year just as a test to see if her version really was better … spoiler alert IT IS!). Up the sugar by 1/2 cup (1.5 cup total) & quarter or leave out the nutmeg entirely for a pumpkin base that’s a bit sweeter with more subtle spice.
Oh btw, I’m never not going to eat this FRESH and warm from the oven so if I’m bringing this to your gathering it’s coming with a slice (or three) gone… just deal.
Today I get to share the lovely Piper with you! We had a perfect evening for her sunset session at one of my favorite locations for simple beautiful nature portraits.
Oh boy do I have some images to share with you guys today!!! Ahhhh, I met Hannah at Malydia’s BFF session last year and have gotten to work with her ever since as one of our 2020 senior models. We’ve had beautiful SUNRISE (yup, early morning for us but so worth it!) light, flowers, water (even all the way UNDER it) and her adorable pup. It was so much fun to work with her and I’m thrilled to show off all her favorite images here with you today!
