Those of you who follow me know that I often stress the importance of having your  family photos taken. I don’t say this only because I want you to hire me, but I say it because I truly believe it.  Our children grow so quickly and as they do, the nature of our family evolves as well.  It is is important to document that change for your children and for yourself.  Even though I take tons of professional images of my children, there are very few that show the dynamic of our family interacting as a whole and even fewer that include me, which is why I hire a photographer annually to capture our family.

Each year my husband and I take the kids to the Florida Keys and spend a few days in Key West. This place is very special to us.  While on this trip, I took about 130 images and I am in only four of those images;  it is almost as if I was not on this vacation, which is why I am so glad that I chose to update our family photos while we were in Key West.  Now I have some documentation of my time with my family on vacation. 

Some people have asked me, what do you do with all of the photos that you take?  Well, the answer is very simple; I make photo albums for my children and they genuinely love looking at these albums. In fact, studies  show that displaying pictures of children in your home can nurture their self esteem.  These photos remind them of their childhood memories that might have otherwise been forgotten.  For example, my eldest daughter can still describe in detail the rental home in which we lived while we lifted our house post Sandy.  She can even recall specific memories that occurred there.  We lived there for ten months when she was 2.5 to 3. years old. I believe her memories are this vivid because of her access to our family photos.

Another benefit of scheduling a family sessions is the bonding nature of the experience. Our day to day lives are so chaotic and it is nice to take time to simply spend time cuddling your children and your spouse and simply focus on loving them. I can’t think of anything better than uninterrupted time with my family. 

I know that in the age of iPhones, selfies and timers, it is tempting to think that you do not need a professional to take pictures for you, but I strongly disagree.  A professional photographer will place you in an aesthetically pleasing location, make the best use of light, pose you and prompt you to elicit connection between you and your family and, consequently, capture beautiful images that tell YOUR family’s story.  As a professional photographer, I am capable of doing all of those aforementioned things with my own professional grade camera and I still choose to hire a professional when it comes to capturing my own family.

Here are a few of my favorites from the session. My eldest daughter was not feeling well on the day of this session and I didn’t let it stress me out. I love how cuddly she was that day and I love that these photos show that part of our story.  All photos are courtesy of Rachel Lynn Photography in Key West. 

If you are interested in updating your family photos, contact me.